Reply to: State of the Market

[sreed]

I scanned the market for a couple of days last week while waiting to hear if the current contract would be extended (it did) and at least in my area (mid-level tech project and change management with only very superficial tech knowledge) the number of roles available out there seemed pretty healthy, as long as one doesn't completely dismiss inside-IR35 roles.

Having said that, a lot of the LinkedIn advertised contractor roles seem to attract a huge number of applications (it shows the number that have applied), not sure if that's a true reflection of genuinely qualified applicants out there or it's a lot of people applying because it's a click-click-done thing on LinkedIn.

I'm doing everything I can get my hands on at the moment though - a full time inside-IR35 contract, a small fixed-price consultancy job and one day a week programme management for an old SME client of mine. Exhausting work 7 days a week but (at least at the moment) I am planning to take time off over the summer.

[LadyPenelope]

Offshoring in Dev and Test has been going on for a while now as we all know, however in my last contract I was the only onshore contract BA. They had a team of BA's in Moldova, and a team of perms in UK. So offshore working is clearly impacting the BA roles these days.

I have a second interview for a role next week, which will require me to be onsite 2 days a week, and also out to a few different locations, so at least that cannot be done offshore/nearshore.

In terms of available BA contracts things do seem to have picked up somewhat in that last week.

[TheGreenBastard]

no calls to report from the burner phone this week.

we saw what the bottom looked like when covid hit, we are not anywhere near that bad right now but we desperately need some sort of bounce.

everyone is going to suffer if this continues, more end-clients that can't really afford it will just end up having to pay 1650 per day for people straight out of uni. if the agencies *and* the remaining freelance contractors that are over 40 Years old go and do something else or, go bust.

And the government is puzzled as to why the over 50's are not coming back to work..........

What a bleak outlook.

I have a few contracts with clients in the EU, both in separate countries and the story is the same there and we've all seen the slaughter in Silicon Valley, this is a global issue, a consequence of market forces - not one individual government. Probably recoil from the market distortion created by govs in relation to covid, the war in Ukraine doesn't help. We do have some local issues, ridiculously high tax for the middle class and IR35, but remember most EU countries have had aggressive anti-permie-in-disguise laws before IR35 was a thing here.

[SussexSeagull]

I think some of the Indian tech consultancies are taking a lot of the roles that contractors would normally be earmarked for
They then ship in large numbers of consultants at low ish rates and it is hard to compete for UK based guys

Then you have the UK based tech consultants with strong relationships with the clients

Between those consultancies there are not many roles going unless you have contacts. A very tough market.

The old agencies (e.g. Morgan McKinley, Robert Waters) are fighting for scraps.

My last few contracts have come through small British based consultancies who build relationships with similarly sized clients. They do seem to be the most likely path back in for me at the moment but even they are hunting for work.

[andromedan]

Where I'm currently contracting, they just started looking for two backend Python contractors outside IR35. I just wanted to share some positive news, even though that's a drop in the ocean.

[Bluenose]

no calls to report from the burner phone this week.

we saw what the bottom looked like when covid hit, we are not anywhere near that bad right now but we desperately need some sort of bounce.

everyone is going to suffer if this continues, more end-clients that can't really afford it will just end up having to pay <insert consultancy here> 1650 per day for people straight out of uni. if the agencies *and* the remaining freelance contractors that are over 40 Years old go and do something else or, go bust.

And the government is puzzled as to why the over 50's are not coming back to work..........

What a bleak outlook.

[hungry_hog]

I think some of the Indian tech consultancies are taking a lot of the roles that contractors would normally be earmarked for
They then ship in large numbers of consultants at low ish rates and it is hard to compete for UK based guys

Then you have the UK based tech consultants with strong relationships with the clients

Between those consultancies there are not many roles going unless you have contacts. A very tough market.

The old agencies (e.g. Morgan McKinley, Robert Waters) are fighting for scraps.

[KinooOrKinog]

How have things been for you the last two weeks, have you had any more interviews recently or many agent calls, i ask because the market seems to have gotten even quieter after the bank failures and it was already slow before that.

In the last two weeks I've had nine applications and two interviews. And about half of those were around £100 a day less than what I would normally be on. I feel there doesn't seem to be a huge drop in the number of roles out there, but the number of candidates on the market I think is higher.

[TheDude]

Unless you have some seriously in demand skills I would recommend smiling sweetly and keep billing.

I do.

[Fraidycat]

I've now been very actively looking for three months with no success. I've had interviews

How have things been for you the last two weeks, have you had any more interviews recently or many agent calls, i ask because the market seems to have gotten even quieter after the bank failures and it was already slow before that.

[SussexSeagull]

I still have another 5 months of the contract remaining and the rate is decent but I have a 75min door to door commute each way on Tuesdays and Wednesdays which I despise. The thing is everyone I work with in an other countries so there is little point my being there.

Unless you have some seriously in demand skills I would recommend smiling sweetly and keep billing.

[SussexSeagull]

This is honestly the most difficult I've found it in the 15 years or so I've been contracting. I was quite lucky that my last contract was a long one so I avoided all the covid nonsense. I've now been very actively looking for three months with no success. I've had interviews, but I've been unsuccessful. Well, I assume I've been unsuccessful since all but one recruiter has ghosted me after interview. I might have to end up doing one of those begging posts on LinkedIn...It's either that or an OnlyFans, although I don't imagine I'd have many takers there either

It's certainly as bad as I ever remember this and I include the 2008 Financial Crash, Brexit and Covid in that.

[SussexSeagull]

Absolutely dire. A consultancy I have previously worked through - so I give them a bit more slack than an agent approaching me out the blue - excitedly got in touch with me week before last saying they had a contract for me which will be sorted out in the next couple of days. Anyway, contact at client is off for a couple of days so won't be until next week. Fair enough, these things happen. Role on next week and I ask what is happening and apparently he is ill and he is yet to reappear some week and a half later.

The consultant seems to be suffering some form of delusion which I would find sad were it not for my need to get back into work as soon as possible. In the meantime I have been put forward for a couple of permanent jobs as I need to get some money in.

It's tough out there.

[KinooOrKinog]

This is honestly the most difficult I've found it in the 15 years or so I've been contracting. I was quite lucky that my last contract was a long one so I avoided all the covid nonsense. I've now been very actively looking for three months with no success. I've had interviews, but I've been unsuccessful. Well, I assume I've been unsuccessful since all but one recruiter has ghosted me after interview. I might have to end up doing one of those begging posts on LinkedIn...It's either that or an OnlyFans, although I don't imagine I'd have many takers there either

[TheDude]

Ouch! I'd be annoyed seriously. If the majority of people that I was working with were working were in the zone GMT +5.30 and I still had to be in office....

Not as annoyed as the guys in India tare when the scrum master in the US schedules standups for 3pm UK time