My phone nearly rang off the hook yesterday....

[PaulCD]

I must have had about a dozen calls yesterday.

Maybe there's a bit of an upturn on the horizon?

I've been offered an interview for a permy role in a couple of weeks time too. Had a phone call at 8:15am!

Bring on the next gig...hopefully.

[slockyer]

Wow - I'm very pleased for you and will be sitting by my phone in anticipation. So far I have been getting maybe 1 or 2 fishing calls a week but that is it.

Let's hope this is a change - do you have a specific skill set?

[pzz76077]

Wonder why

Do you recall doing anything special like marketing yourself differently recently that may account for this unexpected result??

[GardenGirl]

I wouldn't get too excited I had a day like this two weeks ago and got 1 interview out of it and no job, i just think recruitment agents are like buses!

[PaulCD]

I haven't done anything differently of late. My CV is 'out there' as it always is but it was a busy day for calls.

Time will tell if any of them result in a new gig interview.

[gingerjedi]

I think the days of walking out of an interview with the 'got it' gut feeling are long gone, I used to get a call from an agent on a Friday asking if I could start on the Monday without interview or in other cases the interview would be just a formality so the client could see your face before the start date.

I applied for a role that had been advertised for 2 days only to be told I was too late for CV submission, another role which I interviewed for last Wednesday which I was sure I had seems to have come to nothing.

I'm getting used to the phone calls from eager agents who build up a role and tell you that you're the perfect fit only for them to ignore all subsequent calls.

The wife is giving me a hard time about it too It's not for the want of trying but she doesn't seem to realise that even the worst case scenario stopgap gigs are few and far between with fierce competition.

[expat]

I think the days of walking out of an interview with the 'got it' gut feeling are long gone, I used to get a call from an agent on a Friday asking if I could start on the Monday without interview or in other cases the interview would be just a formality so the client could see your face before the start date.

I applied for a role that had been advertised for 2 days only to be told I was too late for CV submission, another role which I interviewed for last Wednesday which I was sure I had seems to have come to nothing.

I'm getting used to the phone calls from eager agents who build up a role and tell you that you're the perfect fit only for them to ignore all subsequent calls.

The wife is giving me a hard time about it too It's not for the want of trying but she doesn't seem to realise that even the worst case scenario stopgap gigs are few and far between with fierce competition.

I'm getting the same feeling from agents.

I'm also getting the same feeling from my partner She doesn't get it that it works that way, that I will get a contract sometime, and I'm OK for quite a few months yet. My bench is making her miserable, and that's making me miserable.

[denver2k]

OK Im single and dont exactly know what you guys are going through.

But does your OH work? Are they Permies and dont know Pros and Cons of contracting.

To be honest mate, thats wat contracting is all about. If someone is up to contracting he/she should always be ready for benched time for several months. And thats the basic difference b/w a Permie and Contractor.

Its just coz of few good years, ppl are quite used to having contracts without having any gaps and thats what changed their mindset. Its not always the same. If all would be that easy, every Permie would also become a contractor.

You cant expect anyway to earn £XXX daily rate for 12 months of the year. Contractor should be prepared to have work 6-9 months/year and anything else would be a bonus.

Tell OH, Its a business and businesses face good and bad times. Difference b/w a permie and contractor is just resilience and patience.

[gingerjedi]

OK Im single and dont exactly know what you guys are going through.

But does your OH work? Are they Permies and dont know Pros and Cons of contracting.

To be honest mate, thats wat contracting is all about. If someone is up to contracting he/she should always be ready for benched time for several months. And thats the basic difference b/w a Permie and Contractor.

Its just coz of few good years, ppl are quite used to having contracts without having any gaps and thats what changed their mindset. Its not always the same. If all would be that easy, every Permie would also become a contractor.

You cant expect anyway to earn £XXX daily rate for 12 months of the year. Contractor should be prepared to have work 6-9 months/year and anything else would be a bonus.

Tell OH, Its a business and businesses face good and bad times. Difference b/w a permie and contractor is just resilience and patience.

I'm a 2nd/3rd line support guy, the rates over the past few years have been barely better then perm so working 6 months of the year isn't an option, If I could command £400pd then obviously it would! You’d be surprised how many support people turned to contracting purely because the pay was little better than perm, probably more of a reflection on how badly paid perm work is rather than personal greed and of course the big players love having the expertise without the hassle of employing someone.

It's all bad timing for me as my wife gave up her £30k job to have our daughter and she's only just gone back to work part time at the local council which was mainly to get her out the house and help out with the bills, we never thought we'd have to survive on her wage alone.

I know I have to take the rough with the smooth as a contractor but the market is so dead the gigs I previously balked at just aren't there, also every contract opportunity I see is being chased by 50+ other people if you believe the agents.

[cojak]

I'm a 2nd/3rd line support guy, the rates over the past few years have been barely better then perm so working 6 months of the year isn't an option, If I could command £400pd then obviously it would! You’d be surprised how many support people turned to contracting purely because the pay was little better than perm, probably more of a reflection on how badly paid perm work is rather than personal greed and of course the big players love having the expertise without the hassle of employing someone.

It's all bad timing for me as my wife gave up her £30k job to have our daughter and she's only just gone back to work part time at the local council which was mainly to get her out the house and help out with the bills, we never thought we'd have to survive on her wage alone.

I know I have to take the rough with the smooth as a contractor but the market is so dead the gigs I previously balked at just aren't there, also every contract opportunity I see is being chased by 50+ other people if you believe the agents.

You really will have to get reskilled/refocussed gj, you and your situation are beginning to niggle me (in a matey way, obv... ).

PM me with your CV and we'll see what other jobs are out there for you - it's not as if you're too busy to do a bit of googling/reading at the moment...