Reply to: Got a gig after 7 months

[ANSOF]

Congratulations....Thats good to hear

[BrilloPad]

Congratulations

[NickFitz]

Congratulations!

[Pogle]

Well done

[Mustang]

getting head-hunted is the only realistic hope right now because the agency route is just so hit and miss.

I totally agree - that's why I have increased my networking over the last 6 months.

Well done on getting the gig!

[mace]

Well done lad

Feeling like there'll be a bit more room on this bench soon. Try to take a bit of a holiday before starting work, if you can.

[icarus]

What did you say about the bench time? "I was in the pub every day, enjoying a well-earned break"?

I said that I had been working on a mobile phone game. I've been writing this game for various reasons, not least so that I can answer the bench time question with something a bit more positive than "I've been in the pub". I can then steer the conversation towards what a big business the iStore is and it makes me sound a bit less tragic.

[kanulondon]

You da man!

[dozer]

bravo, also approaching the 6 month with 2 calls today, nice to know theres hope.

[d000hg]

What did you say about the bench time? "I was in the pub every day, enjoying a well-earned break"?

[icarus]

Congrats. What is your skillset?

Bog standard C#/ASP.NET/SQL Server/WCF.

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

I have no idea what I did right. All I can suggest, if you are a dev, is to set up a vanity website and stick some of your best code examples in it, then put the link on your CV. I think it helped me to get the dev manager's attention when he was going through CVs.

[HeadOfTesting]

I'm 4 days away from the 7 month mark.

But I had 4 calls today where as recently I've had a max of 2 a day.

One of those calls was from a very senior guy at my last client who wants to discuss an opportunity with me. We're currently playing telephone tennis and I'm not getting my hopes up, but getting head-hunted is the only realistic hope right now because the agency route is just so hit and miss.

[Mr Crosby]

Things seem to be picking up slowly, I've had 5 calls in the last 2 days the first time since last December.

[MrMark]

Hope for us all. I'm now into 6 month territory, so your story has perhaps persuaded me not to visit Beachy Head just yet.

Hope your next bench spell is many years away...

[RichardCranium]

Got a gig after 7 months

And therein lies a lesson for the rest of us. Thank you for letting us know and giving us hope.

Well, by gads and by jingo with dumplings, steak and kidneys, and a good solid helping of sprouts.

Thanks, but feel free to keep the kidneys and the spouts.

Rate is 7.5% less than my last rate, which in turn was 8.5% less than the rate before that.

But for the last seven months you were on 100% less than you will be on in just a matter of days.

But about 84.5% of what you were on 2 gigs ago. So, much the same drop as banking contractors have had imposed on them. So you've got much the same as the market rate. Well done!

Still, at least I'm back in business.

You didn't give up. So you were never out of business. That's the point of contracting: never give up.

Seems like the market has stirred to life a little in the last week. Happy days are here again?

For you, yes. Go party!