Is the London market flooded with .NET contractors?

[swamp]

interview == contract

It's unusual for a client to interview seven people for one contract. Normally the contract interview is a simple check that you're normal, and you don't have two heads or bad body odour.

[TheMonkey]

I never actually got a contract looking smart! I think the cocky sod attitude of turning up looking like a scruffy bastard works for me.

[mcquiggd]

Try changing your name to something like Vijay Parajasalamadasfsdfmmanjan.

And say you have 15 years .Net, and will work for £50 a day.

From home.

Basically, keep at it, rework your CV for EVERY job, be positive on the phone, dress smartly (especially for banks!!!!!), and if all all fails, then go back to Australia. This is not the land of milk and honey it is made out to be.

It's full of people travelling here hoping to get rich.

[TheMonkey]

I resemble that remark

[oraclesmith]

Yes..l and leave our women alone

Do I perhaps detect a note of bitterness in that remark ?

[Jay54]

Contractors are just as bad. You want to see the piece of crap I'm working on!!!!

I resemble that remark

[dork]

Should I just go home

Yes..l and leave our women alone

[TheMonkey]

Contractors are just as bad. You want to see the piece of crap I'm working on!!!!

[Cowboy Bob]

Well I'm guessing a bit but I do know that some .NET projects are hmm a bit disappointing and may have been rescoped.

Bloody permies, they don't know what they're doing

[BlasterBates]

Well I'm guessing a bit but I do know that some .NET projects are hmm a bit disappointing and may have been rescoped.

Keep plugging away sometimes the market dips and then picks up again. But obviously those 6 or 7 candiadates you're competing against will keep cropping up.

[Aussie Contractor]

Wow , that's an interesting, sobering assessment. I guess it's good once you get in but that getting in was a whole lot easier last year. I don't really consider .NET a fad ( tell me what's the new fad that's taking over from .NET, so I can learn it ).

Is that true about projects starting last year? And going belly up. It does sound a little pessimistic though I'm sure its true of some projects.

[BlasterBates]

...nope looks like it'll stay sh***te actually, unless you have specialised skills. London is banking so you can sometimes score on being a bit of a "banker".

I think one problem is a lot of .NET projects started last year and now they're busy going "tits up". The fads never last unfortunately.

Actually you might find some interesting projects in pre .NET technology. There are a few big projects out there with Visual C++, DCOM etc.

[Aussie Contractor]

I would really like to know this.

Been here more than 2 months and beaten out of every interview by someone else. Get feedback that am technically strong, positive, friendly but that the other person had a "little bit extra" that made them more suitable. WTF. Does London not need .NET contractors. Should I just go home where I can and have got jobs easily? I've got over 6 years experience ( over 4 in .NET ), but apparently there are plenty of others here who are better than me.

One guy in an interview said that last year they were struggling to find anyone but this year they got 7 strong candidates to choose from. I've been asking for 300 a day, but have gone for interviews where rate is around 250.

Does the market pick up at all in September? Did I pick a bad time to come here in July?

I look on Jobserve, is there somewhere else that's better?

If anyone could shed some light on this for me I would be grateful. I have enough money to last until the end of Sept and then it is goodbye time to go back home to Aust. Obviously London doesn't need another experienced .NET programmer...