how long do you typically stay on a contract?

[hugebrain]

which bit?
"just do a stint and don't get renewed"

or
"Delivered on time and in budget"

Well if they hired you for three months at an agreed rate then both are definitely true.

If you got canned then “delivered ahead of schedule and under budget” might be more appropriate..

[ladymuck]

There are some industries where they think that longevity means you're good and multiple short contracts indicates you're not. Assuming you're not crap and have literally gone in, done the job, and got out like the SAS then it can be hard to explain that to managers who have a permanent mindset.

Writing your CV to read more like a portfolio of work rather than a series of jobs might help. Focus on describing outcomes rather than a list of tasks.

[lecyclist]

These days, usually a year to 18 months (the time required in my area to deliver a substantial milestone to production), with 6 months or less typically being POC territory. It takes time to cultivate trust with the client to optimise work-life balance, so pragmatically I accept the longer contracts.

For about 10 years my average was around 8 months, as I liked to take 4 - 6 months off between every contract. Very common in my network.

[anonymouse]

As long as the client wants me I'll stay, some 3/6 months, but current one is 2 years and just starting another 12 month, with possibility of another after that (WFH and money for old rope type of gig)

[CheeseSlice]

No trend here.. 10 months, 6 months, 3 months, 1.5 years, and so on.

I won't get out of bed for less than 3 months apart from one time when I did 5 weeks to fill a gap between the previous contract and a big holiday

[Lance]

No trend here.. 10 months, 6 months, 3 months, 1.5 years, and so on.

I won't get out of bed for less than 3 months apart from one time when I did 5 weeks to fill a gap between the previous contract and a big holiday

really?

Surely short term gigs are the best? You can charge a premium, and it will likely be a small client, so direct, outside and strong chance of repeat small project work.

[PCTNN]

Yeah but I'm having hard time explaining it to the interviewers

In my experience the problem hardly ever is the end client. Most of them seem to have a better grasp of the real world. The problem is with agents; unsurprisingly they're not the sharpest tools in the shed.

[PerfectStorm]

really?

Surely short term gigs are the best? You can charge a premium, and it will likely be a small client, so direct, outside and strong chance of repeat small project work.

Indeed, I love (advertised as) short gigs - they almost always extend, and if they're rubbish, you've got a pre-agreed out.

And of course, long contracts can just as easily end early.

[SussexSeagull]

Oddly the longest (2 and a bit years) contract I did was one of my biggest miatakes. It was quite good money and local but the work was fairly basic and I should have knocked it on the head a renewal or two back. Granted it ended round about the time of the EU Referendum but I had more longest stint out of contract afterwards as I think it was a milestone on my CV.

[dranzer01]

My Longest was 18 months , my shortest was 3 months (that was because of them doing a standard dbs check which revealed certain things), averagely it around 6-10 months