Semi starting out / Advice

[BolshieBastard]

Hi All,

First post! I have however been looking at this site for a few years now.

My background is perm and then I took a contract 18 months ago which came to an end after a year then I fell straight into another contract to perm role. It seemed right at the time as I needed to move house. I have now done this and really need to get back into the contracting scene. I'm fairly naive when it comes to contracting.

First things first... Resign and reduce my notice period (3 months) my last day of work will be 18/12/15.

My day rate was £260PD previously and now I have my VCP550DCV I think I would be looking at £350PD along with 15 years experience within IT (5 years as system admin/ 3rd line AGE 31)

With perm roles i always try to keep myself fairly active in the interviewing process as to not get out of practice and nervous which has favoured me well out of maybe 30 interviews over the years I have either been offered the role or turned down at 2nd stage in 75% of cases.

Questions:

Bad timing I know but what do you think of the likelihood of getting a role in December or early Jan?

What's your experience of the market at the moment for my job specifics?

What are the best job boards?

Are there any good job posting forums to get work?

How long have you been out of work for generally before starting a new contract?

How can I improve my chances of getting that first base contract to help build my kitty and propel me forward for my next gigs?

Cheers in advance.

Darren

IMHO, you arent going to get £350 a day jumping back into a contract unless the market rate for the role is a lot higher or, you get lucky.

There no longer appears to be peaks and troughs, good times \ bad times to get a contract. Its mainly troughs all year long and the market is tending to be a lot tougher than it was. You can pick up roles in December although most places are in Christmas mode from mid to late november

There are many big consultancies hoovering up roles across IT. If the proposed son of IR35 changes come in coupled with the dividend tax, I dont see a future for contracting unless you live very close to the contract and have a 2 shareholder (or more) limited co to maximise the 5 grand tax free limit. Even then, it would be questionable.

IMHO, of course.

[LucidDementia]

Bad timing I know but what do you think of the likelihood of getting a role in December or early Jan?

January shouldn't suck too bad, forget December!

What's your experience of the market at the moment for my job specifics?

Most of the Wintel/VMware guys I know suggest the market's pretty saturated, that said if you're good and can show it that shouldn't stop you.

What are the best job boards?

In my personal opinion only JobServe is any good, but YMMV

How long have you been out of work for generally before starting a new contract?

Personally the longest I've been on the bench (whilst trying not to be) before an offer is about 3 weeks. Others here have been benched for months though so I'm either lucky or awesome, I'll let you decide.

How can I improve my chances of getting that first base contract to help build my kitty and propel me forward for my next gigs?

Nothing beats first hand recommendations, but that requires a network of folk willing to stake their rep against your skills and results.
Well, I suppose it only takes a network of one when it comes down to it.

Hope this helps, probably doesn't!
Good luck with it all anyway.

[tarbera]

Semi starting out / Advice

3 months notice period ?

What are your permie penalty clauses for going after say a week?

None I thought not

Find a contract start tomorrow

[Itezcouk]

Hi All,

First post! I have however been looking at this site for a few years now.

My background is perm and then I took a contract 18 months ago which came to an end after a year then I fell straight into another contract to perm role. It seemed right at the time as I needed to move house. I have now done this and really need to get back into the contracting scene. I'm fairly naive when it comes to contracting.

First things first... Resign and reduce my notice period (3 months) my last day of work will be 18/12/15.

My day rate was £260PD previously and now I have my VCP550DCV I think I would be looking at £350PD along with 15 years experience within IT (5 years as system admin/ 3rd line AGE 31)

With perm roles i always try to keep myself fairly active in the interviewing process as to not get out of practice and nervous which has favoured me well out of maybe 30 interviews over the years I have either been offered the role or turned down at 2nd stage in 75% of cases.

Questions:

Bad timing I know but what do you think of the likelihood of getting a role in December or early Jan?

What's your experience of the market at the moment for my job specifics?

What are the best job boards?

Are there any good job posting forums to get work?

How long have you been out of work for generally before starting a new contract?

How can I improve my chances of getting that first base contract to help build my kitty and propel me forward for my next gigs?

Cheers in advance.

Darren