Do contracts ruin your career?

[SimonMac]

it can do. With only 1 years experience I would say you would find it hard to get contracts as contractors are hired for proven skills in a certain area. In the past I have found I have plateau'd in contracting and have had to go into a permanent role to go to the next level. Now I'm at a quite senior level its easier.

WH/SS

[nomadd]

Tried to leave rep but failed! You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to nomadd again.

It's the thought that counts!

[psychocandy]

Thank you all for you replies.
I worked 1 year in a blue chip doing functional Siebel.
I resigned recently because I was working 68hours/per week. I am pursuing the next similar role. But I want to ask this:

If i go for a 6month contract,just to make some money, and then I want to return into blue chip firms for a permanent role:

1. Maybe the dont like contractors for permenant roles? (They may think you did it once, why not repeat it after a few months?)
2. Do firms consider contracting as unemployment period?
3. If it is not to face any difficulties to get again into permanent roles, I would do it. But do HR managers dont like it if it see you were a contractor?

68 hours. Was this as paid overtime? Otherwise, why? Sod that.

1) Never seen any employer who cares. All they care is what experience you have etc be it in perm role or contract. Only possible issue is they may be put off because you'd be taking a crap permie salary and they may be worried you'll bail as soon as a decent contract comes along.

2) See above.

3) See above.

[minstrel]

Thank you all for you replies.
I worked 1 year in a blue chip doing functional Siebel.
I resigned recently because I was working 68hours/per week. I am pursuing the next similar role. But I want to ask this:

If i go for a 6month contract,just to make some money, and then I want to return into blue chip firms for a permanent role:

1. Maybe the dont like contractors for permenant roles? (They may think you did it once, why not repeat it after a few months?)
2. Do firms consider contracting as unemployment period?
3. If it is not to face any difficulties to get again into permanent roles, I would do it. But do HR managers dont like it if it see you were a contractor?

I'm in Siebel and have 10+ years experience.

You are highly unlikely to get a Siebel contract role with 1 year non-consulting experience.

There are a lot of good Siebel contractors in the market and not many Siebel projects. You will be competing against guys with 4-5 years permie consultancy experience plus several years of contracting.

You say you were working 68 hours/per week. If your employer was forcing you to do this and your only way of dealing with it was resigning without another job lined up, you need to rethink your strategy.

To a prospective employer you just look like someone who quit within a year because they couldn't hack the job.

And 68 hours a week isn't that bad - it's not even 10 hours a day. It's a normal working week for a junior analyst in a big consultancy.

[kingcook]

And 68 hours a week isn't that bad - it's not even 10 hours a day. It's a normal working week for a junior analyst in a big consultancy.

Errrr.....

68 hours per week is 13+ hours per day (assuming 5 day week).

I defo wouldn't want to be working a 7 day/week at 10 hours each day, fook that.

I can see why OP would be pissed off with these hours, but i'd have gone about it a different way (tell them you're not happy with all the extra hours, as last resort wait to be pushed out). I wouldn't just resign.

[psychocandy]

Errrr.....

68 hours per week is 13+ hours per day (assuming 5 day week).

I defo wouldn't want to be working a 7 day/week at 10 hours each day, fook that.

I can see why OP would be pissed off with these hours, but i'd have gone about it a different way (tell them you're not happy with all the extra hours, as last resort wait to be pushed out). I wouldn't just resign.

WHS. Fook that..... Agree though - tell them to stuff the hours and see what happened. Never know might get to work 9-5 for a few months and then get a redundancy payout or something.

You'd have to pay me a LOT of dosh to do that and then I could only do it short term.

Work to live and all that. No way, no way, no way !!!!!

[Wobblyheed]

The simple answer really, is that if you want a career then stay permie and don't darken this forum's doors again!

[minstrel]

Errrr.....

68 hours per week is 13+ hours per day (assuming 5 day week).

I defo wouldn't want to be working a 7 day/week at 10 hours each day, fook that.

I can see why OP would be pissed off with these hours, but i'd have gone about it a different way (tell them you're not happy with all the extra hours, as last resort wait to be pushed out). I wouldn't just resign.

It was slightly tongue in cheek, but those sort of hours are not uncommon for junior guys in consultancies.

I didn't really want to do those sort of hours when I started out, but it was the accepted norm, at least around project go-lives.

I wonder whether there are more facts to the OPs situation than we are being given.

When a permie resigns, someone in HR normally asks the question why. If OP said it was because they were working 68 hours a week I would have thought they would have done something to address the situation. Unless he wasn't that good and they didn't really want to keep him.

OP certainly needs to think about how he deals with his last job at his next interview.

Interviewer: So why did you leave your last job?
OP: Because I had to work 68 hours per week.
Interviewer: And how did you try to resolve this issue?
OP: I quit.

Most employers contract or permie don't particularly want to take on lazy quitters.

[rambaugh]

I find the more experience you get as a contractor the more contacts and relationships you will have built up over time. And if you are an enterprising sort, with good sales skills and some energy behind you this could allow you to more easily expand out of a one-man shop and in to something more. So in effect you have the opportunity to grow your own company as well as build your own career while you're at it.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

1 years experience is nothing. You need at least 4 before you can even consider the idea of contracting and in the current market you would be taking a big risk in doing that as well....