Reply to: State of the Market

[Fraidycat]

a lot of sob stories are appearing...

Its the run up to xmas, expect to see even more of those over the next 10 weeks. One of happiest times of year becomes the most depressing if you been out work for months..

[SchumiStars]

This is the worst I have ever, ever seen the market. Perhaps the contracting market is not coming back at all.

[Cookielove]

I've more or less given up on LinkedIn now it is getting harder and harder to sift through all the Facebook style posts people posting about weddings, births, nights out and promotions and all sorts...it isn't job/business focused but has become akin to an Agony Aunt style page...all sorts of drivel and too many ads.

It is almost pointless...agree with the other poster a lot of sob stories are appearing....each to their own I know but I wouldn't do down that route.

[Cookielove]

Good luck! Hopefully it'll tide you over until something better comes along.

Thanks !

It has all gone quiet and agency not responding so don't think it's going to happen....

[edison]

How easy is it to sift through the applicants? cause for normal jobs, if you get 400 CVs you will just stop looking past a certain amount, so you might miss some pretty well fitting CVs that way. That's the main issue with 100+ applicants, is that your CV just drowns in a sea of tulipe.

Depends what kind of applicant tracking system (ATS) is being used. I've seen quite a few recruiters on LinkedIn say an ATS doesn't filter using keywords, AI etc which seems strange because that is one of the biggest benefits of using such a tool.

I oversaw IT recruitment at two clients. One had a very basic ATS which graded all the applicants from one to five stars. With hundreds of applications, the easiest thing to do was start with the higher rated CVs and work through the first say 10, to see if enough had potential to interview. Then choose the next 10 highest rated and so on, if needed.

A more recent client was trialling a modern ATS and although we didn't use the functionality at first, it too had ways to grade/rank applications.

No one is going to read dozens of applicant CVs. In my experience it's hard enough to get some hiring managers to even look at three CVs properly.

[TheDude]

I have noticed a few contractors on LinkedIn who sound rather desperate about the lack of opportunities out there.

There also seem to be a lot fewer people saying the will only consider outside IR35 contracts.

[Bluenose]

Market update: we have bounced off the bottom but that was a double bottom.

[willendure]

It's been demonstrated time and time again that folks shouldn't be put off by the number of applications to roles on LI as there is very little quality control. An agent I know had similar, 500+ applications and less than a dozen vaguely worth considering. 80%+ were overseas folks without the skills or needing visa support.

I agree. Current client posted a role and got 300+ responses, none of which actually had any experience of the main skill requested.

The problem is, if you apply too you are going to get lost in the pile. So if you can, apply through a different channel.

[dsc]

Just as I am in the throws of shutting down my Limited company out of the blue I've had a call about a potential outside role, paying £375 - £400 per day with a minimum of 3 days in the office....it's about an hour from me. Not getting hopes up as no doubt someone will offer to do it for tuppence.....

I've been fully remote for 5 years so 3 days minimum per week in an office isn't massively appealing....plus rate is not all that....any thoughts/comments...

What other options have you got? bench at £0ph? if it sounds doable and semi interesting, I'd go for it.

[ladymuck]

I am going for it seemed v promising yesterday but not sure it will happen...they will no doubt have a lot of interest!

Good luck! Hopefully it'll tide you over until something better comes along.

[sadkingbilly]

That sounds excellent. I would work for free in a office ATM!

Blasphemy! - BURN THE WITCH!!

[Cookielove]

I am going for it seemed v promising yesterday but not sure it will happen...they will no doubt have a lot of interest!

[dsc]

I posted an IT role on LI before the summer. About 95% of the many, many applicants weren't qualified for the role. They either hadn't even read the job spec, or were applying from countries such as Turkey, Iran or Pakistan with no right to work in the country.

How easy is it to sift through the applicants? cause for normal jobs, if you get 400 CVs you will just stop looking past a certain amount, so you might miss some pretty well fitting CVs that way. That's the main issue with 100+ applicants, is that your CV just drowns in a sea of tulipe.

[ladymuck]

Just as I am in the throws of shutting down my Limited company out of the blue I've had a call about a potential outside role, paying £375 - £400 per day with a minimum of 3 days in the office....it's about an hour from me. Not getting hopes up as no doubt someone will offer to do it for tuppence.....

I've been fully remote for 5 years so 3 days minimum per week in an office isn't massively appealing....plus rate is not all that....any thoughts/comments...

I'd do it. I actually quite like being in the office though. Not full time, of course, but 3 days is actually a nice balance.

[SchumiStars]

Just as I am in the throws of shutting down my Limited company out of the blue I've had a call about a potential outside role, paying £375 - £400 per day with a minimum of 3 days in the office....it's about an hour from me. Not getting hopes up as no doubt someone will offer to do it for tuppence.....

I've been fully remote for 5 years so 3 days minimum per week in an office isn't massively appealing....plus rate is not all that....any thoughts/comments...

That sounds excellent. I would work for free in a office ATM!