Reply to: Getting my first contract

[BlasterBates]

....but maybe initially it would be a good idea to also look at the perm side, just to get me started here

unless your phone is buzzing, yes. I find that if I´m getting lots of phone calls and the odd interview it still takes several months, if you aren´t getting any at all then it looks hopeless.

[farout117]

Contracts come in waves - sometimes it can take days, others months. Mentally it can get you down, you can start questioning yourself and you just have the believe in your abilities (but obviously be realistic). There are a lot of chancers out there applying for anything and everything under the sun; the agencies and their systems have to get through them to determine who is suitable.

2 weeks is considered fairly early days. Contracting often means to a line manager "I need someone now!", so the roles can come and go very quickly (usually 2-3 days). A lot of it is luck tbh; but experienced contractors know you can help yourself and make your own luck using contacts, changing CV, being flexible about rates and locations, etc.

One thing I will say is that you should always have a warchest so you can live on when out of work - hence why you get paid a lot more than permies. Contracting is 100% a lifestyle choice - you have to take the good with the bad; even top notch heavily experienced contractors find themselves out of work at times. A lot of permies think it's a case of coming in, making loads of money and repeating it over and over; sure you can do this (esp when times are good) but there are also downtimes and lack of security that goes with it.

There are lots of factors about not getting a job; the role was pulled last minute, CV fishing by agencies (role never existed), it was filled internally and contractors where a last minute backup, etc, etc. It can mess you up mentally if your inexperienced as you don't know what goes on, if it is normal, etc.

Hang in there but know when to draw the line. Be honest and always see yourself as a business - not a full time employee. They have a job that needs completing and they pay someone to do it - the end. Avoid the office politics, internal testing, etc - if they want you they'll pay for you (if you're within acceptable market rates).

It also depends on your skillset, location, experience, etc. As a lot of folks here have said there are already experienced contractors going for the same roles - looking from the hiring manager who just needs to get the job done, who is going to get it? The person that can prove they can do it best for a decent price.

Some areas of IT will be in hot demand and others means there are too many candidates wanting the job hence driving down rates. It can switch over the course of weeks / months so later in the year you may be in demand more.

Welcome to the world of contracting.

Hi Anubis, thanks for your reply.

Just to make it a bit more clearer, I have been contracting for the last 8 years, not in the UK though. So this is the lifestyle I do wish to continue pursuing. I do have a warchest that could last me 6 months, however its always the case of being new here to contracting, so going against the experienced contractors.

Will see what happens, but maybe initially it would be a good idea to also look at the perm side, just to get me started here

[Anubis]

Contracts come in waves - sometimes it can take days, others months. Mentally it can get you down, you can start questioning yourself and you just have the believe in your abilities (but obviously be realistic). There are a lot of chancers out there applying for anything and everything under the sun; the agencies and their systems have to get through them to determine who is suitable.

2 weeks is considered fairly early days. Contracting often means to a line manager "I need someone now!", so the roles can come and go very quickly (usually 2-3 days). A lot of it is luck tbh; but experienced contractors know you can help yourself and make your own luck using contacts, changing CV, being flexible about rates and locations, etc.

One thing I will say is that you should always have a warchest so you can live on when out of work - hence why you get paid a lot more than permies. Contracting is 100% a lifestyle choice - you have to take the good with the bad; even top notch heavily experienced contractors find themselves out of work at times. A lot of permies think it's a case of coming in, making loads of money and repeating it over and over; sure you can do this (esp when times are good) but there are also downtimes and lack of security that goes with it.

There are lots of factors about not getting a job; the role was pulled last minute, CV fishing by agencies (role never existed), it was filled internally and contractors where a last minute backup, etc, etc. It can mess you up mentally if your inexperienced as you don't know what goes on, if it is normal, etc.

Hang in there but know when to draw the line. Be honest and always see yourself as a business - not a full time employee. They have a job that needs completing and they pay someone to do it - the end. Avoid the office politics, internal testing, etc - if they want you they'll pay for you (if you're within acceptable market rates).

It also depends on your skillset, location, experience, etc. As a lot of folks here have said there are already experienced contractors going for the same roles - looking from the hiring manager who just needs to get the job done, who is going to get it? The person that can prove they can do it best for a decent price.

Some areas of IT will be in hot demand and others means there are too many candidates wanting the job hence driving down rates. It can switch over the course of weeks / months so later in the year you may be in demand more.

Welcome to the world of contracting.

[farout117]

How long have you been looking?

It took me 3 months to land my first contract after finishing my last permie job.

Once you get it, start saving hard so you are ready for the next time you are out of contract.

GL.

I have been looking for 2 weeks now, still early days I guess

[Scrag Meister]

Hi all,

So I recently moved to London, and am searching for my first contract. However I am hardly getting any calls. I have read through the forum and I have tailored my CV to the different roles I am applying, and my daily rate is a normal one for development, ie not asking for a lot of money.

I have been applying on job boards mainly, jobserve, cwjobs, ITjobboard and the search in this website.

Is it a case of a bad market at the moment? Should I wait for another couple of weeks and then start applying for a perm role?

How long have you been looking?

It took me 3 months to land my first contract after finishing my last permie job.

Once you get it, start saving hard so you are ready for the next time you are out of contract.

GL.

[fraymond]

Well actually this technical test was for a quite renowned company I had found directly, was not through an agency. They just said that they will send me an online test, so I though I could give it a shot. They did not even bother calling me to see what I can do.

Some clever IT coder came up with the idea of an online test for recruiting their own skillset.

(the advanced ones even have the candidate write code on the website, it's compiled and run and the logarithmic performance of the algos are measured for candidate comparions....)

Anyhow, I see this as a significant step towards reducing rates and devaluing the worth of non "010101010" skills, like how to talk to an end user. Something which I don't wish to participate in nor further.

[farout117]

I'm in a similar situation in that I'm looking for my first contract after being made redundant (service management/ITIL area rather than technical roles). I've been looking for just over two months so far, although I must admit to start with I was only looking rather half heartedly.

The thing that has surprised me is how short the application windows are. I used to search the job sites/here every couple of days, but it appears some roles are only open for a day, two at most. I think the record was 16 hours (posted at 16:00 and closed at 08:00), so I now search once in the morning and again late afternoon.

I am searching every morning for 2 Days, so that if I missed something in the afternoon, I will get it in the morning. I also have an alert once a contract is put online.

[farout117]

The only advice I can give is:
1. Remove all the locations of your previous employers/clients from your CV and don't mention their location unless specifically asked. Agents don't need to know where they are. Lots of them are stupid will just presume the employer/client was in London or allowed you to work remotely especially if they are a multinational.
2. Widen your search - look at roles in the Home Counties near you that you can commute to. The advantage is that it could be quicker than commuting across London.

Thanks for the advice Sue, I will remove the locations from my CV.

As regards to Home Counties, I am living in Hammersmith-Fulham area, and at the moment I was looking at Surrey. Any other Home Counties I should consider?

Thanks a lot

[AndyGB]

I'm in a similar situation in that I'm looking for my first contract after being made redundant (service management/ITIL area rather than technical roles). I've been looking for just over two months so far, although I must admit to start with I was only looking rather half heartedly.

The thing that has surprised me is how short the application windows are. I used to search the job sites/here every couple of days, but it appears some roles are only open for a day, two at most. I think the record was 16 hours (posted at 16:00 and closed at 08:00), so I now search once in the morning and again late afternoon.

[SueEllen]

The only advice I can give is:
1. Remove all the locations of your previous employers/clients from your CV and don't mention their location unless specifically asked. Agents don't need to know where they are. Lots of them are stupid will just presume the employer/client was in London or allowed you to work remotely especially if they are a multinational.
2. Widen your search - look at roles in the Home Counties near you that you can commute to. The advantage is that it could be quicker than commuting across London.

[farout117]

Thing is, this is the problem you have, it's not an interview, it's a sales pitch, I would refuse to do any test which u imply u have done, that's employer/employee in my book.

They ask for X you say you can provide X they accept it. Or not. You have to prove you can do it by selling yourself (by dint ur Ltd), not scoring points in an employee-related test.

One's CV shows that, I understand urs might not at this stage, but you do need to think away from job/interview/manager thinking it's more task/history/person who pays type relationship...

I think most of us now don't have an interview as such, more a vague chat about setting the scene, if u are clueless u will get found out, if not a few examples of past history, etc, - the gig is urs.

The only technical grilling I had in recent memory was by Bob-co - HCL and it was a pointless technical point-scoring exercise, I let my eye go off the ball and missed it, and got grilled on obscure shiite anyone can google but nobody retains anymore. Next time it's "Sorry, We don't do technical interviews - we are a business not an employee, this is a B2B relationship isn't it..."

Well actually this technical test was for a quite renowned company I had found directly, was not through an agency. They just said that they will send me an online test, so I though I could give it a shot. They did not even bother calling me to see what I can do.

You are right, most of my previous gigs (not in the UK) have been a chat and a contract offer, I though you do things differently over here because of the competition. Or maybe since I cannot prove my worth yet over here, that is the way to get on the bandwagon.

[stek]

Wow that's a lot. So what do you do now? I got 2 technical interviews also, however the problem is that they are generic and not just web oriented. And I can say they have been two of the toughest I have done. One wanted 90% and I got 85%. And the other was with negative marking.

Thing is, this is the problem you have, it's not an interview, it's a sales pitch, I would refuse to do any test which u imply u have done, that's employer/employee in my book.

They ask for X you say you can provide X they accept it. Or not. You have to prove you can do it by selling yourself (by dint ur Ltd), not scoring points in an employee-related test.

One's CV shows that, I understand urs might not at this stage, but you do need to think away from job/interview/manager thinking it's more task/history/person who pays type relationship...

I think most of us now don't have an interview as such, more a vague chat about setting the scene, if u are clueless u will get found out, if not a few examples of past history, etc, - the gig is urs.

The only technical grilling I had in recent memory was by Bob-co - HCL and it was a pointless technical point-scoring exercise, I let my eye go off the ball and missed it, and got grilled on obscure shiite anyone can google but nobody retains anymore. Next time it's "Sorry, We don't do technical interviews - we are a business not an employee, this is a B2B relationship isn't it..."

[farout117]

The market is tough, but not impossible. It all depends on how keen you are.

Last contract lasted 10 weeks and I had to send off 800 jobserve applications.

The one before lasted 5 months and that took 1200 jobserve applications and 11 interviews.

However last year I made more than any other year. And had good fun contracting.

I used to do .net exclusively, but got sick of technical interviews. Decide what you want, and go after it.

Wow that's a lot. So what do you do now? I got 2 technical interviews also, however the problem is that they are generic and not just web oriented. And I can say they have been two of the toughest I have done. One wanted 90% and I got 85%. And the other was with negative marking.

[fraymond]

The market is tough, but not impossible. It all depends on how keen you are.

Last contract lasted 10 weeks and I had to send off 800 jobserve applications.

The one before lasted 5 months and that took 1200 jobserve applications and 11 interviews.

However last year I made more than any other year. And had good fun contracting.

I used to do .net exclusively, but got sick of technical interviews. Decide what you want, and go after it.

[SAPABAPLeeds]

Yeah it does, but they are not calling. Or at best fishing.

Well, there is a lot of fishing going on in SAP world too. My standard reply to any agent calling me with "expression of interest" is to send me the job spec and all I hear is radio silence ...