Reply to: Just how long is 'The Bench'?

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Just trying to expand my skillset for the moment until something comes up. How do people go about adding that to their CV? Do they just put it under "interests, hobbies". Obviously, I will have no commercial experience to speak of, but still want employers to know that I know about these additional skills.

Do some cheap work for a friend who owns a business and put it as a contract on your CV with those skills that you want to show you have.

[memyselfandi]

Took me about 350-400 applications last year before I finally landed something. And remember, it's still a quiet time of the year at the moment. Stick at it, and be patient. Something will turn up eventually. Remember, even Richard C. managed to find something eventually.

Oh well, better get submitting now then. I have only had one contract before now, so that may also be why I am not getting a huge amount of success yet. I am hoping that when I get a couple under my belt that companies may be more likely to take me on.

Just trying to expand my skillset for the moment until something comes up. How do people go about adding that to their CV? Do they just put it under "interests, hobbies". Obviously, I will have no commercial experience to speak of, but still want employers to know that I know about these additional skills.

[nomadd]

Recent feedback I've been getting is clients who advertise vaccancies are only taking on those contractors who previously worked for them.

May or may not be true but I think this goes on even when the market is quite good.

One role I went for had 5 vaccancies. 4 were filled by people who'd worked for the client previously. The 5th role was filled internally.

50/50 split here. In the 4 months I've been at this gig, 6 people have been recruited. Half of them have worked here before, the other half not (which includes me.)

It's very easy for clients to say they will only take on people they've worked with before, but quite another thing in reality.

[BolshieBastard]

Recent feedback I've been getting is clients who advertise vaccancies are only taking on those contractors who previously worked for them.

May or may not be true but I think this goes on even when the market is quite good.

One role I went for had 5 vaccancies. 4 were filled by people who'd worked for the client previously. The 5th role was filled internally.

[nomadd]

Been on since the end of November.

Must have submitted my CV about 100 times now for jobs, but absolutely no feedback on jobs at all from agents. Are these all ghost jobs????

Anyone else getting this issue.

Took me about 350-400 applications last year before I finally landed something. And remember, it's still a quiet time of the year at the moment. Stick at it, and be patient. Something will turn up eventually. Remember, even Richard C. managed to find something eventually.

[memyselfandi]

Been on since the end of November.

Must have submitted my CV about 100 times now for jobs, but absolutely no feedback on jobs at all from agents. Are these all ghost jobs????

Anyone else getting this issue.

[Hiram King Of Tyre]

I've been on the bench since September. Had a few sniffs before Christmas but a lot of mucking about with budgets pulled and stuff. There just don't seem to be many telo opportunities around at the moment

[cojak]

Remember the old contractor maxim: you're only as good as your next contract. I use Jobserve as a continuing guide as to what that next contract might be.

Ditto.

Listen to this chap - he makes sense.

I'm already looking at training for the contract after next... (I'm expecting/hoping that the training I took last year will get me my next contract...)

[PinkPoshRat]

Shuffle up people, there's a new bottom for the bench

[nomadd]

What you been working on today?

Spring Web Services port, for a client who has already written the Java code against another web services engine.

And, although it seems as if we are wandering off-topic here, it's still useful stuff for me to do at my own cost as every damn Java job on Jobserve insists on Spring and Hibernate (both of which are used on this project - did the porting of the code to Hibernate 3 last week), so it's all good for marketability. Remember the old contractor maxim: you're only as good as your next contract. I use Jobserve as a continuing guide as to what that next contract might be.

[BolshieBastard]

I can't imagine many other industries where 6 months without work "isn't that bad". Imagine a builder/plumber/tradesman having no work at all for 6 months...
I still find this bench thing a bit weird... how a skilled expert can not find any work for 6+ months is just weird. I know it's naive, but are long-term benchees typically happy to take work further afield at crappy rates - does professional pride play its part or is it a case of there are flat-out no roles in your area of expertise?

I'd been working away from home for about four years then picked up a job at barcrap. After signing a new 6 month extension we were hit with a 20% take it or leave it rate cut offer 4 weeks into the new contract. So I told them to sling their hook and walked.

I didnt realise it at the time but the also market went into a steep downturn about a month into me deciding to take it easy for a while. When I started looking again the only jobs were in London so I decided to sit tight.

Eventually picked up a job within daily travel but you live and learn.

[HairyArsedBloke]

Well, how about some 'ASSICONS?' ......

AH!

I'm getting close to 5,000 posts and was looking for ideas for a custom thingy.

Thanks.

[DieScum]

All sensible stuff Nomadd.

The key thing there is thinking and planning well ahead.

I read your original comment as being a bit more immediate. As in anyone could just change course and be a lowly java programmer at an IB if thats what pays well. Obviously you can't just click your fingers and make that happen.

I think you really have to enjoy it to keep up that constant learning and skill building. What you been working on today?

I'm not a programmer but I learned java and smalltalk at uni so can bash out some C# nowadays. Published a little C# article about a small utility I hacked together recently. Then only last week a company asking me about my scripting/programming experience. Was nice to to point them to some published work. Got a tenner for the article as well.

[nomadd]

How do you find reskilling and getting experience to fit the market? I do security and infrastructure work. But if all the advertisements are for Radia and my experience is solely in SCCM it's hard to adapt to that market change.

Then either get (pay!) for some SCCM training or broaden your skillset to something else. ..Just like I've had to do for the last 21 years. Changing your skillset won't happen overnight: you have to think and plan well ahead. Contracting has always been that way.

Ask yourself what other areas you could - and already should - have moved into? TBH, you've already started answering that question in your reply above.

It's taken me the best part of 3 years of self-study and piece-by-piece job selection to get me to where I am now. And that includes refusing renewals on a couple of contracts as I could see they were running me into a dead-end if I continued with them. And I'd dare say my skillset was already considerably wider/deeper than yours before I started that transition. In other words, it ain't easy to be a long-term contractor, you've got to constantly work at it (and I've been doing just that - free of charge - all day today at home on my own PC.)

The point I'm trying to make - in reply to the genuine question posted above my earlier post in this thread - is simply that there is no point running a business trying to sell stuff people don't want. Unless you want to sit "on the bench" for years, that is...

[DieScum]

I just look at what the market wants and do that instead.

How do you find reskilling and getting experience to fit the market? I do security and infrastructure work. But if all the advertisements are for Radia and my experience is solely in SCCM it's hard to adapt to that market change.