Reply to: Do/Should you always accept extensions?!

[AnonAgent]

So basically...if it makes business sense to extend, then extend. Depends on the situation at the time. Ive rarely had the clients i work with be angry / annoyed if someone turns down an extension. And as most of the contracts I run are at 3 months - despite me always pushing for a minimum of 6 - then they can only blame themselves. I dont agree with anyone leaving a contract half way through though for a reason that is purely for another role, i think that is a bad move.

[Spikeh]

I've always been a bit ruthless. In my first contract I made the mistake of renewing, then leaving a week later because a much better opportunity came up (10x the rate and from a Classic ASP -> ASP.NET role). I've also tried to negotiate rate increases a few times on contract extension due to distance travelled / expenses (1 out of 3 have been successful), but since then I've learned to just wait around a little bit until I find something more suitable, rather than take the first thing that comes along and try to make it better while I'm there.

Since then, I've accepted contracts and extensions based upon the project and skills I'm using. If I find myself bored or left with little to do, I don't accept an extension. If I've got loads to do and I'm learning new stuff, I keep going; it's good for my business. It also depends on how I get on with the client, the length of the extension and what else I have going on in my life too, but I rarely do it just for the money. I run a few other businesses, so I have a little bit of leeway, though contracting is still my main LOB.

If a client looks at my CV and has a problem with the number of contracts I've had (I've had long ones and short ones), then it's their loss; I've ten-fold the experience of the vast majority of permies I meet... and I've only ever met one other contractor that I can honestly say I had any respect for in terms of their attitude and skills.

I was offered an extension in the last place I worked, on the condition that I changed my working hours from 7:30am - 4:00pm (with hardly any lunch) to 9:00am - 5:15pm with an hour for lunch. I did not negotiate (for many reasons more than just IR35), so they didn't extend me. I'm very careful to distinguish myself from permie employees, and if taking the extension puts me in a sensitive situation, I walk away.

Clients really need to be educated as to what a contractor is; and *all* contractors need to make it clear to their clients that it's a B2B relationship, and stop bowing down to every single request from a client. If you don't have the confidence to present yourself as a business, then don't contract.

[Emigre]

Cough

Yes, learnt the hard way!

[AnonAgent]

The one project on my CV that I get questions about is the four week one I did between gigs. It was one of my best ones, though - come in, fix this list of problems, then go away. Loved it, but agents don't understand this concept of "expert consultancy"

Agents ask the question because the clients ask the question. Trust me, if we didnt get CVs rejected time and time again for these reasons, we wouldnt be doing our job if we didnt ask. The best agents will ask, understand then pass on the information when required or at the initial stage.

[Platypus]

I was in last contract for nearly 10 years, albeit several different projects. Simply easy to extend on a reasonable rate.

Same here. Or rather, I'm still am at the same place.

Important in long contracts to keep skills refreshed.

Cough

[Emigre]

While I enjoy the work and the people, I'll accept an extension.

That means that I've only turned one down once (hated the project, the client, the location and the people) - and then ended up not getting anything else for seven months

Getting tired of the current contract, but if there is an extension on offer next week, I'll take it - working from home on a decent rate, I'd be mad not to.

The fact that I'm pretty lazy about looking also means that I'm more likely to take an extension as well

WHS - even down to the 7 month bench time that followed.

I was in last contract for nearly 10 years, albeit several different projects. Simply easy to extend on a reasonable rate. Important in long contracts to keep skills refreshed. Have been on bench for last 6 months now

[TheFaQQer]

Ive had many a client reject a CV based purely on "job hopping". In which case I would need to just get 2 references...lol

The one project on my CV that I get questions about is the four week one I did between gigs. It was one of my best ones, though - come in, fix this list of problems, then go away. Loved it, but agents don't understand this concept of "expert consultancy"

[TheFaQQer]

While I enjoy the work and the people, I'll accept an extension.

That means that I've only turned one down once (hated the project, the client, the location and the people) - and then ended up not getting anything else for seven months

Getting tired of the current contract, but if there is an extension on offer next week, I'll take it - working from home on a decent rate, I'd be mad not to.

The fact that I'm pretty lazy about looking also means that I'm more likely to take an extension as well

[AnonAgent]

Thats fine as long as you understand that you are potentially hiding your CV amongst the unemployables.

Ive had many a client reject a CV based purely on "job hopping". In which case I would need to just get 2 references...lol

[GillsMan]

I don't think I could accept an extension that would take me over a year. Even at clients I've enjoyed, I've been more than ready to leave after a year.

I think I'd always accept the extension - even if I wasn't 'happy' at a clientco if there was still work to do and it would be a whole world of pain to get someone else in to do it. Just my professional conscience would prevent me from walking out on even the worst clients in such a scenario. If I knew I wasn't going to renew, I'd let them know as soon as I knew.

[darrenb]

Thats fine as long as you understand that you are potentially hiding your CV amongst the unemployables.

You force me to realize that I am completely unemployable!



Fortunately that does not stop clients from making inquiries when they get stuck on something that the employables can't handle.

[bobspud]

I would never accept a long extension just to make my CV look better. That's like the tail wagging the dog really. After all my time is valuable too. That's why I can sell it in the first place.

Thats fine as long as you understand that you are potentially hiding your CV amongst the unemployables.

[Darksider]

It completely depends on the terms and length of extension. I've just declined an 3 month extension to run from the end of my current contract (August) as the terms are pants and it puts me in a bad position to negotiate further down the line.

[SussexSeagull]

Do you think you can do better elsewhere? Then don't take the extension.

Saying that I have had to make an early exit as I was likely to be up in court on a GBH charge if I stayed so life is rarely that simple!

[darrenb]

But, unfortunately, for us contractors, it's also about the people. I've worked in one or two places over the years where I've simply turned down extension offers as I couldn't stand the anti-contractor attitude of some (all?) of the management team. Managers who suddenly realise they can't walk all over you because you are a contractor are the prime example of this phenomena.

I have turned down extensions too. I think it's crucial for clients to realize that both sides have a choice. So many want to deny that key fact even when it is staring them in the face. It really is a willful blindness. A company treating its skilled helpers badly is like a boxer punching himself in the head.

Apart from a few times where the job was terrible I have always taken a renewal due to feeling I 'should' to keep myself working rather than because I really want too.

If you want to feel like you're working, why not leave and try working on some open-source projects instead? You would probably have more to show at the end of the day. Much of what happens in an institutional environment is people just going around in circles and cancelling out each other's efforts through politics.

I would never accept a long extension just to make my CV look better. That's like the tail wagging the dog really. After all my time is valuable too. That's why I can sell it in the first place.