The Out-of-work Day...

[greenep]

My first time out of work, looking for contract. Been searching passively (1-2hrs/day) for two weeks now and feeling quite dejected (mainly because of debts looming large).

I'm able to continue for a good few weeks still but want to make sure I'm pushing as much as I should and in the right places.

How long do you spend daily trawling job boards? I'm fielding a couple of agent calls every day, but do you call them up too? How do you motivate yourself to keep going (exercise etc)?

Appreciate you'll have your own special places but where do you trawl and hang out (like here).

Thanks.

[cojak]

At the moment I have to call them up, as my CV seems to disappear into a black hole if I don't.

There are a lot of people out there looking for work too, if you do a bit more than they do it's more likely that your CV will be seen before theirs.

[greenep]

Hmm... I may have to do that. Don't know if I have the mettle for a lot longer on the bench without at least an interview.

[thunderlizard]

Keep it about 2 hours a day, & be more active. Do that in the morning and devote your afternoons to something fun, productive or educational. The thing about bench time is once you make that lucky call, it's gone within 3 days & you don't know when you'll get any again.

[greenep]

Keep it about 2 hours a day, & be more active. Do that in the morning and devote your afternoons to something fun, productive or educational. The thing about bench time is once you make that lucky call, it's gone within 3 days & you don't know when you'll get any again.

Great advice. The two hours are productive, but more and it feels like I'm banging my head against the wall.

[northernladuk]

My first time out of work, looking for contract. Been searching passively (1-2hrs/day) for two weeks now and feeling quite dejected (mainly because of debts looming large).

I'm able to continue for a good few weeks still but want to make sure I'm pushing as much as I should and in the right places.

How long do you spend daily trawling job boards? I'm fielding a couple of agent calls every day, but do you call them up too? How do you motivate yourself to keep going (exercise etc)?

Appreciate you'll have your own special places but where do you trawl and hang out (like here).

Thanks.

Firstly how come you do not have a warchest? I persume when you say it is the first time you have been out of contract it means you have been contracting awhile. Have you made the mistake of spending it all? You should be ready for 2 - 3 months not 2 weeks. There are skilled regular posters on here can boast 4+ months and more. Bit of mis-planning there I think.

I don't know how others think but to me doing the contract is the easy bit, I am skilled at what I do and just apply that skill. The real aspect of being a skilled contractor is to go win the contracts. My real work is this kind of leg work when it matters. When I am not working for a client I am working to get a role and put the same effort in and keep plugging. If you see it as a scarey time that you can't cope with and get demoralized I would say your in the wrong job.

Some people might call all this bulltulip but this is the way I motivate myself when looking for work. THIS is my bread and butter, getting contracts. Hopefully that way I can last a couple of months before I start getting run down and panic.

My real job is logging on the jobsites every few hours. Not once a day. There was a time where within an hour the agents got 100+ replies, not sure what the market is now but I had the site on refresh so I was one of the first in. A job posted at 10am was dead by 4. It also filled my day so I didn't feel lost and waste my days aimlessly as well.

I am sure someone will say I am talking out of my arse but it was how I saw it and it is a mindset that kept me motivated. to be fair the longest period I have been out in two years was 6 weeks and yes it got harder so hats off to the guys that see it through for months. I did however make sure I had the cash to see it through so that was a major worry off my plate. Maybe you need to consider this next time you get a contract.

[greenep]

Firstly how come you do not have a warchest? I persume when you say it is the first time you have been out of contract it means you have been contracting awhile. Have you made the mistake of spending it all? You should be ready for 2 - 3 months not 2 weeks. There are skilled regular posters on here can boast 4+ months and more. Bit of mis-planning there I think.

Yes, I do have money to bridge the gap. My wall is in about 3 months.

You are clearly highly motivated which is great. My mind is currently full of 'what ifs' in case I get to that wall. As it's my first time contracting I want to make sure I'm doing all I can and the right things, and am not missing a trick.

[brocky]

Firstly how come you do not have a warchest? I persume when you say it is the first time you have been out of contract it means you have been contracting awhile. Have you made the mistake of spending it all? You should be ready for 2 - 3 months not 2 weeks. There are skilled regular posters on here can boast 4+ months and more. Bit of mis-planning there I think.

Think you've misread here, he said he's been out of work 2 week and has enough money to last 'a good few weeks'.

Agree with the checking every few hours comments and I'd go further to suggest getting an iPhone or similar and downloading job search engine apps, that way you can check whilst on the bus or on the loo! You'll find that you give it a quick check on a very regular basis!

[northernladuk]

Think you've misread here, he said he's been out of work 2 week and has enough money to last 'a good few weeks'.

Agree with the checking every few hours comments and I'd go further to suggest getting an iPhone or similar and downloading job search engine apps, that way you can check whilst on the bus or on the loo! You'll find that you give it a quick check on a very regular basis!

Ah my apologies you are right, the line that struck me was '(mainly because of debts looming large).' Again 2 weeks + a good few weeks doesn't seem to be much more than a month to two months. This still shouldn't be a problem with a good warchest. It doesn't take long with proper planning to get 2 months + stuffed away at a minimum

[curtis]

I tend to search for jobs around mid morning that way I catch any new ones that came in late the day before and that morning. Then I check again mid afternoon. Sometimes I might check lunchtime aswell depending on what I am doing.

Other than that I just get on with all the stuff I normally sit at work wishing I could be doing instead. As someone else said you can be back at work very soon after just one call and thats it over.

I was out of work the end of June I had loads planned and was quite looking forward to it, 4 days later I had a call and 2days later I was in a new job, great to get another job but at the same time a tiny bit gutted it was so soon!!