Reply to: Minimum contract length to put on CV?

[CheeseSlice]

I never put anything less than 10 - 13 weeks on my cv when I was contracting. Stupid agents would always ask 'why didnt you stay longer, what went wrong?'

Actually those agents are the ones I like to avoid. I think they just want contractors that will take on bum in seat IR35-caught contracts that go on forever. I on the other hand want contracts that I know will end and have some unambiguous objective or deliverable.

[RetSet]

I had 1 gig of around 4 weeks that didn't make it on to my CV. Stupid ex Andersons PMs (a husband & wife team) It would have been difficult not to be rude about them at subsequent interviews. It just disappreared thus -

Gig 1 ended Feb 7th
Gig with ExAndersonTossers Feb 17 - March 14
Gig 3 March 31st onwards

CV says -
Gig 1 ended Feb
Gig 3 started March

What gap?

[BolshieBastard]

I never put anything less than 10 - 13 weeks on my cv when I was contracting. Stupid agents would always ask 'why didnt you stay longer, what went wrong?'

[kingcook]

The guys recruiting where I am seem to view lots of short contracts (few months here and there) as a bad sign. But they don't really know the difference between a contractor & a permie - hence me having done about about 4 weeks worth of work in the last year

Wait til you meet a client that thinks long term contracts are a bad sign. In their eyes, you could have spent a long time at past clients because you're slow and thus would cost them more money.

[ShandyDrinker]

I've never ever understood why you shouldn't have gaps in your cv or spells of short term contracts.
One of the benefits of contracting is that it puts you in a privileged position to pick and choose when & where you work. I put all my gigs on my cv but don't worry a jot about taking 8 weeks work here, 4 weeks work there or even taking a 6 month break anytime I want. I've never had problems from pimps (or compainies) with this at all - it's why I went contracting.

I agree with this.

Isn't part of the attraction of contracting to be able to take breaks if that is how you like to operate or work every day of the year too if you so desire?

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

My CV says...Director, MyCo, Jan 2009 - Present.

But then, I'm not often asked to see my CV. Of somebody wants a list of projects I've worked on or clients I will just tell them.

[Scrag Meister]

I think there is balance.

There was a contractor who joined a team I was in a few years back, who arrived Monday and was fired Thursday, the only reason he got in on Thursday was because they couldn't contact his agent on Wednesday evening.

If I look at his LinkedIn profile it is many years of 1,2,3,4 month contracts, I think there was one 11 month contract. Knowing the area I work in, if you have the talent and the personality to fit in they will keep you on for a number of different projects.

If I saw your entire career was 1-4 month contracts I would be quite dubious about why no-one kept you on for other work.

[evilagent]

the 4 weeks is less relevant than;
the skills you deployed,
skills you picked up,
technology you were exposed to,
and overall project you helped succeed.

remember, us(I mean they) agents, word-search the skills anyway, don't we(I mean they)?

[Gaz_M]

I've never ever understood why you shouldn't have gaps in your cv or spells of short term contracts.
One of the benefits of contracting is that it puts you in a privileged position to pick and choose when & where you work. I put all my gigs on my cv but don't worry a jot about taking 8 weeks work here, 4 weeks work there or even taking a 6 month break anytime I want. I've never had problems from pimps (or compainies) with this at all - it's why I went contracting.

[Scrag Meister]

I did a 1 week contract a couple of years back, time flies hey NAT, went on the CV cos it was for a large pharma in Switzerland. Out of my normal London IB work.

Showing flexibility on client and location.

[SpontaneousOrder]

The guys recruiting where I am seem to view lots of short contracts (few months here and there) as a bad sign. But they don't really know the difference between a contractor & a permie - hence me having done about about 4 weeks worth of work in the last year

[Antman]

I asked this question a while ago. The main information I took from the feedback was yes to put it in. Personally I want to show that I added something during that time, so the length isn't that important but you include it as part of your sales pitch because you were able to add something. There's always something positive you can take from a role but how relevant that is to the role you're going for is a different question.

[CloudWalker]

Put every Contract on your C.V but don't go over 2 pages.
You'd be surprised how may "oh do you know so and so" when they look at my past employment.

[curtis]

Why wouldn't you as like you said it shows a gap otherwise when you were in fact in work and given how agencies can get funny about time your not working for some odd reason.

I put all my contracts on whether they are short or otherwise. Older contracts I drop off the end of my CV as years go by.

[Batcher]

I put all mine on. I have quite a few that are for less than a week and sometimes I've had contracts running at two clients at once.