Curious one, don't know how this will pan out

[Sailaway]

I've just been on a gig and had a lot of extensions there.
I was told my contract would not be renewed so I started to put the feelers out for other opportunities.
I was then called into the office 2 weeks before the end of my contract, and told that they were working towards a further extension (PM just had to do her justification for me).
Then in my 'last' week of contract I'm told the powers that be are not signing off any extensions for contractors and therefore I would not be extended.

So my advise is to start looking around if you get extended all well and good, but if you don't you've already started the groundwork and won't be left wishing you'd started looking around earlier

[nomadd]

I've just been on a gig and had a lot of extensions there.
I was told my contract would not be renewed so I started to put the feelers out for other opportunities.
I was then called into the office 2 weeks before the end of my contract, and told that they were working towards a further extension (PM just had to do her justification for me).
Then in my 'last' week of contract I'm told the powers that be are not signing off any extensions for contractors and therefore I would not be extended.

So my advise is to start looking around if you get extended all well and good, but if you don't you've already started the groundwork and won't be left wishing you'd started looking around earlier

WHS.

Sailed through 3 renewals at my last gig. PM thought myself and the other contractor would sail through the next 3. Senior Bean Counters had other ideas: no contractors from this point forward. We were both let go, along with all the other contractors on the other projects in-house. Such is the life of a contractor.

On the flip side, I was talking to one of the permies at my current gig. They have a lot of work on but have only just got a team together. Permie tells me they had a team in place 6 months ago, all contractors, but they were "credit crunched" (i.e. all let go.)

That's the way the market is these days. Best to always expect the worst and keep your eyes peeled for any new opportunities.

Nomadd

[dang65]

Well, just to wrap this up... got official "No renewal" confirmation from all parties today. Better start looking, I suppose! Really looking forward to a change now though, even if it's the bench for a bit.

[SuperZ]

Find out, using the technique of asking. Better, ask the team manager if he'd like you to sort it out for him, then track back through their organisation and find out how to get things running again.

No, personally I`d just make it clear to the manager that you have been told officially that you won`t be renewed and that if they want you to stay then they had better start sorting things out fast. You also start looking now for something else and make them away of it.

You`re a contractor there to provide a service for as long as they require you to. When you`ve been told "no", you don`t start going through the organisation trying to sort out your own extension, that`s for them to do (your manager). You make the situation clear to those it involved and it`s up to them to sort it out if they need and want you to stay.

Personally I`d have a lower opinion of a contractor running round trying to sort out their own extension.

In the current market I`ve seen contractor work just ditched because there was no funding available and no permies available to hand the work over to either!

[BlasterBates]

Project managers have an infinite amount of work. Ideally they would like an infinitely large team. It is the bean counters that decide how much they can do. I would start looking, it is normal for a PM to want to renew you even as the bean counters chop the budget.

[dang65]

You're a contractor there to provide a service for as long as they require you to. When you`ve been told "no", you don't start going through the organisation trying to sort out your own extension, that's for them to do (your manager). You make the situation clear to those involved and it's up to them to sort it out if they need and want you to stay.

Personally I'd have a lower opinion of a contractor running round trying to sort out their own extension.

Really? I'd say that I am a business looking for customers and that I would do everything possible to retain my existing clients and extend a good contract as far as is reasonably possible. Where does "opinion" come into it? (I mean, assuming the contractor isn't on his knees begging, of course.)

The situation here was that the Project Manager/Team Leader was not aware that the bean counters had pulled the plug. He has now lost two out of three developers, keeping one permie who has only just started work here (albeit that he is very good). No one is indispensable; it's just going to be a bit awkward for him for a while. He's still saying that there will probably be work for us in future, and I wouldn't be surprised to get a call a couple of months down the line, but for now it's officially end of contract and there's nothing I can do about that and I'm fine with it. But if there was something I could do then I would.

[alreadypacked]

Really? I'd say that I am a business looking for customers and that I would do everything possible to retain my existing clients and extend a good contract as far as is reasonably possible. Where does "opinion" come into it? (I mean, assuming the contractor isn't on his knees begging, of course.)

The situation here was that the Project Manager/Team Leader was not aware that the bean counters had pulled the plug. He has now lost two out of three developers, keeping one permie who has only just started work here (albeit that he is very good). No one is indispensable; it's just going to be a bit awkward for him for a while. He's still saying that there will probably be work for us in future, and I wouldn't be surprised to get a call a couple of months down the line, but for now it's officially end of contract and there's nothing I can do about that and I'm fine with it. But if there was something I could do then I would.

Don't forget to ask him for a referance before you go