Do jobs actually exist?

[boredsenseless]

I am told that you can send your CV direct to companies but make sure that they are suitable ones. Some companies do not like direct calls though.

Agree.

Phone the company main switchboard and ask to speak to HR. They'll put you through no bother.

Once in HR just breifly state that you are an IT Consultant looking for work in a particular field, and you understand X are leaders in that area (if you know they have a project you could even drop that in).

Then ask them if it would be possible to send in your CV so that the Project/Resourcing Manager could see if there is a possibility of you and them working together.

Occassionally they'll say yes and give you an address or email. More likely they will give you the name of their preferred supplier agent. Going through this guy greatly increases your chances of getting the role. Many smaller agents actually do this to get the preferred suppliers name, then find the exact match and negotiate with the pref supplier to split the margin. Obviously this lowers your rate so go straight to the person nearest the horses mouth.

[spud]

Thanks chaps, you've given me a lot more ideas and reasons why I'm hitting a brick wall.
I thought having one long contract would be good, well it seems it might be a 2-edged sword as not many would believe that it was with one client as not many permies stay for that long(2.5 years isn't it ). I can split it into fewer large chunks to show mergers.

As to the outsourcing, well it's the reason I'm looking for a job - obviously I was asleep during the buildup and spent more time arguing politics than getting myself out - a permie trait of being too comfortable I think but without the redundancy package!

Luckily I have quite a few years of Oracle/J2ee with a few in .Net too, but I was (misled into?) thinking that outsourcing was making these skills redundant and financially viable and that it was my business skills that were important. Trouble is most BA positions seem to be non-IT.

I will try the direct sell approach now too, can't hurt.

Lucifer, you say you were out of work for a couple of months, what would people say is the normal length of time to be out of short 6 month contracts?

[boredsenseless]

Lucifer, you say you were out of work for a couple of months, what would people say is the normal length of time to be out of short 6 month contracts?

There isn't really a rule, and it depends on demand and skillset. I would be upset if I had been out of work for longer than 4 weeks (unless it was my choice to have a break).

Some people would consider 3 months acceptable. In all honesty it comes down to your financial state-of-health, if you've got the money to be sitting around it really doesn't matter

[tim123]

Because you're not paying them to do that. In fact you're not paying them at all. Why should they bother? There's plenty of square pegs that needing fitting into some other square hole.

This is the opinions of myself and others on this board differes.

I think that they should bother, because they are trying to establish a long term relationship with the client.

They've often gone to a lot of work to get him and if they get a shed-load of job specs from him and fill none of them, they aren't going to keep him.

Tim

[expat]

If these software houses can push the round pegs into the square hole, why can't the contracting agents do likewise

Because a contractor is taken on in order to be an exact match. A software house candidate needn't be, because the software house can then give him backup or training to get his work to the right level. Maybe.

[Arun V]

Remember to offer them the £500 in cash, Spud. If one of them turns up with the goods you will forever have a hold on the agent because I'll bet you a chip to a bagful he will "forget" to mention the payment to both his boss and the taxman.

Lucifer, I never thought of the cash option but seems like a really good one. If I paid them cash then will I be able to put it through the ltd company accounts ?

[Lucifer Box]

Lucifer, I never thought of the cash option but seems like a really good one. If I paid them cash then will I be able to put it through the ltd company accounts ?

Of course. Legitimate service fee. The agent may be too nervous or disorganised to raise an invoice for you, so do it on his behalf as a form of self-billing.

[boredsenseless]

Of course. Legitimate service fee. The agent may be too nervous or disorganised to raise an invoice for you, so do it on his behalf as a form of self-billing.

Its only tha same as any other cost of sale such as travel to customer, pre-sales work etc. Its legitimate from your side, it may not be on theirs but that isn't your lookout.

[Fungus]

Luckily I have quite a few years of Oracle/J2ee with a few in .Net too, but I was (misled into?) thinking that outsourcing was making these skills redundant and financially viable and that it was my business skills that were important. Trouble is most BA positions seem to be non-IT.

I will try the direct sell approach now too, can't hurt.

Lucifer, you say you were out of work for a couple of months, what would people say is the normal length of time to be out of short 6 month contracts?

It sounds like you have good skills.

But you really have to apply for jobs that are a close match to your skill set. My current contract needed XML which I didn't have, but it only took a few days at work to learn the important basics. Generally you can't get a contract in a field that is new to you, but you can gradually shuffle sideways, using your key skills, and gradually learning new ones. In fact I find it easier to learn new stuff in a contract than as a permie. That might be because permie managers were worried that I would learn new skills and then bugger off.

Most contractors I know are in work with almost no breaks, but one who left 3 years ago during the big dip was out of work for over a year, and went to South America to teach English as a foreign language. That was apt as he was a Scot and when he spoke English it did sound like a foreign language. Lord knows what his students sound like. "Och Pedro, stitch thet".

Fungus

[spud]

Well Fungus you're quite right. I've given up trying to be a BA - seems I'm too technical, so will stick to something I know well and sod the outsourcing issue. I'd only kick myself that I didn't stay in it when the Indians don't deliver or they get too expensive.