State of Contract Market in London

[lansing]

Hi,

I'm a Senior Java Developer (with 12 years' experience) looking for a 3-6 month contract in London. Could anybody describe the state of the contract market at the moment? I haven't had a single interview in 2 weeks. I've applied for a couple of jobs on JobServe but didn't get a response on either even though I have the skills they were looking for. I've also sent my CV to a couple of agencies, one them called me but hasn't put me forward for any roles, the other didn't call me at all.

I've had my CV checked over by a recruiter here (Dublin), she thinks it's looks great, I don't understand the lack of interest. Is the market bad or am I talking to the wrong people? On that note can anybody recommend some good recruitment agencies?

thanks

[Sockpuppet]

Change your location to London on your CV and get a UK payg mobile number. I suspect a lot of people can't be arsed as they think your in Ireland.

[Mehmeh]

WHS

Market is great in london for C# devs, so I imagine it's the same for java

[ddaft]

There are bits and pieces around but it's not great. I do know people who are still landing offers at banks but there is a lot more competition as fewer roles. Should hopefully pick up in the new year providing economic armageddon doesn't strike!

[anothercodemonkey]

I'd say that the London market isn't great. This is banking so other sectors might not be so bad. A lot of places have hiring freezes or budget problems. HFT seems to be quite a hot area still.

Personally, I spent a bit of enforced time out before landing a new one which I am due to start in a few weeks time. There are contracts out there but there is more competition.

Good luck with the job hunt!

p.s. agree with the advice about getting a UK number. Maybe do SkypeIn - you can get a number which looks like a UK landline for $6 a month.

[oliverson]

I'm a .NET developer working the banks in London and I can honestly say this is THE worst period I've ever seen. I've had benchtime in the past but opportunities and interviews were always present. I wouldn't like to be in the market right now. Met up with an agent friend a couple of weeks ago and he was saying how bad it is. He has one or two candidates who have received offers but that's as far as it gets. Grim.

[ddaft]

The guys I know that have landed stuff recently have done it direct with onsite recruiters at banks rather than through agencies (although often they are outsourced hays/resource solutions etc anyway though). With so few roles around they can probably afford to cut out the agents at the moment. Maybe do a search on linkedin for onsite recruiters at some of the banks.

[lansing]

Thanks for your help guys. Good point about getting a UK phone, they're probably not taking me seriously as I'm still based in Ireland. I don't have any banking experience so it doesn't seem like a good time to try and get my foot in that door.

[Bumfluff]

I've only ever contracted in London and to be honest market is the worse I've seen it in years, a lot of the banks have recruitment freezes including permy and contract, rate cuts including be asked to agree to a rate cut in 6 months time, or big squeeze on rates, its the 4th qtr now and most of the budgets have run out to. I've gone from having options of what offer to take to having to take what I can get and nothing through agents its all been direct.

[lamboman]

The market is dead right now do not believe anyone who says otherwise.