Reply to: Time Spent Looking for new contracts

[foxbat3000]

9 to 4

Mostly its a 9 to 4 job for me depending on what else comes up during the day. Got firefox with 5 feeds and a liveclick plugin set to check every 15 mins usually has me talking to the recruiter first in the queue 9 times out of ten.

I agree with other posters tho your wife's attitude is appalling your trying to bring the bread home for her and presumably
your family. If you dont have a family yet dont have one with her.

[EddieNambulous]

I don't think that agents even bother to search online CVs these days. I have had no response at all from mine. If you were an agent why bother searching and calling up people who may not be interested, may not be available etc when they can post it on JobServe and get a hundred keen, benched and immediately available applicants within the hour?

They certainly do call if you give them a reason to call. I got my current gig that way - didn't lift a finger to get it (was out cycling most of the time) and it's at a pre-recession rate with a blue chip.

I am finding that the key is to differentiate yourself on your CV from all the other hundreds (thousands?) of gig-less contractors out there. If you appear to be just one of the herd, you'll get treated like one.

[thunderlizard]

If you were an agent why bother searching and calling up people who may not be interested, may not be available etc when they can post it on JobServe and get a hundred keen, benched and immediately available applicants within the hour?

Because most of the hundred would be completely unsuitable, but you have to wade through them all while fielding their pushy phone calls just in case any were any good. With the CV database at least you can do a keyword pre-screen.
Swings and roundabouts.

[d000hg]

I don't think that agents even bother to search online CVs these days. I have had no response at all from mine. If you were an agent why bother searching and calling up people who may not be interested, may not be available etc when they can post it on JobServe and get a hundred keen, benched and immediately available applicants within the hour?

I get quite a few emails and the odd phone call even when I haven't recently updated my online CVs. I don't know if they simply send every difficult role to everyone, but for instance last week:

- I got rung about a Flex gig in Edinburgh by an agent I'd talked to about Flex work last year
- Some random agency phoned me to ask if I was interested in a role doing online multiplayer game server stuff

Point is, these are both areas I've worked in and fairly niche so they must be searching databases in such cases. I suppose when they have a generic Java/.net role, they don't bother putting any work in other than posting on JS.

[vetran]

all day

If she wants the rewards that go with contracting then she has to take the hardships.

You aren't out of work you are marketing. If she wants the DIY doing then show her where the paintbrush is. Your part is working as hard as you can finding the next gig.

The wife did eventually moan like that when I was on the bench, it stopped when she settled down in front of the telly while the kids were at school and I dragged the hoover out and I said while you have time darling!

[George Parr]

I upload my CV onto the job boards and then go out on my mountain bike, taking my mobile with me.

If the market is bad and there is no work then I don't want to waste my time looking for something that isn't there.

I don't think that agents even bother to search online CVs these days. I have had no response at all from mine. If you were an agent why bother searching and calling up people who may not be interested, may not be available etc when they can post it on JobServe and get a hundred keen, benched and immediately available applicants within the hour?

[SuperZ]

I upload my CV onto the job boards and then go out on my mountain bike, taking my mobile with me.

If the market is bad and there is no work then I don't want to waste my time looking for something that isn't there.

Fully agree with that .

[EddieNambulous]

I upload my CV onto the job boards and then go out on my mountain bike, taking my mobile with me.

If the market is bad and there is no work then I don't want to waste my time looking for something that isn't there.

Hmmm...and I thought it was just me.

I don't sweat it either. If agents don't call, I'll just revise and tweak my CV every few weeks until I hit a sweet spot for responses if any....then I know what's hot in the market at the moment.

I'm a contractor because I want time off between gigs not because I want to spend my days gig-hunting between gigs.

[RichardCranium]

I upload my CV onto the job boards and then go out on my mountain bike, taking my mobile with me. If the market is bad and there is no work then I don't want to waste my time looking for something that isn't there.

A proper contractor with his life fully in order.

[MikeB]

I upload my CV onto the job boards and then go out on my mountain bike, taking my mobile with me.

If the market is bad and there is no work then I don't want to waste my time looking for something that isn't there.

[FarmerPalmer]

I upload my CV onto the job boards and then go out on my mountain bike, taking my mobile with me.

If the market is bad and there is no work then I don't want to waste my time looking for something that isn't there.

[kanulondon]

I do what I call "the DSS stats". When you sign on, they make you keep a fortnightly record of what you have done to seek work. I do something like that and occasionally the missus asks how things are going and she gets bored with the detail and wanders off.

I have a spreadsheet of agents, their contact details, what communication has occurred between us and my opinion of them.

I have a spreadsheet of applications made: where & when advertised, when applied, agent's details, what actions are needed from me, whether still active. This spreadsheet is what motivates me.

I try to do one of them every time.

Good ideas all round here. When I applied for my first gig I must have applied for over 100 roles. Of which about 25% I decided I was a VERY good match and I phoned the pimp directly.

[RichardCranium]

This sounds like a good plan - thanks. I think part of the issue is that in the olden days she could see me filling in application forms, popping down to the post office etc. Now thats its all done online she doesn't see anything tangible and so assumes that I am not doing anything.

I do what I call "the DSS stats". When you sign on, they make you keep a fortnightly record of what you have done to seek work. I do something like that and occasionally the missus asks how things are going and she gets bored with the detail and wanders off.

I have a spreadsheet of agents, their contact details, what communication has occurred between us and my opinion of them.

I have a spreadsheet of applications made: where & when advertised, when applied, agent's details, what actions are needed from me, whether still active. This spreadsheet is what motivates me.

On a side note, do any of you attach a cover note in Jobserve? When I mentioned it to an agent he wasn't even aware that there such a feature.

I try to do one of them every time.

[MPwannadecentincome]

And I know its harsh but for the record I think your wives attitude is pretty poor and she needs to get a grip.

this attitude is all too common, but I get my own back now as she spends too long on facebook

On a side note, do any of you attach a cover note in Jobserve? When I mentioned it to an agent he wasn't even aware that there such a feature.

ah - I can stop wasting my time on these then!

[Naaarwich]

Thanks & Cover Note question

No flames from me, that strategy is spot on, but I want to revise my answer.

Naaarwich, if the agents are calling you, then just make sure your CV is up to date and on half a dozen job boards. Then get on with the DIY but give yourself a couple of hours a day me-time too.

If the agents are NOT calling you, then bugger the DIY and me-time. You should be spending the working day trying to find a gig. Unless your war chest is such that you can afford to earn nothing for a few months, of course.



May I suggest you propose this deal with your missus? 9 to 5 is YOUR time to be spent as you see fit. The commuting time you are not using up is HER time for her to abuse as she sees fit. So from 8 to 9 and 5 to 6 is spent washing her smalls and putting up shelves. The remaining time is spent exactly the same way as if you were in work.

In this way you have 10 to 15 hours extra per week to spend on chores PLUS you can do full-time job searching PLUS your still do your normal weekend and evening activities PLUS your routines do not get affected.

Instead of wasting hours sitting in traffic / standing on trains you do husband-slavery but the rest of the time everything else stays the same.

How would that sound to SWMBO?

This sounds like a good plan - thanks. I think part of the issue is that in the olden days she could see me filling in application forms, popping down to the post office etc. Now thats its all done online she doesn't see anything tangible and so assumes that I am not doing anything.

On a side note, do any of you attach a cover note in Jobserve? When I mentioned it to an agent he wasn't even aware that there such a feature.