Reply to: passed the interview, got the contract, 5 weeks later still waiting for a start date

[seanraaron]

After reading this I feel fortunate I got a start date a little over two weeks after accepting the offer!

I only found this site looking for information about umbrella companies when I had some issues getting stuff explained by mine, but it's really been a gold mine of advice just reading these threads.

[BrilloPad]

Might as well bump this & add I am still waiting on yet another IB contract start date this is almost 5-6 weeks after being told its going ahead! The agency told me this week the end client is traditionally very slow to finalise contracts so there is nothing to worry about.
Let this be a useful real life lesson to those who wish to work in banking & or waiting for a start date...

I am at another IB in the wharf. 6 weeks. I got go ahead at 18:15 the day before I started.

[MrMarkyMark]

They all seem to interview before the budget is signed off though I do not think our financial & mental wellbeing is high on their to do lists!

Not here, at this IB, they don't.
You cannot raise the resource request until it has all been approved.

[uk contractor]

+1 from bitter experience.

That or they'll interview before getting budget sign off.

They all seem to interview before the budget is signed off though I do not think our financial & mental wellbeing is high on their to do lists!

[uk contractor]

Be afraid if its BarCrap.
They tend to keep people waiting, then contracts fall through.

Its not them once was enough for me plus I hear on the grapevine they are supersizeme (tm!!) downsizing all back/front office.

[LondonManc]

Be afraid if its BarCrap.
They tend to keep people waiting, then contracts fall through.

+1 from bitter experience.

That or they'll interview before getting budget sign off.

[MrMarkyMark]

Might as well bump this & add I am still waiting on yet another IB contract start date this is almost 5-6 weeks after being told its going ahead! The agency told me this week the end client is traditionally very slow to finalise contracts so there is nothing to worry about.
Let this be a useful real life lesson to those who wish to work in banking & or waiting for a start date...

Be afraid if its BarCrap.
They tend to keep people waiting, then contracts fall through.

[uk contractor]

Might as well bump this & add I am still waiting on yet another IB contract start date this is almost 5-6 weeks after being told its going ahead! The agency told me this week the end client is traditionally very slow to finalise contracts so there is nothing to worry about.
Let this be a useful real life lesson to those who wish to work in banking & or waiting for a start date...

[SueEllen]

As for background checks a lot of the time as you say this is used to delay whilst they try to find cheaper ways to fill the same role (often internally) as your not financially obliged until the contract is signed by both parties & they will never sign it until you have passed background checking....

Best misuse of background checks I've heard this year was them being used to delay payment.

The fact that the person had started the role and wouldn't have been legally able to if they weren't criminal record checked was carefully ignored by the agency.

[uk contractor]

Sorry to hear that.

Hopefully the more seasoned you get if someone tries to pull that stunt on you again you will quickly have another contract.

BTW another excuse agencies use to delay you is background checks. However having had background checks for different contracts for different reasons in the past three years, if you are organised and get in touch with every single referee before hand then collecting your references should take 2 days to do. Any other delay is then down to the background checker not doing their job.

Thanks anyway but I am well seasoned already (more than a turkey on xmas day!!) just the same old agency/end client BS which you can never second guess when they advise its in the bag awaiting signoff etc etc so obviously you do not bother wasting anyone else's time on other roles if your think this one is going ahead!

No amount of experience can help its all down to how honest the end client/agency are really.......... some do not care about wasting your time & leading you astray with feeble excuses whilst they try to get internal resource when the person who is asked to sign the contract for 12 months backs out as its too much money & or they have enough spare capacity to handle it anyway!

Several IB's do this I will not name/shame in case I ever need to work for them again but some are notorious for this type of delaying tactic sadly...

As for background checks a lot of the time as you say this is used to delay whilst they try to find cheaper ways to fill the same role (often internally) as your not financially obliged until the contract is signed by both parties & they will never sign it until you have passed background checking....

[SueEllen]

Understood and agreed.

For finance jobs the end client wants to take up references via direct contact! And they are very slow. Even at the hedge fund I worked for it took 5 weeks. They used Kroll - how I assumed would be super quick. They outsourced to Eastern Europe who were rubbish.

The last IB I worked for asked for council tax bills from 3 years prior!

But you should have everything lined up as best you can.

It's normal to take up references by direct contact - I give names, addresses, email address and phone number. They are always contacted by email even if they have to fill in a form.

Organisations' background checkers can ask for any random thing if they don't understand what a contractor is. If they understand what self-employed is then they ask for more relevant things including evidence for gaps.

One of the worst I had was asking for loads of random things as they couldn't work out why I had no employer even though I had a list of companies on my CV. As it was someone at the end client who connected the background checking organisation with me, I turned around and told the checker by email that I've already been background checked for my last two roles and as it is clear you don't know what you are doing this is a copy of all the information those companies asked for. I also cc'ed in the end-client. They ended up with more stuff then they needed but it sped things up a lot.

[BrilloPad]

Sorry to hear that.

Hopefully the more seasoned you get if someone tries to pull that stunt on you again you will quickly have another contract.

BTW another excuse agencies use to delay you is background checks. However having had background checks for different contracts for different reasons in the past three years, if you are organised and get in touch with every single referee before hand then collecting your references should take 2 days to do. Any other delay is then down to the background checker not doing their job.

Understood and agreed.

For finance jobs the end client wants to take up references via direct contact! And they are very slow. Even at the hedge fund I worked for it took 5 weeks. They used Kroll - how I assumed would be super quick. They outsourced to Eastern Europe who were rubbish.

The last IB I worked for asked for council tax bills from 3 years prior!

But you should have everything lined up as best you can.

[SueEllen]

Just thought I would update my situation in the thread as I seem to remember smugly saying a few weeks ago I was waiting on 2 x IB 12 month rolling contracts (with different IB's no less). Well after all the agency delay BS (hiring manager was on holiday for 2-3 weeks then he needed to get the role fully funded! then some other BS excuse etc etc by then I knew it was a goner but still took me another week to officially declare that). A few days ago I was told both the role's are 100% dead as the IB's have decided to reallocate internal staff to save paying for several external contractors for 12 months!

So merry xmas to the IB's as well !! I was at the time really confident based on what the agency had drip fed me & my interviews feedback. Let this be a gentle warning to all until you start the contract & have done the duration never assume like I did its all in the bag!

Tomorrow back to job searching again which will be lots of fun (NOT!) at this time of year.

Sorry to hear that.

Hopefully the more seasoned you get if someone tries to pull that stunt on you again you will quickly have another contract.

BTW another excuse agencies use to delay you is background checks. However having had background checks for different contracts for different reasons in the past three years, if you are organised and get in touch with every single referee before hand then collecting your references should take 2 days to do. Any other delay is then down to the background checker not doing their job.

[uk contractor]

I never make the same mistake twice. I make it five or six times, you know, just to be sure.

Same as me then ignoring my own advice I even turned down an easy 6 month role I got in late November due to the IB's being more money, longer duration & better long term prospects!! (so I thought at the time based on agency singing sweet music to my ears!!)

[BrilloPad]

Let this be a gentle warning to all until you start the contract & have done the duration never assume like I did its all in the bag!

I never make the same mistake twice. I make it five or six times, you know, just to be sure.