Reply to: Not extended while other contractor has been

[BolshieBastard]

There are two contractors - it does not necessarily follow that one is god's gift to contracting, and the other the cowboy from hell. Perfectly possible that both were doing a good / reasonable job, and that the choice of which to keep comes down to less objective criteria.

Which is why I said 9 times out of 10!

In the scenario you suggest, it can come down to who lives nearest the client site. I once had a telephone interview for a role based 160 miles away. Agent told me another guy was being telephoned interviewed but we were the only two.

I got the role.

The PM interviewer told me I got it because I lived 10 mile nearer! That's what he told me! I didnt care whether he was BSing or not though.

[Segush]

Yeh but you can take this too far. Fair enough if others are taking the piss then they get what they deserve...

But do you want to be the mug contractor who stays because you're the pushover who wont bill as they should and will let client get away with murder? Unfortunately, I work with one like this- free oncall, free weekend work etc. Not for me thanks.

Not that either, I charge my time, I invoice the time I work but never have taken it too far so far. I have come across others that do the minute they have given the chance to do it, saying they work whilst they have lunch etc etc. I haven't been in the industry as a contractor long enough but I have already come across some others that push it and push it.

On the other hand, I don't want to be the mug either...

[psychocandy]

I went to a meeting once out of the office with some other contractors, at the end of the week I booked 8.5 hours for that day as the time spent commuting I would have spent anyway going to the office. For the other two the clock started ticking as soon as they left home in the morning and came back in the evening, a total of 14 hours. They newer got renewed, I did.

In my experience there is a level of trust you have to have with your Client, if that is not there they may go for someone they trust.

S

Yeh but you can take this too far. Fair enough if others are taking the piss then they get what they deserve...

But do you want to be the mug contractor who stays because you're the pushover who wont bill as they should and will let client get away with murder? Unfortunately, I work with one like this- free oncall, free weekend work etc. Not for me thanks.

[mudskipper]

Let's be honest. If there's two or more contractors and one has to go, the one got rid of first will, 9 times out of 10, be because they;

deliver tulip work
cause problems for the client (in a host of ways)
are seen to take the piss

In my experience, being on a higher rate doesnt come into the equation because the contractor on the higher rate has generally got a track record to back it up.

There are two contractors - it does not necessarily follow that one is god's gift to contracting, and the other the cowboy from hell. Perfectly possible that both were doing a good / reasonable job, and that the choice of which to keep comes down to less objective criteria.

To OP - I think it's natural to wonder why the other contractor got selected over you, but do you agonise in the same way over an interview for which you don't get the gig? Onwards and upwards!

[Segush]

Let's be honest. If there's two or more contractors and one has to go, the one got rid of first will, 9 times out of 10, be because they;

deliver tulip work
cause problems for the client (in a host of ways)
are seen to take the piss

In my experience, being on a higher rate doesnt come into the equation because the contractor on the higher rate has generally got a track record to back it up.

I went to a meeting once out of the office with some other contractors, at the end of the week I booked 8.5 hours for that day as the time spent commuting I would have spent anyway going to the office. For the other two the clock started ticking as soon as they left home in the morning and came back in the evening, a total of 14 hours. They newer got renewed, I did.

In my experience there is a level of trust you have to have with your Client, if that is not there they may go for someone they trust.

S

[bless 'em all]

My experience - 5 of us (from an original 25 contractors) were given rate cuts....4 @ 30% 1 @ 12% - we were all on the same original rate but the one who got the 12% cut was female with nice tits.

Make of that what you will

It sounds like she was the only one of you with a pair!

[Taita]

My experience - 5 of us (from an original 25 contractors) were given rate cuts....4 @ 30% 1 @ 12% - we were all on the same original rate but the one who got the 12% cut was female with nice tits.

Make of that what you will

And the client manager is a lesbian..... or is the female not stupid enough to accurately reveal all the personal details of her contract to a bunch of boobies?!? Some people just do not know when they are being wound up!

[Sausage Surprise]

My experience - 5 of us (from an original 25 contractors) were given rate cuts....4 @ 30% 1 @ 12% - we were all on the same original rate but the one who got the 12% cut was female with nice tits.

Make of that what you will

[BolshieBastard]

Let's be honest. If there's two or more contractors and one has to go, the one got rid of first will, 9 times out of 10, be because they;

deliver tulip work
cause problems for the client (in a host of ways)
are seen to take the piss

In my experience, being on a higher rate doesnt come into the equation because the contractor on the higher rate has generally got a track record to back it up.

[fraymond]

Unless it comes down to some specific niche skillset, more often than not I've seen that contractor attitude and the client choosing to "do business with someone they like" are the biggest determinants...

[psychocandy]

I totally disagree and I think you dim opinion of clients is seriously affecting your judgement.

Everytime I have ever seen a team shaved there has been a tangible reason, normally around attitude or the fact the contractor has managed to carve himself out a little niche area he hasn't passed on or something. Client managers have to justify themselves internally and to the contractor themselves so it is even easier to pick someone based on some evidence.

Don't know why you have this attitude that all clients are idiots but it isn't very clever.

25+ years in the industry mate. Didn't say there were idiots but I will say that a lot of clients will make some very strange decisions which appear very random.

OK. Possibly a bit unfair and usually the clients have their own reasons for doing what they're doing which might make sense to them. But I usually find the large the organisation, the more chance of a strange decision. But then I've worked at both big clients and small clients who have been great and ones who've been poor.

Just highlighting the fact that its not worth getting upset about being the one canned because quality of work is not often the issue.

As someone else said, contractor who got kept on car-shared with manager. Hmmmm.

[MyUserName]

What's a kitchen?

It's not fair.....I don't want to......

See, this is what happens when you lot make a woman think about complicated things!!

*sorry, I'll stop now!*

[SueEllen]

Hey, who left the laptop on in the kitchen?

What's a kitchen?

It's not fair.....I don't want to......

[stek]

Not extended while other contractor has been

I remember getting canned once, four of us out of a team of five, the one kept on was car sharing with the boss from the North East.

Irony is he's still there prolly on cut rates and mine has almost doubled since then, so while ill admit to being slightly miffed at the time, best thing that happened in reality...

[northernladuk]

Nah. this whole 'must have been because I was better' is all bollacks.

Clients aren't that clever on the whole. You're just a number. If theres a choice of two it'll either be a) random b) cheaper c) arselickier

You're giving clients too much credit expecting them to make sensible decisions.

If you worry why a client let you know and assume its something you did, you're head will explode.

I totally disagree and I think you dim opinion of clients is seriously affecting your judgement.

Everytime I have ever seen a team shaved there has been a tangible reason, normally around attitude or the fact the contractor has managed to carve himself out a little niche area he hasn't passed on or something. Client managers have to justify themselves internally and to the contractor themselves so it is even easier to pick someone based on some evidence.

Don't know why you have this attitude that all clients are idiots but it isn't very clever.