Is the bench just full of dross?

[TykeMerc]

In general the better, more experienced, people have been contracting for longer and have more to fall back on, both in savings and saleable assets like cars, and in income generating investments like property, or workable plan Bs. They often have lower outgoings as well, as having bought houses some time ago they have smaller mortgages.

So they are less likely to be looking for scraps.

That's another nail hit firmly on the head with respect to a bunch of calls I've had in the past few days.

I'm buggered if I'm interested in the rates that have been mentioned and apart from the extreme boredom of not having interesting work to do I have the luxury of being able to wait for a good role with a rate I find acceptable.

There are good people on the bench, but the fact is some Agents and Clients are taking the michael.

[norrahe]

That's another nail hit firmly on the head with respect to a bunch of calls I've had in the past few days.

I'm buggered if I'm interested in the rates that have been mentioned and apart from the extreme boredom of not having interesting work to do I have the luxury of being able to wait for a good role with a rate I find acceptable.

There are good people on the bench, but the fact is some Agents and Clients are taking the michael.

WHS

I'm afraid that I'm losing out to numpties who are getting my gigs simply because they will work for peanuts.

[DodgyAgent]

There is always an availability of good contractors.Every one is never more than 6 months away from a new gig. Benched or not benched, recession or not I am afraid you only get what you pay for. If you pay low margins and cannot in return offer volume then the recruitment agents wont have a clue either.

[BolshieBastard]

Too many agents wanting to submit you for roles at piss ridiculous rates while they up their margin. And we're talking sub 200 a day here.

How does anyone think all these agencies who publish increased profit for 2009 over 2008 figures have achieved it when the market has been pants in that time? Clearly its less money for contractors as rates are screwed.

Then you get the agents and or clients who issue a 37 point 'must have' list of skills on the cv else you wont be considered. OK 37 is a bit OTT but you get the gist.

To stand a chance of getting an interview in these circumstances, its obvious some have resorted to doctoring the cv.

Beside myself I know 6 other quality contractors who cant get roles right now. One is an SME with 8 years experience on a particular application. He's applied for 3 different roles with different clients and hasnt got an interview. Knowing him as I do, Im gobsmacked he hasnt got fixed up considering his knowledge of the app.

[original PM]

interesting but what if those people who take the lower rates , do the job - ok not as good a job as the experts BUT they get the job done to a standard which is acceptable to the client.

The newbs obviously will gain expereince of whatever technology/discipline they are working in and so become more competent - however as they are used to working for a lower rate the rates expected by them will still lower than what those of you who are currently rejecting the low rates will work for.

Which means the not so new newbs will continue to get the gigs......

only if the market becomes so saturated with jobs will the rates rise to a point where you guys will enter the market again --- however this may be in 2 years time when your skills may be two years out of date and you may have two year gap on your CV -- at which point you stop being so desirable.

So to get back in the market you take the lower rate contracts while those now quite skilled newbs are getting the higher rate contracts as they have the recent skills and work history.


Not saying this will happen but unless a contract is economically unviable due to low rate and travel distance etc I would suggest maybe being a touch more flexible in your approach.



but then what the heck do I know?

[HairyArsedBloke]

Serious question. I've been hiring now for 2 months and finally got my quota. And those that I've seen are shocking.

Nail. Head.

I've seen a load of CVs lately and they are all tulip.

I'm curious. The days of me looking for a job are long over, but I may be on the other side of the desk in the medium term.

I know it's a silly question, but how are you determining a CV as tulip or not? Obviously there is the things like spelling, etc. Also there is the BS lot. What are the characteristics of a tulip CV? Any examples?

[al_cam]

Just had a worrying thought -

Will the apparent lack of suitable people fuel justification to allow more of Bob's friends in Bangalore into the country?

And doodab is so correct. I'm financially comfortable and can afford to wait on the bench for something decent to come up. I know I am good at what I do but my CV isn't in front of any clients because I am happier on the bench than working for a carp rate.
That said, eventually the spare cash will dry up. Hopefully rates will improve before then but if not, it's a change of career for me.

Al.

[OwlHoot]

This is an example of what happens when an advert is placed saying ‘Do not respond if you do not have all of the skills named’. You end up with dipsticks who’ve done a bit of allsorts (or have put all the right keywords in their CV) but aren’t very good at anything in particular.

Even if the advert doesn't say "do not respond if you don't have all the skills", most contractors would assume, based on past experience, and probably rightly, that this was implied.

[OwlHoot]

Also, unbelevable as it may sound to many of the free spirits here, some good contractors have probably taken the "any port in a storm" route and gone permie for a year or two. If nothing else, it's a good way to cross-train and is slightly more secure than contracting.

I mean don't forget, a month or two (or more) gap between contracts drastically lowers your average rate and might swing the financial balance in favour of permiedom.

[BolshieBastard]

Also, unbelevable as it may sound to many of the free spirits here, some good contractors have probably taken the "any port in a storm" route and gone permie for a year or two. If nothing else, it's a good way to cross-train and is slightly more secure than contracting.

I mean don't forget, a month or two (or more) gap between contracts drastically lowers your average rate and might swing the financial balance in favour of permiedom.

This is another thing, why should a break affect ones rate or suitability for the next role? The whole point of contracting is that you dont have to work 52 weeks of the year like a permie does.

More ******* agents \ clients tosh!