Advice needed on how to stay ahead of the game and deliver

[bluedeyedboy]

Yes! I've landed my first contract deal getting paid more that I could have dreamt of, but now comes the tough part of delivering and getting extensions!

Having worked for years as a permie getting things done as a project manager through sheer arrogance and an attitude of "I couldn't give a f*** if you did it or didn't" towards everyone, and obviously it took twice as much time to get the simplest task done!

So, here am I getting out of that dreadful situation and starting contracting - now the client wants me to deliver and lay foundation to a 3 year program in 3 months!!! deliver in 3 months? or I get fired!!

I'm sure many here have been in similar situations and learnt a ton of tricks along the way, any advice for a novice contractor?

[stek]

So, here am I getting out of that dreadful situation and starting contracting - now the client wants me to deliver and lay foundation to a 3 year program in 3 months!!! deliver in 3 months? or I get fired!!

Oh dear. Please read the noob stuff on the right. Or the left. One or the other....

[northernladuk]

So, here am I getting out of that dreadful situation and starting contracting - now the client wants me to deliver and lay foundation to a 3 year program in 3 months!!! deliver in 3 months? or I get fired!!

I'm sure many here have been in similar situations and learnt a ton of tricks along the way, any advice for a novice contractor?

Yeah.... contractors don't get fired.

[beaker]

Three months to plan a 3 year programme! Luxury! I've had to do that in 3 weeks!

First, recognise you can't possibly know what will be delivered 3 years time - just guess. Break the whole programme down into work streams, prioritise them, estimate them and plot it all out per quarter first (execs love their 30, 60 and 90 day plans). Then work out a detailed plan for the next 3-6 months. Explain that every quarter the programme plan will be reviewed with the business and re-prioritised depending on business need. You should be able to do all that within a few weeks, especially if you have nothing else to do.

Deliver an early draft to set expectations that you know what you're doing then spend the rest of the time refining and working out dependencies and resourcing etc.

If you can't do this in 3 months you deserve to be terminated! Do it do it.

[beaker]

And remember you live or die by your ability to deliver in this game. Time to toughen up princess...

[kingcook]

So, here am I getting out of that dreadful situation and starting contracting - now the client wants me to deliver and lay foundation to a 3 year program in 3 months!!! deliver in 3 months? or I get fired!!

You're going to get paid tulip loads of money for those 3 months. If you do good work, you'll likely carry on after those 3 months.

Go for it.

[cojak]

And you'd better hope that the people you pee'd off as a permie don't work with you as a contractor.

What goes around comes around.

[Friday Blue]

slightly different angle lookiong at it. now you have 3 months getting paid to find your next contract? which is quite luxury compare to, out of contract and have to find a new one?

but always remember...we work on 7 days notice... dont get confused, 3 months is definitely not the minimum time you can be sure you will stay there.

[nomadd]

Working on the assumption you aren't a sockie/troll/wind-up/etc...

Having worked for years as a permie getting things done as a project manager through sheer arrogance and an attitude of "I couldn't give a f*** if you did it or didn't" towards everyone

Do you still have all your teeth? Clearly you haven't worked with me. Or any other contractors.

So, here am I getting out of that dreadful situation and starting contracting - now the client wants me to deliver and lay foundation to a 3 year program in 3 months!!! deliver in 3 months? or I get fired!!

Luxury.

They want you to lay a foundation in three months, not deliver entire the project in three months. Big difference. Most of us have had to do that sort of thing in far less than three months, and for much larger projects.

I'm sure many here have been in similar situations and learnt a ton of tricks along the way, any advice for a novice contractor?

Simply do what you can in the timescales provided. And do it well.

That might sound stupidly simple, but it's kept me in The Game a long time.

[roadsidetree]

Welcome to contracting. Dont expect anything and always be prepared for the worst.