Anyone Worried?

[Scruff]

Don't forget to put on your CompoFace!

[SussexSeagull]

If I had the money/time/intelligence and opportunity a bit of post-graduate study sounds like a fair way to sit the next year out.

[GhostofTarbera]

I documented my job offer saga elsewhere in this forum.

Basically I was offered a permie job in March, I got all the paperwork in May then they turned round and said they would no longer hire me. It's currently edging towards an employment tribunal [if anyone else is in the same situation you can generally sue for breach of contract - imagine how much it would have sucked had I left a job then discovered I was un-furloughable].

I had one other interview since, but they didn't send me the video conference invite, then got a sarky email when I didn't show up on the call. I should have sued them too.

I've had occasional agent phone calls, but less than one a fortnight. The calls are mostly for places in the middle of nowhere, or companies that are insisting on everyone works in the office (not sure I like the sound of that).

I'm in C#. Or rather I was. I've now been offered a place on a masters course which means I have a year of relative certainty .

Wow you must be good at golf


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

[DrGUID]

I documented my job offer saga elsewhere in this forum.

Basically I was offered a permie job in March, I got all the paperwork in May then they turned round and said they would no longer hire me. It's currently edging towards an employment tribunal [if anyone else is in the same situation you can generally sue for breach of contract - imagine how much it would have sucked had I left a job then discovered I was un-furloughable].

I had one other interview since, but they didn't send me the video conference invite, then got a sarky email when I didn't show up on the call. I should have sued them too.

I've had occasional agent phone calls, but less than one a fortnight. The calls are mostly for places in the middle of nowhere, or companies that are insisting on everyone works in the office (not sure I like the sound of that).

I'm in C#. Or rather I was. I've now been offered a place on a masters course which means I have a year of relative certainty .

[SussexSeagull]

To be honest to not be worried to a certain degree would be deeply illogical at the moment. We genuinely don't know the size and length of recession and recovery we are going to face because the situation is unprecedented.

That said the contracting industry has apparently been over several times before and it seems to rumble on. The romantic in me hopes the ones happy to sit behind the same desk for years on end migrate into permanent employment leaving those of us happy to travel to the other end of the country during the week for several months before shaking hands and doing it again somewhere else but we shall see.

[northernladuk]

Yes I am worried

It's a worrying trend.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Yes I am worried

[David71]

Have you been on G-Cloud before? I have been for 4 years through my own limited company and for 3 years before that I managed the G-Cloud sourcing and application for one of the Big-4 (as well as doing the day job -- why employ 2 people when one can work twice as hard for the same pay?)

I have to say G-Cloud is the hardest framework to make money out of; every opp is massively competitive and without lots of resources you will get "selected-out" almost every time. Even if you get through you then hit the TCS wall and realise that your lowest possible break-even rate is higher than their top-rate (of ocurse they then change control you to hell)

One tip if you do it, make sure you price in hours, and make sure your minimum "gig-length" is set to an hour. This means you always show up in the front pages of the "cheaper resources" and so don't get arbitrarily cut from the process because your daily rate (or minimum contract length) is too high. Equally put in some really strange offering that allows you to charge the earth so if you get the opportunity to charge more you can take it (once you've set your min-max you can't quote more or less even if you and the client agree)

First time applying for G-Cloud; been on Digital Specialists for a couple of years. I've not got anything from DOS yet but I'm also on the NEPRO framework and I've just been awarded my second contract through them.

As far as G-Cloud, I'm putting my company forward more as a consultancy than a 'bum on seat' which is how I've been working for the last few years; hopefully this will pay off but we'll see

[Old Greg]

To answer the OP - everyone is worried since COVID, actually even before COVID market was already FUBAR

• permies are worried around rubbish pay, no bonus and redundancy
• contactors in contract are worried about getting renewed
• contractor out of contract are worried about finding the next one

I am reflecting on the fact the last time I got a contract without a 'connection' at a client was 2014.
That was therefore the last time an agency was really of use to me.

By the grace of god I found one golden connection (from a ski trip of all things) and that has mushroomed into 3/4 good connections.

I have stayed in touch with a few trusted agencies since then (to test market and for options) and that resulted probably 10 solid leads in that whole time and one offer on a terrible rate.

Most of stuff from outside that circle has been pure garbage, fishing or worse.

I have once got a contract via an agency (about 2010). All others have been through contracts or former clients. Maybe that is because I work across a range of roles / skillsets in a single sector. Maybe if you have a specific skillset but could work across any sector, it's different.

[hungry_hog]

To answer the OP - everyone is worried since COVID, actually even before COVID market was already FUBAR

• permies are worried around rubbish pay, no bonus and redundancy
• contactors in contract are worried about getting renewed
• contractor out of contract are worried about finding the next one

I am reflecting on the fact the last time I got a contract without a 'connection' at a client was 2014.
That was therefore the last time an agency was really of use to me.

By the grace of god I found one golden connection (from a ski trip of all things) and that has mushroomed into 3/4 good connections.

I have stayed in touch with a few trusted agencies since then (to test market and for options) and that resulted probably 10 solid leads in that whole time and one offer on a terrible rate.

Most of stuff from outside that circle has been pure garbage, fishing or worse.