Reply to: Pimp says the market is buoyant!

[juststarting]

Agents are trained to be optimistic. If the Russians dropped a nuke on the UK they would ring you up and say how wonderfully warm the weather is.

(off topic ) You should apply for a job with G W Bush. Oh no wait... he is gone now.

[hgllgh]

just had a pimp call me up trying to pimp me out at £200 a day the pimping mother pimper

at those sort of rates we may as well all go back to being permies

[MPwannadecentincome]

Cheers for the congrats.

Having said all that, the agent wasn't very happy putting me forward at the rate I requested (£550-£600) per day, as he said he had already put other people forward at "£400 per day, as they wanted to work." Cheeky b'stard. His comment annoyed me so much I absolutely stuck to my rate demands. As it turned out, the client were prepared to pay the right money for the right candidate, so all this talk of "the client will only pay £xxx" from the agents (and clients, for that matter) is pure BS when push comes to shove.

Nomadd

I'm fighting the same battle now - though my rate is not as high as yours - just found myself (partly) DOOMED back onto part-time work winding down to nothing in December and I've been looking for a replacement role since September. There is a bit more to apply for but not even getting an interview. All possible direct leads have dried up. My rate is going to have to drop soon as I have £12K debts now.

[Stan.goodvibes]

yes, it will soon be Nothing in November and Dead in December

leading into Jack Sh*t January and Frack-All February

[nomadd]

Sorry but your post sound like utter shyte.

If the co you are working for cant find 'good UK contractors, they arent looking hard enough or expect to get quality on the cheap.

I've no doubt there are some poor contractors out there, I've even come across a few in my time but if they pay peanuts, they'll get monkeys.

I have to agree with this. I've worked - as a contractor, I might add - for 3 of the top 5 consultancies. My recent conversations with many of those I worked with has been that the large consultancies have been decimated. And knowing first-hand the lunatic rate charges they make, I'm not surprised.

Having said that, I'm sure smaller, more specialist consultancies are probably doing OK - as long as they don't overcharge and keep their customer base happy. As we all know, it's the "who" you know rather than "what" you know which can make all the difference when times are tough.

Still, the days of £5k per week "consultants" with bugger-all skills but a posh education/accent and "big name consultancy" behind them are well and truly gone. And thank goodness for that! Gives us honest hard-working contractors a chance to show what we can do.

Nomadd

[BolshieBastard]

I disagree, I have just finished with a consultancy today, and business is booming. In the last few months we have seen a good number of clients come to us with requirements because they can't find good contractors, or they want us to fix things that they have had contractors put in. They are also trying to get another contractor to fill my position, but say everyone who they interview is absolute tulip.

My pimp last week said things picked up for Aug/Sep but have dropped back again in the last few weeks.

Sorry but your post sound like utter shyte.

If the co you are working for cant find 'good UK contractors, they arent looking hard enough or expect to get quality on the cheap.

I've no doubt there are some poor contractors out there, I've even come across a few in my time but if they pay peanuts, they'll get monkeys.

[Clippy]

I disagree, I have just finished with a consultancy today, and business is booming. In the last few months we have seen a good number of clients come to us with requirements because they can't find good contractors, or they want us to fix things that they have had contractors put in. They are also trying to get another contractor to fill my position, but say everyone who they interview is absolute tulip.

My pimp last week said things picked up for Aug/Sep but have dropped back again in the last few weeks.

How come you are leaving?

Got another gig?

BTW, what is your skillset?

[JoJoGabor]

The biggest losers in general will be the consultancies. Their £1K a day (or much more) bods will get the chop before us £500ish jobbing 'tractors.

I disagree, I have just finished with a consultancy today, and business is booming. In the last few months we have seen a good number of clients come to us with requirements because they can't find good contractors, or they want us to fix things that they have had contractors put in. They are also trying to get another contractor to fill my position, but say everyone who they interview is absolute tulip.

My pimp last week said things picked up for Aug/Sep but have dropped back again in the last few weeks.

[aceboy]

Banks are selectively hiring, I know of 5 who have roles open in my field, but the competition is steep!!

[swamp]

Sorry, dude - didn't mean to be like that. It's just that this year has been the worst I can remember in 20 years of contracting. And when you look at the state the country is in under NuLabour, well, I can't see things getting any better for many years. Once the Tories start slashing spending after next years election, that's going to be a million more IT specialists from the "public sector" all flooding on to the market. It's that reason why I took this contract in Investment Banking: I'm hoping it will be a bit of a buffer from the flood of newly unemployed IT workers from the "state side" over the next few years.

Actually, I've just realised my post was even more doom and gloom! Sorry!

Nomadd

I'm in the public sector and I'm sure a few contractors from here will be warming the bench next year.

However...

The biggest losers in general will be the consultancies. Their £1K a day (or much more) bods will get the chop before us £500ish jobbing 'tractors. It's been happening on my current site for some time. Hiring permies is often not an option for institutional reasons and cost -- think 25 years' salary + gold plated pension + last 10 years doing no work mumbling in the corner refusing to learn new technologies.

Contractors usually represent Good Value to the public sector. And when we're faced with a financial bonfire next year, I would say "Good Value" is a good position to be in.



Oh, and Boomed!

[nomadd]

Stop, stop, too many gloomy comments ! Spare a thought for those of us still left on the bench and trying to remain optimistic.

Sorry, dude - didn't mean to be like that. It's just that this year has been the worst I can remember in 20 years of contracting. And when you look at the state the country is in under NuLabour, well, I can't see things getting any better for many years. Once the Tories start slashing spending after next years election, that's going to be a million more IT specialists from the "public sector" all flooding on to the market. It's that reason why I took this contract in Investment Banking: I'm hoping it will be a bit of a buffer from the flood of newly unemployed IT workers from the "state side" over the next few years.

Actually, I've just realised my post was even more doom and gloom! Sorry!

Nomadd

[minestrone]

It is picking up, starting a new gig a week on Monday, had no problem getting a new role.

[nomadd]

Congrats - how have you found the rates say compared to your last contract ?

Cheers for the congrats.

Rate is about 5% more than the rate I've been on for the last couple of years. Mind you, this is Investment Banking, and those were Retail Banking, so I guess that's only to be expected.

Having said all that, the agent wasn't very happy putting me forward at the rate I requested (£550-£600) per day, as he said he had already put other people forward at "£400 per day, as they wanted to work." Cheeky b'stard. His comment annoyed me so much I absolutely stuck to my rate demands. As it turned out, the client were prepared to pay the right money for the right candidate, so all this talk of "the client will only pay £xxx" from the agents (and clients, for that matter) is pure BS when push comes to shove.

Monday morning is going to be a real shocker to me after a 7 month layup. Just hope the alarm clock does it's job!

Nomadd

[mrdonuts]

Did I miss the September surge, or the October eh onslaught??

yes, it will soon be Nothing in November and Dead in December

[Ruse]

WHS ^

If there were suddenly 5x the number of roles it would still take some time before the slack was taken up, having spoken to quite a few pimps and HR people I believe them when they say they often get 100+ CV's per role advertised.

Very true. The difference is that July-Sept there weren't even any roles to apply for, at least not in my slightly niche area. Now there are some roles but the competition is intense and therefore the downward pressure on rates is also very high.