Getting my first contract

[farout117]

I'm in a similar situation in that I'm looking for my first contract after being made redundant (service management/ITIL area rather than technical roles). I've been looking for just over two months so far, although I must admit to start with I was only looking rather half heartedly.

The thing that has surprised me is how short the application windows are. I used to search the job sites/here every couple of days, but it appears some roles are only open for a day, two at most. I think the record was 16 hours (posted at 16:00 and closed at 08:00), so I now search once in the morning and again late afternoon.

I am searching every morning for 2 Days, so that if I missed something in the afternoon, I will get it in the morning. I also have an alert once a contract is put online.

[fraymond]

Well actually this technical test was for a quite renowned company I had found directly, was not through an agency. They just said that they will send me an online test, so I though I could give it a shot. They did not even bother calling me to see what I can do.

Some clever IT coder came up with the idea of an online test for recruiting their own skillset.

(the advanced ones even have the candidate write code on the website, it's compiled and run and the logarithmic performance of the algos are measured for candidate comparions....)

Anyhow, I see this as a significant step towards reducing rates and devaluing the worth of non "010101010" skills, like how to talk to an end user. Something which I don't wish to participate in nor further.

[Scrag Meister]

Hi all,

So I recently moved to London, and am searching for my first contract. However I am hardly getting any calls. I have read through the forum and I have tailored my CV to the different roles I am applying, and my daily rate is a normal one for development, ie not asking for a lot of money.

I have been applying on job boards mainly, jobserve, cwjobs, ITjobboard and the search in this website.

Is it a case of a bad market at the moment? Should I wait for another couple of weeks and then start applying for a perm role?

How long have you been looking?

It took me 3 months to land my first contract after finishing my last permie job.

Once you get it, start saving hard so you are ready for the next time you are out of contract.

GL.

[farout117]

How long have you been looking?

It took me 3 months to land my first contract after finishing my last permie job.

Once you get it, start saving hard so you are ready for the next time you are out of contract.

GL.

I have been looking for 2 weeks now, still early days I guess

[Anubis]

Contracts come in waves - sometimes it can take days, others months. Mentally it can get you down, you can start questioning yourself and you just have the believe in your abilities (but obviously be realistic). There are a lot of chancers out there applying for anything and everything under the sun; the agencies and their systems have to get through them to determine who is suitable.

2 weeks is considered fairly early days. Contracting often means to a line manager "I need someone now!", so the roles can come and go very quickly (usually 2-3 days). A lot of it is luck tbh; but experienced contractors know you can help yourself and make your own luck using contacts, changing CV, being flexible about rates and locations, etc.

One thing I will say is that you should always have a warchest so you can live on when out of work - hence why you get paid a lot more than permies. Contracting is 100% a lifestyle choice - you have to take the good with the bad; even top notch heavily experienced contractors find themselves out of work at times. A lot of permies think it's a case of coming in, making loads of money and repeating it over and over; sure you can do this (esp when times are good) but there are also downtimes and lack of security that goes with it.

There are lots of factors about not getting a job; the role was pulled last minute, CV fishing by agencies (role never existed), it was filled internally and contractors where a last minute backup, etc, etc. It can mess you up mentally if your inexperienced as you don't know what goes on, if it is normal, etc.

Hang in there but know when to draw the line. Be honest and always see yourself as a business - not a full time employee. They have a job that needs completing and they pay someone to do it - the end. Avoid the office politics, internal testing, etc - if they want you they'll pay for you (if you're within acceptable market rates).

It also depends on your skillset, location, experience, etc. As a lot of folks here have said there are already experienced contractors going for the same roles - looking from the hiring manager who just needs to get the job done, who is going to get it? The person that can prove they can do it best for a decent price.

Some areas of IT will be in hot demand and others means there are too many candidates wanting the job hence driving down rates. It can switch over the course of weeks / months so later in the year you may be in demand more.

Welcome to the world of contracting.

[farout117]

Contracts come in waves - sometimes it can take days, others months. Mentally it can get you down, you can start questioning yourself and you just have the believe in your abilities (but obviously be realistic). There are a lot of chancers out there applying for anything and everything under the sun; the agencies and their systems have to get through them to determine who is suitable.

2 weeks is considered fairly early days. Contracting often means to a line manager "I need someone now!", so the roles can come and go very quickly (usually 2-3 days). A lot of it is luck tbh; but experienced contractors know you can help yourself and make your own luck using contacts, changing CV, being flexible about rates and locations, etc.

One thing I will say is that you should always have a warchest so you can live on when out of work - hence why you get paid a lot more than permies. Contracting is 100% a lifestyle choice - you have to take the good with the bad; even top notch heavily experienced contractors find themselves out of work at times. A lot of permies think it's a case of coming in, making loads of money and repeating it over and over; sure you can do this (esp when times are good) but there are also downtimes and lack of security that goes with it.

There are lots of factors about not getting a job; the role was pulled last minute, CV fishing by agencies (role never existed), it was filled internally and contractors where a last minute backup, etc, etc. It can mess you up mentally if your inexperienced as you don't know what goes on, if it is normal, etc.

Hang in there but know when to draw the line. Be honest and always see yourself as a business - not a full time employee. They have a job that needs completing and they pay someone to do it - the end. Avoid the office politics, internal testing, etc - if they want you they'll pay for you (if you're within acceptable market rates).

It also depends on your skillset, location, experience, etc. As a lot of folks here have said there are already experienced contractors going for the same roles - looking from the hiring manager who just needs to get the job done, who is going to get it? The person that can prove they can do it best for a decent price.

Some areas of IT will be in hot demand and others means there are too many candidates wanting the job hence driving down rates. It can switch over the course of weeks / months so later in the year you may be in demand more.

Welcome to the world of contracting.

Hi Anubis, thanks for your reply.

Just to make it a bit more clearer, I have been contracting for the last 8 years, not in the UK though. So this is the lifestyle I do wish to continue pursuing. I do have a warchest that could last me 6 months, however its always the case of being new here to contracting, so going against the experienced contractors.

Will see what happens, but maybe initially it would be a good idea to also look at the perm side, just to get me started here

[BlasterBates]

....but maybe initially it would be a good idea to also look at the perm side, just to get me started here

unless your phone is buzzing, yes. I find that if I´m getting lots of phone calls and the odd interview it still takes several months, if you aren´t getting any at all then it looks hopeless.