Ffs - Hucking Hell - Early Termination!!

[scooterscot]

Happened to me on my last contract too - finished a month early but I dismissed myself. They still kicked up a stink but I was not prepared to sit and twiddle my thumbs.

[ferret]

Yeah goes with the territory I am afraid. Use it to your advantage though, is a good thing to put on CV (project finished way before schedule) and story to tell at interview.

<Ferret in pint half full mode>

[BrowneIssue]

Caps & punctuation would make it easier on us, please.

landed a contract with new stuff to learn (silver light, sharepoint, large application) and worked solidly over the first 5 days to pick it all up

Paid to train!

they were pleased with the progress over the period

Keep them that way. Don't upset them and spoil it.

there was nothing for me to do until the end of my contract, and that they were giving me my 1 week notice!!! cutting my 4 mths down to 1.5 mths!!!

Right.

Confront them with this.

"Are you really pleased that I did what you thought would take 4 months in 6 weeks?"

If they say no, kick them in the bollocks.

If they say yes:

- say "Then please write a recommendation for my LinkedIn profile";
- give out business cards to EVERYONE;
- make it known you would be really, really happy to work there again but it will be at your usual rate, 1.5 times what they paid for this period;
- make it known you are available for ad-hoc work between now and your next contract starting;
- make it known you had to learn the technology at the start and did so, therefore, if they have any other requirements requiring skills they think you do not have, you will pick them up really quickly, just like last time.

This is an opportunity to turn this client into one of those special clients that gives you little bits of work forever.

[DS23]

no doubt they will hire you again and recommend you to all and sundry.

chin up and next time slow down a bit: ask more questions and propose more options.

[scooterscot]

<Ferret in pint half full mode>

I think you'll find the glass is as twice as big as it needs to be...

[swamp]

or what?

Dunno.

[threaded]

delivered the project, unit tested and all that - was pleased with the quality of the work, and then went for lunch came back and they said that because i had delivered early<?> there was nothing for me to do until the end of my contract, and that they were giving me my 1 week notice!!! cutting my 4 mths down to 1.5 mths!!!

My experience:

If you're confident you can do this every time, take the work on as fixed price. Like what I do. Many companies love the idea of fixed price, and you generally get paid a great deal more, but you have to be careful they don't move the goal posts, so get a really good specification and stick to it. Usually I take their specification, and write my own from it, and get the customer to sign off on that. If they won't firm up the specification, say 'sorry the specification is just not good enough, this'll have to be time and materials', take your best guess and double it. If they're still arsey about it, then the work was never going to be profitable, so move on. Don't go scrabbling for a few pennies. Yes, cash-flow is king, but if a company is failing, let their shareholders bail them out, not by use of your unpaid invoices! If the customer tries to slip more work in, which most do, then that's a variation, and requires a specification, and requires paying for. You'll probably end up having a few arguments with the more unprofessional clients, but that's business.

It is common by the time a company calls in contractors, that they're hopelessly late and this is always due to a fantasy project plan. Accept the project plan is a fantasy, and try and explain what is wrong with it to the customer. Make sure you get the conversation in writing. If they keep saying they're late and won't show you the plan, then just ignore what they say about milestones, as it'll be bulltulip, they're just yanking your chain. Again if they won't show you the plan, or make it extremely difficult, then they have serious management problems, and unless that is your job to fix, don't worry about it, as it is not your problem.

If a senior manager comes up to your table at lunch and starts interviewing you about the state of the project, this is a serious sign your managers have been hiding the truth from their bosses. How to deal with those situations are a whole nother story. Me, I just give them the truth, but you really need to be totally on the ball with that tactic, as even the teeniest mistake will be jumped on; your friendly managers will turn into a pack of circling wolves.

Don't do extra hours for no pay. Especially don't work your weekends for nothing. Companies that have you work for nothing, always mess you about in other ways, most distressing for newbies is the last invoice and/or early termination. So, as an anti-pattern, I say take that on board as business risk, and then such problems are no longer a worry.

[eliquant]

Agree with the above but a fixed price for a deliverable ? that won't work in large companies and its a big risk to yourself to negotiate such a thing especially when you've just joined and don't know the system/code or procedures for working.

[cojak]

Yeah goes with the territory I am afraid. Use it to your advantage though, is a good thing to put on CV (project finished way before schedule) and story to tell at interview.

<Ferret in pint half full mode>

WHS

[cojak]

If they say yes:

- say "Then please write a recommendation for my LinkedIn profile";
- give out business cards to EVERYONE;
- make it known you would be really, really happy to work there again but it will be at your usual rate, 1.5 times what they paid for this period;
- make it known you are available for ad-hoc work between now and your next contract starting;
- make it known you had to learn the technology at the start and did so, therefore, if they have any other requirements requiring skills they think you do not have, you will pick them up really quickly, just like last time.

This is an opportunity to turn this client into one of those special clients that gives you little bits of work forever.

Oh yes!

WHS with knobs on!

(I feel an archiving moment coming on - even I can pick up a tip or two from good ole' CUK - ta BI and Threaded!)