Reply to: Finding *real* contracts in IT

[sal]

That won't make any difference. I've seen permies walked off site far quicker than any contractor.

One thing would be to look at sipgate to get a UK landline number. However unless you can get here tomorrow you really need to be in the UK..

I'm not talking only about being walked off because you are tulip, but contracts falling through right before/after start, projects being canned and budget cuts, this almost never happens to permies, and if you pass the initial trial period the employer have to actually follow the notice period for termination unlike the contractors.

Are you telling me that the odds loosing a permie job are equal to these of a contractor role?

[eek]

The difference though is that if you're permanent and been there more than a year you get to stay even if you're tulip

Contractor can be gone with a phone call's notice but... there's danger money

That company merely needs better hr people

[PerfectStorm]

That won't make any difference. I've seen permies walked off site far quicker than any contractor.

One thing would be to look at sipgate to get a UK landline number. However unless you can get here tomorrow you really need to be in the UK..

The difference though is that if you're permanent and been there more than a year you get to stay even if you're tulip

Contractor can be gone with a phone call's notice but... there's danger money

[eek]

And if you are not, then forget the idea all together. Even if you manage to sign a contract i can be canned at any point leaving you out of pocket, if you don't have enough savings for at least 3 months (UK is more expensive than Portugal) then your best bet is to go perm as a start of your UK career.

That won't make any difference. I've seen permies walked off site far quicker than any contractor.

One thing would be to look at sipgate to get a UK landline number. However unless you can get here tomorrow you really need to be in the UK..

[sal]

Whether you are financially in that position of course is another matter.

And if you are not, then forget the idea all together. Even if you manage to sign a contract i can be canned at any point leaving you out of pocket, if you don't have enough savings for at least 3 months (UK is more expensive than Portugal) then your best bet is to go perm as a start of your UK career.

[jmo21]

While the UK sim is a good idea, when phoning, the agent will still hear the normal "different" ringtone when they phone that indicates you are abroad, so be prepared to say "I'm on holiday this week" or something.

Multiple calls from the same agent over the course of a few weeks and this cover will soon be blown.

The best solution is to actually move here. Be easily available for an interview at the drop of a hat.

Whether you are financially in that position of course is another matter.

[sal]

There are a lot of fake adverts, but i doubt they are more than 50% of the entire volume if that.

Your location is your biggest problem. The contractor market expects fast responses with job ad, interviews and start dates often in less than 2 weeks. Agents assume that they will have to wait for you to re-locate and send your CV straight into the bin. On top of that you probably have your Portuguese phone number on your CV - agents can't be arsed calling overseas numbers unless there is severe shortage in your skill and there are no local candidates whatsoever.

The way around this if you are prepared to relocate in days is to get an UK SIM and use that number on your CV. Also get the address of a friend who lives in UK and say that you are already in UK. This illusion won't hold for long but should be enough to at least get you a call back.

My guess is that your next biggest problem is your CV. No UK experience usually means, you guessed it - CV in the bin. Omit any country specific information from your CV. Again this won't hold for long but will get your through the first hurdle. Also the way you are used to structure your CV for perm jobs has nothing to do with what the agents expect to see in a contractor CV - keep it under 3 pages (ideally 2), Name, contact details, brief introduction and list of accomplishments and key skills and employment history, all crap like personal interests and academic career at the back or out of it. All of the important information in the top half of the first page. Ask a friend who have experience in the UK contractor market to review it. No agent feedback is quite the feedback.

Once you actually get a call back from an agent you will have to learn how to deal with the weasels, this will take some time and is something you just have to go through on your own.

Hope that will help you and good luck.

[Batcher]

And get a UK mobile phone.

Change your name (on your CV).

Arthur Harris has a certain ring to it.

And use your nickname "Bomber" and fill in any gaps in your CV with "on a Jihadi holiday".

Sign off with Allahu Akbar.

(I've worked in England beside a Portugese national but she was working through IBM and not as a contractor).

[DaveB]

or Rolf Saville

Adolf Glitter?

[TheFaQQer]

And get a UK mobile phone.

Change your name (on your CV).

Arthur Harris has a certain ring to it.

or Rolf Saville

[I just need to test it]

And get a UK mobile phone.

Change your name (on your CV).

Arthur Harris has a certain ring to it.

[expat]

Do you particularly want the UK for some reason? I say that because I have seen more Portuguese contractors in Holland and Germany than in the UK. Maybe they expect to take in people from other places more than UK clients do.

[kaiser78]

Do you say you're in Portugal? Remove your location from your CV.

Or use a UK based location.

[mudskipper]

Do you say you're in Portugal? Remove your location from your CV.

[BolshieBastard]

Hello,

I'm in Portugal and I've been applying online (CWjobs, Reed, Indeed, Technojobs) for contract opportunities in IT in the UK, but I'm starting to think that I'm doing something wrong as I've had about zero responses from over 30 applications to jobs that fit my like a glove.

I have a really strong CV, over 8 years of high-quality experience and references from consulting. Recruiters are quite keen on recruiting me for permanent positions with identical specs to contracts, but no contract work seems to come this way.

A recruiter told me that a lot of online postings are fake, which is kind of baffling...if most of what's online is fake, how do you go to find real contract work?

And if my CV is a perfect fit for a permanent job, what can be lacking in my profile to be considered for contracts?


Thanks

As others have said, saying you're in Portugal isnt going to help. Agents want people available to take contracts at the drop of a hat plus, any excuse to shift you out will make it harder.

Although there's such a thing as free movement in the EU, agents dont want the extra complication unless they can get you on a really low rate. speaking of which, are you pitching your rate within the role's limits?

Lots of job adverts are fake, agents use them to farm cv's to see who you've worked for and possibly contact them.

When I was on the market, I had jobs I was nailed on for but either got sifted out by a know nothing account manager or useless HR.

It is a numbers game.

Big problem is your location. Other problem is possibly your cv which isnt selling you or the rate you're asking. Id say your location is the biggest issue though.