Disaster First Contract

[Femster]

In short, I left my permanent job of around £60k fir a contract role of £350pd outside IR35. Everything seemed good and I had read through the job spec and it all matched with everything I had done throughout my career in a consultancy.

Fast forward about 6 weeks later multiple issues:
1. the job spec was not what was given or interviewed for
2. the work culture is terrible with multiple PMs who just shout dates without realistic ideas of how the work is supposed to be done. All the processes set up are wrong and the timeframes are unrealistic but no one wants to admit it and pull the plug or slow down to rejig.
3. I am just getting slaughtered for trying to point out the true reality and that the end client will pick up on anything forced through.

I am at the point of just of leaving but obviously cannot afford to just be done and out of work for a long time.

I'm sure people have maybe had this experience before so any advice would be helpful.

[jamesbrown]

You have a fairly simple choice. Either you get your head down, ignore the politics, deliver to the best of your ability without making a fuss or whining too much and watch the project fail - because it will fail, regardless of your actions, if it's structurally flawed or the people running it are idiots - or you look for another contract and then leave. However, bear in mind that this will not be a unique experience in your contracting career, if you stick with it. If you expect every client relationship to be easy or "not a disaster", then perhaps contracting is not for you. Ditching clients when things are hard is generally not a good business decision, so it just depends on how hard/ridiculous the situation is. It will get better, not all clients are like this, but you need to be mentally ready for clients that are like this. As an aside, pointing out the weaknesses in a project is perfectly reasonable and professional when the client is receptive to hearing them but, once they aren't, it's no longer on you and you need to "let go".

[Femster]

You have a fairly simple choice. Either you get your head down, ignore the politics, deliver to the best of your ability without making a fuss or whining too much and watch the project fail - because it will fail, regardless of your actions, if it's structurally flawed or the people running it are idiots - or you look for another contract and then leave. However, bear in mind that this will not be a unique experience in your contracting career, if you stick with it. If you expect every client relationship to be easy or "not a disaster", then perhaps contracting is not for you. Ditching clients when things are hard is generally not a good business decision, so it just depends on how hard/ridiculous the situation is. It will get better, not all clients are like this, but you need to be mentally ready for clients that are like this. As an aside, pointing out the weaknesses in a project is perfectly reasonable and professional when the client is receptive to hearing them but, once they aren't, it's no longer on you and you need to "let go".

Thanks jamesbrown
I have accepted not every client will be great as you explained, being from a consultancy background you can imagine the kind of projects you get thrown on sometimes just to help out even if your skills do not match.

But as you said, every time I get asked for something unrealistic at now I am making sure I add the words "are you sure you want it this way" or "you know this opens us up to all sorts of trouble".

Appreciate the advice, it helps a lot.

[mudskipper]

In short, I left my permanent job of around £60k fir a contract role of £350pd outside IR35.

Probably not what you want to hear, and not directly related to your question but £350 is a pretty low rate for someone who was earning £60k - probably a good idea to research what you should be charging.

[jamesbrown]

Thanks jamesbrown
I have accepted not every client will be great as you explained, being from a consultancy background you can imagine the kind of projects you get thrown on sometimes just to help out even if your skills do not match.

But as you said, every time I get asked for something unrealistic at now I am making sure I add the words "are you sure you want it this way" or "you know this opens us up to all sorts of trouble".

Appreciate the advice, it helps a lot.

Yeah, understood, sometimes it's hard to let go as a diligent professional, but once you've done that mentally, it should be easier (not enjoyable, of course). Some clients are unsalvageable, and this won't be your only experience of them, but you should try to stick with them (up to a point - and only you can really judge that point).

[jamesbrown]

Probably not what you want to hear, and not directly related to your question but £350 is a pretty low rate for someone who was earning £60k - probably a good idea to research what you should be charging.

This is a good point and could be a reason for a difference in expectations. It can be hard to know what you're worth when you first start out.

[malvolio]

The trick is to remember that you are there to deliver a service. If it all goes to hell - as this one seems about to - then you walk away once your contract is over or when you can stand it no longer or you get binned on some pretext. Yes it hurts, but it is not your failure.

Been there, done that - ranging from a PM demanding a project plan to deliver a result in three days effort (the work needed at least two weeks...) to having an expensive proposal simply ignored in favour of some idiot's DIY design that would never work (he ignored the people who would operate it and got fired when he failed to implement it).

However, the other side of that coin is that if the role does not align to the one you interviewed for and/or the contract schedule you signed, then you complain about that, not the work itself, and either get it changed or leave.

The biggest change in perm to contract thinking is realising you are no longer a part of the client organisation and while you will always do the best job you can, it's not your problem if the client is too stupid to use you properly.

[vwdan]

Probably not what you want to hear, and not directly related to your question but £350 is a pretty low rate for someone who was earning £60k - probably a good idea to research what you should be charging.

Yep, that was my immediate thought. I was pitching £350 p/d when I first started, and that was stepping out from ~£40k job

[PCTNN]

In short, I left my permanent job of around £60k fir a contract role of £350pd outside IR35. Everything seemed good and I had read through the job spec and it all matched with everything I had done throughout my career in a consultancy.

Fast forward about 6 weeks later multiple issues:
1. the job spec was not what was given or interviewed for
2. the work culture is terrible with multiple PMs who just shout dates without realistic ideas of how the work is supposed to be done. All the processes set up are wrong and the timeframes are unrealistic but no one wants to admit it and pull the plug or slow down to rejig.
3. I am just getting slaughtered for trying to point out the true reality and that the end client will pick up on anything forced through.

I am at the point of just of leaving but obviously cannot afford to just be done and out of work for a long time.

I'm sure people have maybe had this experience before so any advice would be helpful.

At the end of the day there are only 2 things that matter:

- are you delivering to the best of your ability, given the context you're in?
- are your invoices getting paid?

If it's a yes to both, then I don't see the problem.

[Femster]

Yep, that was my immediate thought. I was pitching £350 p/d when I first started, and that was stepping out from ~£40k job

To be honest it is nearer £400p/d but maybe I didn't calculate it correctly. But speaking to accountant as advised by many it seems I would walk out with the same monthly salary with 2 and a half weeks of work. But then again I could be very wrong.