I walked out on 3rd week of 3 month contract

[Branded]

The problem there is the support manager is over-riding the priorities to benefit the managers. That is tulipe management from a support manager. Senior managers are non-productive and most only have personal printers so they can do their eBaying in work time.

- If the support manager is disguising having insufficient staff by giving managers higher priority, there will never be sufficient staff.
- It is the poor support plebs that have to take the tulip off the staff when managers get given top priority.
- Neglecting new starters is devastating for morale. There is the risk they won't stay.

Branded is working for a useless manager, with bone-idle colleagues in an environement that does not even have respect for its new starters.

My first contract was like that. I stuck it for 6 months and, with hindsight, I should have done what Branded did: walked.

THANK YOU.

[Not So Wise]

It is not until you get to the 'reassuringly expensive' rates that the clients start to treat you as a contractor or anything you say with respect. So you've a way to go yet.

Quoted for truth

I just spoke to my agency about what happened this morning and he said, "Gimme your CV right away and we'll see what we can get you". I didn't even ask him about another role yet, I barely finished telling him what happened.

Very clear indication agency/contractors have had problems with this client before. Agents are normally pissed when a contractor walks (lost commission), if they are not it is because they expected it but were hoping to "get lucky"

[Branded]

Maybe you should. All my northern roots do means I call a spade a spade not a digging implement. If my post was dumbed down with namby pampy southern soft talk it would probably start to reflect some of the other opinions on here so I am not really alone in my thoughts. Just a little harsh (and honest?) in my delivery.

Well... I want to say this more clearly.

I did not leave because I had to unbox computers.
I left because the place was chaotic and had no real leadership - it was a step backwards for me. The only people I could ask questions to most of the time were my colleagues who were hardly around.

The unboxing incident was ONLY the last straw because I WAS EXPECTED to do it even though I started it at 11am and it was going to take up until at least 3:30pm to finish it WITHOUT taking a break. I don't care if I have to unbox computers. I was doing that at my previous place. It didn't bother me. I just never had to unbox 50 of them by myself without taking a lunch break while the delivery guy was watching and waiting behind me for 3-4 hours so he could take the boxes with him. Screw that.

You can say that is is not a big deal. But I simply disagree and that it wasn't what I signed up for.

[ruth11]

Well... I want to say this more clearly.

I did not leave because I had to unbox computers.
I left because the place was chaotic and had no real leadership - it was a step backwards for me. The only people I could ask questions to most of the time were my colleagues who were hardly around.

The unboxing incident was ONLY the last straw because I WAS EXPECTED to do it even though I started it at 11am and it was going to take up until at least 3:30pm to finish it WITHOUT taking a break. I don't care if I have to unbox computers. I was doing that at my previous place. It didn't bother me. I just never had to unbox 50 of them by myself without taking a lunch break while the delivery guy was watching and waiting behind me for 3-4 hours so he could take the boxes with him. Screw that.

You can say that is is not a big deal. But I simply disagree and that it wasn't what I signed up for.

TBH, this last comment hasn't helped your image in my mind. I'm 3rd line support and believe me, having done my share of 2nd line, you're there to do the cr@p. Especially as a 2nd line contractor. That's your whole reason for being there - to do the cr@p that the permies don't want to do. The reward is that you get paid more for doing it than they do.
Why do you want leadership? Can you not prioritise your own work? If you rely on someone else telling you what needs to be done and when, I sure hope you're working inside IR35 or through a brolly.

It was a step backwards? What does that mean? A step forward for you would be for you to do such a good job, proactively helping the team you're in to improve, make them see what's wrong. Not walk out because they don't know what they're doing! What do you want as a step forwards? To walk into a professionally smooth running IT department where you won't have to think on your feet because there's a process in place for everything? That's not a step forwards, that a brain dead job that will lead you nowhere. And boring as hell.

Regarding the unboxing of computers in your lunch hour because the delivery guy is waiting for the boxes, where's your problem? You do the work as required - you weren't asked to work through your lunch hour for no reason. If you couldn't get anyone to help, you've got to suck it up and get on with it. Do the work and leave early taking the lunch hour you're owed at the end of the day. Or take your lunch hour when you're done. But you can't expect the delivery guy to wait for you to have your lunch!

How old are you? 12? If this is your attitude to a bit of crap work, it's no wonder you're not 3rd line yet. 3rd liners have to think for themselves and be proactive, you don't sound like you're anywhere near that.

The more professional way to get out of this would have been to give notice and see out your notice period, if you had one. Not throw the toys out of the pram. I suspect it's a little late for that now.

[northernladuk]

TBH, this last comment hasn't helped your image in my mind. I'm 3rd line support and believe me, having done my share of 2nd line, you're there to do the cr@p. Especially as a 2nd line contractor. That's your whole reason for being there - to do the cr@p that the permies don't want to do. The reward is that you get paid more for doing it than they do.
Why do you want leadership? Can you not prioritise your own work? If you rely on someone else telling you what needs to be done and when, I sure hope you're working inside IR35 or through a brolly.

It was a step backwards? What does that mean? A step forward for you would be for you to do such a good job, proactively helping the team you're in to improve, make them see what's wrong. Not walk out because they don't know what they're doing! What do you want as a step forwards? To walk into a professionally smooth running IT department where you won't have to think on your feet because there's a process in place for everything? That's not a step forwards, that a brain dead job that will lead you nowhere. And boring as hell.

Regarding the unboxing of computers in your lunch hour because the delivery guy is waiting for the boxes, where's your problem? You do the work as required - you weren't asked to work through your lunch hour for no reason. If you couldn't get anyone to help, you've got to suck it up and get on with it. Do the work and leave early taking the lunch hour you're owed at the end of the day. Or take your lunch hour when you're done. But you can't expect the delivery guy to wait for you to have your lunch!

How old are you? 12? If this is your attitude to a bit of crap work, it's no wonder you're not 3rd line yet. 3rd liners have to think for themselves and be proactive, you don't sound like you're anywhere near that.

The more professional way to get out of this would have been to give notice and see out your notice period, if you had one. Not throw the toys out of the pram. I suspect it's a little late for that now.

I think I am in love

[eliquant]

Hi all,

I started a few weeks ago on a 3 month contract and was annoyed and disappointed with the role I ended up with.

Stupidly, I signed a contract where I couldn't give notice for the first 3 months and had to carry out the full three months.

But in my defence, the work that I ended up doing was different to my role. I tried to just keep going without getting too worked up but finally had enough today and blew a gasket today and telling them that it wasn't what I signed up for and then left.

I'm a bit worried now and wondering what could happen because I broke the contract.

Do I have any leg to stand on considering the different work that they were getting me to do?

Thanks.

They did that to us at a company that rhymes with Sneuters in London, 3 month notice period and they gave us testing work for 2 months which some Indians got sacked over and we were two C++ developers. We all walked eventually and one guy insisted that he leave by the end of the week when he got a new contract, they didn't do anything to him other than grumble.

[GreenerGrass]

all through my lunch break (from 11am-3pm)

11am-3pm? Cushy, are you French or Spanish?

[wantacontract]

The crucial difference is that you were both PMs benefitting from (a) the unboxing helping your project along at a critical time, and (b) the shop-floor-cred of briefly mucking in with the lads.

I bet that if somebody from a different part of the client had swung by your desk out of the blue and said "Oi mate, before you start on that Gantt chart I've got a job for you down at the warehouse" it would be a different story.

hahaha, good one....that made me chuckle....funnily enough, if I wasn't busy then I wouldn't mind warehouse work....

back to my roots as an engineer! or warehouse picker!

As long as it was just the once!

[wantacontract]

I wanted to say that!

Or, worse yet, "Help Fred in his next workshop by doing the writing on the whiteboard and taking the minutes for his project board meetings" and any PM would walk.

I agree with you, TL: while doing a job way below your job description is fine, doing tasks just below it is demeaning. For a PM, being expected to provide project support for someone else is offensive; for 2nd+ line support then being told to do non-diagnostic support or box-building is offensive.

you're right, that would annoy me...but I would still do it...Fred is obviously useless....

Just think of the money and if you save well enough, you can pay off your mortgage early!

[ruth11]

The point is that NOTHING is "beneath" a 2nd line support contractor. I mean, who else is going to do it? 1st line? I don't think so, they're too busy being tied to their chairs answering the phone, resetting passwords and logging calls. Think yourself lucky you actually get to stand up and move around the place meeting people!
There simply isn't anyone else to do the rubbish. 2nd line contractors are employed to do this - it's their whole purpose in being. The permies are going to throw you the cr@p because they all know you're being paid more than them. Get used to it or go permie where you get to give the cr@p to the contractor. But don't try 3rd line cos it sounds like you will drown with all the thinking you'll have to do and decisions you'll have to make on your own.