Best strategy for getting a contract?

[gabox01]

Let me tell you a little secret.....

Very few agents can read properly, and even the ones who can don't read more than they have to so the cover email isn't read.

I'm having the impression that you a have a pretty low opinion of agents...

[gabox01]

Unless things have changed in the past year I don't think the letter makes any difference. I send my CV with stock letter and get a phone call within 30 minutes.

It may be that my CV is very good but I always get past the first stage...

Hmm, I would be curious to take a look at your CV.
I thought mine is not so bad, but who knows...

[DigitalUser]

I'm having the impression that you a have a pretty low opinion of agents...

Be in the contracting game long enough, and your opinion of them will drop too.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[riffpie]

If I could do 600 from 633, you could call me God

I'm only competent in the JAVA field, so let's say that's about 15% of the daily 600.
Also, not every JAVA job matches my skills, only about 10% of all the JAVA jobs, because JAVA is a huge topic.

What's JAVA? Is it related to Java?

[eek]

What's JAVA? Is it related to Java?

I think its a descendant of Oak but I'm showing my age and initial background there (interactive consoles and set-top boxes).

As for the requests to see my CV, sorry but it won't help you so there is little point. My career has been backwards because I like to code, so while I've been a PM and an architect and can do either jobs I prefer to be a code monkey. It also means its heavily business focussed with stock phrases like ensuring £xm project was delivered on time or saved £ym a year by identifying and automating additional processes.

[riffpie]

I think its a descendant of Oak but I'm showing my age and initial background there (interactive consoles and set-top boxes).

I'm being facetious, because writing Java as all-uppercase - JAVA - implies it's an acronym, and is generally done by recruiters.

[JRCT]

Hmm, I would be curious to take a look at your CV.
I thought mine is not so bad, but who knows...

If your CV states you are looking for contract work then it IS bad.

Your CV should be about what you can offer, not what you want.

If you're applying for a contract role, then that in itself is notification that you're looking for contract work. If you're contacting agents about potential roles, then that's when you have an introductory splurb in your email or via initial telephone conversation that will inform them that you're looking for contract work.

If I see a role on a jobsite that, on the face of it, looks a good match for me and I hear nothing about my application, then I follow it up with a phone call. Always get a role id if there is one and the name of the recruiter in the ad. Find out from them why they haven't contacted you. You'll soon work out what the score is.

[TheFaQQer]

I'm being facetious, because writing Java as all-uppercase - JAVA - implies it's an acronym, and is generally done by recruiters.

Just Another Vacuous Agent

[gabox01]

I think its a descendant of Oak but I'm showing my age and initial background there (interactive consoles and set-top boxes).

As for the requests to see my CV, sorry but it won't help you so there is little point. My career has been backwards because I like to code, so while I've been a PM and an architect and can do either jobs I prefer to be a code monkey. It also means its heavily business focussed with stock phrases like ensuring £xm project was delivered on time or saved £ym a year by identifying and automating additional processes.

Yeah, it's not the content i'm primarily interested in, but rather the structure, and general presentation of the CV. Could be that something is wrong here as mine looks pretty much like a permie CV minus the hobbies section.

As I've just learned, agents don't have the mental capacity to parse the content of a CV, but they are might be aware of presentation

[gabox01]

If your CV states you are looking for contract work then it IS bad.

Your CV should be about what you can offer, not what you want.

If you're applying for a contract role, then that in itself is notification that you're looking for contract work. If you're contacting agents about potential roles, then that's when you have an introductory splurb in your email or via initial telephone conversation that will inform them that you're looking for contract work.

Yes, just wanted to get rid of permie calls.

If I see a role on a jobsite that, on the face of it, looks a good match for me and I hear nothing about my application, then I follow it up with a phone call. Always get a role id if there is one and the name of the recruiter in the ad. Find out from them why they haven't contacted you. You'll soon work out what the score is.

It's a good idea, but then it looks like i'm chasing something, and I don't really want to chase, but want to be chased by recruiters.