Reply to: Days -> Weeks -> Months

[quackhandle]

F**k it, I'm off to the sauna to stare at some birds t1ts.

Time is money, ring the agent from the sauna.

qh

[oliverson]

But thats always been the case. You have to be proactive. Send you CV wait an hour and call the agent.

F**k it, I'm off to the sauna to stare at some birds t1ts.

[eek]

I'm obviously aware of that. Indeed part of the problem, on the rare occasion something turns up, is getting your CV through the 100+ applicants for every role. That's probably the reason the guy keeps a diary.

Isn't looking good is it? I imagine I'm not the only one affected!

But thats always been the case. You have to be proactive. Send you CV wait an hour and call the agent.

[nomadd]

Very, very worried now.

Just talking to another agent I know and he has a diary of talented developers - C# uber geeks used to earning £ 750+ a day at the big banks. He has 17 of these guys currently on the bench and none of them can get work at that level. The big players are driving the rates down to around £ 600 max. That puts them in my territory. Can it get any worse?

TBH, in the current market, maybe even the £600 is unrealistic for a C# guy? I have two of them sat opposite me (in a major IB in London) and they aren't on anything like that - probably more £450-500.

Guess it depends how desperate these "uber geeks" are to be in work. With maybe a wife at home, two kids and a big mortgage, I can't see too many of them turning down £500 / day for too long.

All IMHO, of course.

[oliverson]

Did you take in to account he will also have 150 semi talented developers with long contracting history sitting on the bench as well?

And the fact there are 300 or so agents all with exactly the same numbers of different people in their diaries?

I'm obviously aware of that. Indeed part of the problem, on the rare occasion something turns up, is getting your CV through the 100+ applicants for every role. That's probably the reason the guy keeps a diary.

Isn't looking good is it? I imagine I'm not the only one affected!

[northernladuk]

Very, very worried now.

Just talking to another agent I know and he has a diary of talented developers - C# uber geeks used to earning £ 750+ a day at the big banks. He has 17 of these guys currently on the bench and none of them can get work at that level. The big players are driving the rates down to around £ 600 max. That puts them in my territory. Can it get any worse?

Did you take in to account he will also have 150 semi talented developers with long contracting history sitting on the bench as well?

And the fact there are 300 or so agents all with exactly the same numbers of different people in their diaries?

[oliverson]

Very, very worried now.

Just talking to another agent I know and he has a diary of talented developers - C# uber geeks used to earning £ 750+ a day at the big banks. He has 17 of these guys currently on the bench and none of them can get work at that level. The big players are driving the rates down to around £ 600 max. That puts them in my territory. Can it get any worse?

[Scoobos]

Good luck, remember to keep busy, get out and get some fresh air, get a dog, take up running. Just don't sit in with Jeremy Kyle for company, that will drive anyone to lunacy.
qh

Top advice IMHO...

Without sounding a git, I know my CV is at the most powerful position it will ever be at - this is the pinnacle for me and I'm benched, but only just starting to feel it after 8 months.

I took 6 months off and re-joined the market in January and have since then had 2 interviews and been offered two roles that for *AAAAARRRGGGH* one reason or another turned out to be a no go (Commute / unrealistic client expectations / rate / instability of client setup).

I'm kicking myself, as for me it appears to be work in London or work nowhere.... I thought I'd "Play the market" with my super CV ... lol...

Try a year - thats a benching ... A few months is part and parcel of what we do isn't it?

I never stay anywhere near 24 months with a single client. I have only once had 1 contract end and another immediately begin. I'm used to breaks and if you cba , its a good opportunity to reskill.

For me, getting a contract in my field after being benched a year boosted my confidence like nothing else ever has. I enjoyed that contract too, even with a project with ever moving goalposts.

What hurts me when benched, is having to deal with (imo) an ever decreasing quality of agent "Oh, yeah I know <your town> my last job was in carphone warhouse there last year - let me get your cv over to the client" etc.. Oh cheers, I've got lots of faith you can sell me to the client better than I can

8 months including actively looking for a 3 months tho is different this time - starting to get the dreaded "What have you been doing since *****"

"Playing on my xbox, doing CBTs out of guilt once a month, and rubbing my last invoice over my naked chest?" is not the right answer...

mmmmm fat invoices mmmmm...

[oliverson]

This^

I really can't see someone with good C#, WPF (etc.) and good Investment Bnaking skills being off the market for too long in London. Once the new budgets come through in April/May, it shouldn't take too long to find something.

I just can't believe it either. I have good (and supposedly in demand) skills and a strong CV. I'm getting calls from agencies and being put forward but nothing is really happening interview wise aside from the one that resulted in an offer that ultimately couldn't get the budget. I even had one company ask me to do a coding test over the weekend and submit it for their inspection, which I did. I gave them the URL of the zip file but they never even bothered to download it. I could tell from the web site logs it hadn't even been touched. B**tards.

[Scrag Meister]

move to managing offshore work and interfacing between the business and the end provider.

Did this back in 2006 managed about 18 months, hated it, moved back to development which I enjoy.

Wouldn't have been so bad if the bobs had actually done any thinking for themselves.

[nomadd]

move to managing offshore work

I'd shoot myself first. (Well, actually I'd retire first, and not shoot myself.)

Unless you can find a technical niche where you can sit very close to the end user...

Thankfully, this^ in my case.

[eek]

I disagree.

The market looks very bouyant to me for my skill sets. I no longer program I never kept up with the changing technologies but I moved over into Business Analysis/ Project Management/Technical architecture. I sit nicely between the business and IT & any outsourced bobs. No way will you be able to compete technically, but in terms of understanding the business / requirements etc there will always be onshore work.

WMFS

The market is going to move to managing offshore work and interfacing between the business and the end provider.

Unless you can find a technical niche where you can sit very close to the end user the only way to keep in this game is by becoming an independent validation / interface between an end business and bob co.

[redgiant]

I’m not finding the market dead in my fields either - Business Analysis, Project Management, Process Improvement and Collaboration Tech.

Current contract is up at Easter so have been sending the monkeys out to find new contracts and have had a few promising ones come back.

[Coalman]

I disagree.

The market looks very bouyant to me for my skill sets. I no longer program I never kept up with the changing technologies but I moved over into Business Analysis/ Project Management/Technical architecture. I sit nicely between the business and IT & any outsourced bobs. No way will you be able to compete technically, but in terms of understanding the business / requirements etc there will always be onshore work.

Bloody hell - I'm agreeing with MF. No, ah, ah - nurse where s my meds?

[norrahe]

I certainly picked the wrong time to move country.
Interim roles especially English speaking ones are few and far between in cloggers.
The market in the UK is pretty bouyant for my specialism, not been on the bench that long, if it's longer than 6 weeks then I may have to consider taking summat back in blighty and doing the weekly commute from cloggers.