Should I give up on finding first ever contract

[paul555]

Hi all,

New here so bare with me. I'm a Software Tester. Long story short I finished permanent role December last year. Decided to try contracting. Set up LTD Company, Business bank account etc and got ready to go in January. I upped CV to the usual places

Since then though I've had very little contact. One phone interview that didn't go well (But I wouldn't have wanted anyway). I get a few calls about Contracts that sound positive but then I never hear anything again. Have I picked the worst time ever to do this with a quiet market

So I'm thinking maybe I give up an go back to Permanent? I'm confused about the whole thing. I do have some savings to fall back on but they won't last forever and are depleting fast!

Thanks for any advice

[SimonMac]

Odds are your CV is the problem, is it a new CV for contracting or are you still using your old permie CV?

Have a look for the CV webinars and maybe a CV review, the value massively out weighs the cost

[Lance]

Your CV is probably the problem.
Have you spell checked it?
It’s ‘bear’ not ‘bare’.

There’s work out there, although I’m not so sure how many testers are needed.

If you’re not hearing about many roles then going permanent might not be so easy anyway.

[meridian]

Hi all,

New here so bare with me. I'm a Software Tester. Long story short I finished permanent role December last year. Decided to try contracting. Set up LTD Company, Business bank account etc and got ready to go in January. I upped CV to the usual places

Since then though I've had very little contact. One phone interview that didn't go well (But I wouldn't have wanted anyway). I get a few calls about Contracts that sound positive but then I never hear anything again. Have I picked the worst time ever to do this with a quiet market

So I'm thinking maybe I give up an go back to Permanent? I'm confused about the whole thing. I do have some savings to fall back on but they won't last forever and are depleting fast!

Thanks for any advice

What sort of tester?

If you’re specialised enough then there’s contract work available, but you usually need a decent network of agents and contacts - they’ll contact you before the role is widely advertised.

If you’re a generalist then it’s more difficult. A lot of the roles have gone to the larger bodyshops and offshore outfits.

But as others have said, how’s your cv? Is it tailored for each role you apply for? You don’t say how many roles you see or apply for, so are you seeing enough out there to keep looking?

[BlueSharp]

What sort of tester? Manual testing is a very undercut market now with the mass movement to automated testing and offshore has picked up the rest.

Putting your cv out is not enough apply for roles as they come up and make a follow-up call as well. Try changing your cv as well to see if you get more response, tailoring your personal statement and last couple of roles to the advert. Don't lie but put emphasis on small parts if you have the experience and it matches.

[paul555]

Thanks all. I am a manual tester with some automation knowledge. But not enough to go for automation roles

I did update my CV but it is basically the same as before. As for applying for roles I typically get a call from an agent about a contract role. They send the details and I tell them to proceed. Then I don't hear anything again. Sometimes I get multiple calls about the same role. But I say I have already been put forward for it.

When you talk about applying for roles there aren't really any to apply for. Total Jobs, LinkedIn and the usual suspects don't have any roles other than old ones posted weeks ago

I guess I should follow up then on roles I get put forward for. But I doubt that will make any difference if the role has gone for whatever reason. I thought it might be a risk going Contract

I'm thinking I will scrap this and go for a Permanent Tester role. I suppose I could learn some automation on the job. Or let me know any ideas of something my skills would transfer to

Will there be any consequences to having the company with zero earning?

[man]

When you talk about applying for roles there aren't really any to apply for. Total Jobs, LinkedIn and the usual suspects don't have any roles other than old ones posted weeks ago

Have you checked Jobserve?

Also, a bit concerned if your updated CV is largely the same as before - mine's significantly different than how it used to look when I was targeting permie work.

[BigDataPro]

Thanks all. I am a manual tester with some automation knowledge. But not enough to go for automation roles
...

I used to be in testing but not any more. So I think I am qualified to say this. I am going to be be brutally honest with you. Manual testing has very very limited scope. Supply is plenty and there is less demand. Unless you are also strong in one or two Business Domains.

Contract testing roles are becoming non-existent / drying up faster. Partly due to outsourcing and the traditional minimal importance it always received than development. There were days when one is put into Testing/QA if their skills were deemed less than an average developer. That thinking still continues and therefore less importance.

There is one area which still has demand for testers is Big Data. I would recommend that you get your hands dirty in Big Data and if possible in Cloud as well. This combination would keep you in business for many more years to come.

If you are planning to learn your first coding language, go with Python. It's easy and it will align with your future business.

[MrButton]

I haven’t seen much dip in the testing market except for manual testing in the last 10 years.

Over the last 5 years I’ve almost always been involved hiring and it’s so difficult to find good QAs mainly in automation. So many bad ones out there that got into it for an easy street.

Most of my clients see testing/QA as one of the most important parts of the delivery team.

Learn some automation/cloud/big data and as much tech as you can. At least know what everything is when quizzed.

Don’t just list every tech you google.

[fool]

I used to be in testing but not any more. So I think I am qualified to say this. I am going to be be brutally honest with you. Manual testing has very very limited scope. Supply is plenty and there is less demand. Unless you are also strong in one or two Business Domains.

Contract testing roles are becoming non-existent / drying up faster. Partly due to outsourcing and the traditional minimal importance it always received than development. There were days when one is put into Testing/QA if their skills were deemed less than an average developer. That thinking still continues and therefore less importance.

There is one area which still has demand for testers is Big Data. I would recommend that you get your hands dirty in Big Data and if possible in Cloud as well. This combination would keep you in business for many more years to come.

If you are planning to learn your first coding language, go with Python. It's easy and it will align with your future business.

This except harsher. OP your skills aren't worth anything. You need to get away from thinking that manual testing is a real role. It isn't. It's simply an excuse for the body shoppers to bill clients for unskilled resources.

You can either move into automation, or try to move into a consulting type gig where you own or manage testing as requirements, but aren't directly responsible for the delivery thereof.

You'll really struggle as a manual tester, and the consultancy type gigs aren't really available to most people.