Reply to: Contractor with a conscience!

[unixman]

(£650)

Bastard.

Seriously though. Was that necessary ? He may have just lacked one of the skills needed, which is fair enough. Or maybe they just thought of it half way through the contract, which is less fair. I would probably have taken the gig after checking that I had ALL the skills they were asking for, and perhaps asking if this is something they often do to contractors (which the agent would automatically deny).

You don't really know for sure though. Him missing a skill could just be a polite cover story for something more serious or less pleasant.

[jjdarg]

One of the difficult things about contracting: knowing when to just say no.

... because seeing beyond the £££ signs can be difficult.

Yep, made that mistake on my last contract. Other than making the acquaintance of some top blokes (who left in the same contractor purge I was part of), it was a complete waste of time professionally. I actually turned down another less lucrative role but which had a better pipeline of work, in hindsight.

[Contreras]

That would make me pull out as it would indicate there is something wrong with the work environment. I would also presume the agent was lying about why the guy left due to the fact the role is readvertised frequently.

Same here actually. I wouldn't have a conscience about filling another contractor's shoes, but being set up to fail is another matter. Was the other contractor really binned? Or did they walk and the agent didn't want to explain why they walked.

One of the best things about contracting: being able to just say no.

One of the difficult things about contracting: knowing when to just say no.

... because seeing beyond the £££ signs can be difficult.

[SueEllen]

yes, it was a converstation we had BEFORE the telephone interview was scheduled. Between that conversation and the email confirmation coming through I just couldn't stop thinking about the situation and I felt uneasy about it and in actually fact sorry for the guy. The agent mentioned just one particular skill which in the scheme of the contract spec. shouldn't be cause to give notice. Given that and the fact the role is periodically readvertised I opted out.

That would make me pull out as it would indicate there is something wrong with the work environment. I would also presume the agent was lying about why the guy left due to the fact the role is readvertised frequently.

[quackhandle]

I've sometimes pulled out for other opportunities and probably regretted it later on

Haven't we all?

qh

[jmo21]

yes, it was a converstation we had BEFORE the telephone interview was scheduled. Between that conversation and the email confirmation coming through I just couldn't stop thinking about the situation and I felt uneasy about it and in actually fact sorry for the guy. The agent mentioned just one particular skill which in the scheme of the contract spec. shouldn't be cause to give notice. Given that and the fact the role is periodically readvertised I opted out.

I've sometimes pulled out of interviews for other opportunites and probably regretted it later on but not this time.

Each to their own. I doubt there are many that would have done the same.

What was the skill?

[sal]

yes, it was a converstation we had BEFORE the telephone interview was scheduled. Between that conversation and the email confirmation coming through I just couldn't stop thinking about the situation and I felt uneasy about it and in actually fact sorry for the guy. The agent mentioned just one particular skill which in the scheme of the contract spec. shouldn't be cause to give notice. Given that and the fact the role is periodically readvertised I opted out.

I've sometimes pulled out of interviews for other opportunites and probably regretted it later on but not this time.

Be glad you are in such a high demand that you can afford

Dropping a hot role on the basis of something an agent says?!

edit: embarrassing spelling

[d000hg]

Well even if I don't think you made the right call, good for you following your conscience. I hope you don't end up regretting it on the bench later!

[oliverson]

Read the OP again, and like i said, don't be so quick to judge. Nowhere in the post the OP says it was mentioned during the interview. In fact the interview is just scheduled and he thinks of not going through with it. My guess is it was mentioned by the Agent while disusing/scheduling the interview with the client. Maybe OP can elaborate on this part.





This is supposed to be a professional forum yet you resolve to name calling, this speaks volumes about you, but yet again, who i'm i to judge...

yes, it was a converstation we had BEFORE the telephone interview was scheduled. Between that conversation and the email confirmation coming through I just couldn't stop thinking about the situation and I felt uneasy about it and in actually fact sorry for the guy. The agent mentioned just one particular skill which in the scheme of the contract spec. shouldn't be cause to give notice. Given that and the fact the role is periodically readvertised I opted out.

I've sometimes pulled out of interviews for other opportunites and probably regretted it later on but not this time.

[d000hg]

My guess is it was mentioned by the Agent

Dropping a hot role on the basis of something an agent says?!

[sartois]

Well I slept well last night. Just hope one of the other roles comes off.

Whilst I hate London it does have its advantages. For example, in the canteen at current client site I can see the office block on the other side of the street and I'm in contention for a role there that is a higher rate than the one I just passed up and yep, whilst another bank, I've not heard any bad words against them amongst my contractor circle.

Let's hope the other recently out of work contractor doesn't beat you to it...

In an ideal world the clientco would be able to understand exactly what skills a person has at an interview, but this is not always the case. It may be a few weeks in before they establish that a contractor has somewhat embellished their skill set so they can get their foot in the door. Unless I knew the full story rather than a snippet I wouldn't do anything that harms my own prospects... and that includes keeping my options open.

[Eirikur]

tdbt

[vwdan]

Maybe it was a slip of the tongue. Maybe to explain why the role was up again so soon. Maybe to emphasise that he'd better have the skills he claimed. Maybe they'd been burned and were letting their frustration slip - not very professional but entirely normal.

Contractors ARE disposable. If they don't meet expectations - and at £650 those expectations damn well should be very high - you are out.

Many contractors seem to want the "reward" part of contracting, but still expect to essentially work and live like permies. It's really quite odd.

[sal]

Nope, first impressions are usually on the money. Why would they tell you this at an interview? Slackers or not, so you are sitting in an interview and the client is saying, well mate you are completely disposable and guess what if wake in the morning and decide your not quite what we want then you will be offski. The point being they told you at the interview, not what they actually did.

I stand by my statement - Arseholes - It sounds like you might be one too, but who am I to judge?

Read the OP again, and like i said, don't be so quick to judge. Nowhere in the post the OP says it was mentioned during the interview. In fact the interview is just scheduled and he thinks of not going through with it. My guess is it was mentioned by the Agent while disusing/scheduling the interview with the client. Maybe OP can elaborate on this part.

Schedule to have a phone interview tomorrow with a bank with a view to a face-to-face this week, should the phone interview go well and then a possible offer by the end of the week.

However, in the course of this mornings conversation I was advised that the vacancy had came about due to the client giving notice on a contractor in there because he wasn't so strong in one particular skill.

This is supposed to be a professional forum yet you resolve to name calling, this speaks volumes about you, but yet again, who i'm i to judge...

[d000hg]

Nope, first impressions are usually on the money. Why would they tell you this at an interview?

Maybe it was a slip of the tongue. Maybe to explain why the role was up again so soon. Maybe to emphasise that he'd better have the skills he claimed. Maybe they'd been burned and were letting their frustration slip - not very professional but entirely normal.

Contractors ARE disposable. If they don't meet expectations - and at £650 those expectations damn well should be very high - you are out.