Reply to: Contracting prospects

[TheFaQQer]

With contracting, your company income could stop at any time, regardless of the what the contract says.

If you aren't prepared to deal with that situation (either mentally or financially) then stay where you are.

[silentsteel]

Hi,

Plenty of good advice here. Some bits from my personal experience. I started contracting after getting disillusioned by the permanent role, mostly salary and progression, very long hours etc etc. I like others turned down my permanent job, the company needed me badly and we negotiated a handover period of a few months. During that time I applied left right and centre for permie roles, got a few interviews but salary was not what I wanted.

Long story short, the handover period came to an end, I was applying for contracting roles, more as forced to do so due to financial reward rather than a choice. I at the same time applied for a taxi liscence just in case.

5 months of savings under my belt, no job, a taxi liscence on the way. 4 months to find a new contract, got paid after two months, the invoices worked out that way nothing to do with the agency being crap, just some internal process issues. Was using my overdraft at that time.

Three months into my contract, I had paid off the overdraft, paid for a holiday, and made back around 3 months in living expenses.

If I were to do it all over again, I would apply for contract roles, while in a permie job, use the holiday allowance towards the notice period, if you tell the agency that you will be availble after 4 weeks then most probably you will not get any interviews as people want you to start quickly unless there is some form of a relationship of trust between you and the client organisation.

At the end of the day it is your career, you need to see what is better for you in the long run and can you take the risk?

Good Luck,
SS

[ICantStop]

Salary = 45k. I'm applying for contract roles now, and whilst in my notice period, which is just one month actually.

I actually applied for a Bristol contract last week - and got a telephone interview even though they knew full well I was a permie. A good sign. They then asked me in for an interview on 2nd May at 5pm (willing to work around my full time role) not for a specific contract role, but so they can find out what I'm about. They liked my summary and suggested approach for the existing contract post they needed filling - even though I'm not available in time for that. They said they want PM contacts in the local area as there is more work coming up this year and next - and I'm just down the road from them.

As regards negotiating the notice period down, GOOD SUGGESTION! I'm going to be quite open with them about the contracting route - and that I'm looking for a professional lifestyle change. Who knows what will come of that conversation. I would have no objection whatsoever to contracting for them in the future (we've already got a contractor PM who sits opposite me), so I could return one day. I'll be leaving on good terms.

So yes, they might say "ok fair enough we're willing to grant you a reduced notice period" - but then again I probably need the money for the savings (i.e. an extra weeks pay) - so I'm not sure about this.

I'm planning on having a 4 month buffer in which to get a contract job. Month 4 is basically going to be a pretty bad position to be in - but those are the breaks if you're going to try and switch. If you believe you'll fail, you'll find a way. My mind-set is on the other side of that.

Month 4 will include permie applications in addition to contract applications, as being jobless at that point might mean you may have made the wrong choice and need to go back. But nothing ventured nothing gained.

How did you make the switch?

1 week contracting is more savings than 1 weeks permie salary

If you're confident you could get your notice down then start applying for roles with an availability of 2 weeks. This should give you a better chance of landing a role.

[ICantStop]

Unless you know the client really well, having them wait two months is a massive risk. If they can do without you for that period of time you can bet a senior manager or HR will come along and pull the role. In my experience most clients (90%+) will not wait even a week, though we all know it can take up to a month before you can start. It's something you need to manage if you are going contracting.

Really depends on the area. In London finance, people are prepared to wait for longer. For my current role they waited nearly 6 weeks.

[ForBajor]

I stole our house buying fund - was doing great until I had to buy a 'new' car

The house buying fund? Blimey - talk about taking risks! That must have been a big decision.

Ha - 'new' car? Yes mine was 'new'. If you call a 1999 nissan new.

[ForBajor]

Can't really comment on your specific circumstances, but I found myself in a similar place and went for it in March. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made and, to be honest, even if I went back to permie right now it would have been completely worth it (Ltd company and all) for the boost in our finances. My advice is that "you can always go back" - you're making a big decision, but it's not a '"rest of your life" decision - just get your ducks in some kind of order and give it a shot.

Do make sure your Mrs is on board, though - I've just worked my first ever bank holday weekend, having not seen her in a week and I'll see her again for 20 minutes tomorrow as I pass by while moving from one end of the country to the other. You've got to be prepared to be flexible - the work is out there, but you have to go to it IMHO.

I note you're in the midlands (Birmingham perhaps?) and you've made it work. I'm guessing you can get into Kings Cross for a London contract if you need to? Have you had to use this option yet?

Totally agree that this is NOT a rest of your life decision. But in my position I think I have to try, because IF I can make this work (and there is a reasonable chance) then it really could transform things professionally and even personally. Making contacts in the the city would be fantastic as we want to move closer to London in the years ahead, so it's a case of one thing feeding into another - but if you don't try then you can forget all of it.

[ForBajor]

ForBayor - what kind of salary are you on at the moment?

And your notice period is 2 months right? How about applying for contract roles whilst you're still in employment? If you do manage to secure something, then either find out if they are prepared to wait 2 months, or resign and try your best to negotiate your current notice period down?

Do you really only have enough savings to get you through 2 months? Assuming you'll be able to get something in that period is a hell of a risk to take...

Salary = 45k. I'm applying for contract roles now, and whilst in my notice period, which is just one month actually.

I actually applied for a Bristol contract last week - and got a telephone interview even though they knew full well I was a permie. A good sign. They then asked me in for an interview on 2nd May at 5pm (willing to work around my full time role) not for a specific contract role, but so they can find out what I'm about. They liked my summary and suggested approach for the existing contract post they needed filling - even though I'm not available in time for that. They said they want PM contacts in the local area as there is more work coming up this year and next - and I'm just down the road from them.

As regards negotiating the notice period down, GOOD SUGGESTION! I'm going to be quite open with them about the contracting route - and that I'm looking for a professional lifestyle change. Who knows what will come of that conversation. I would have no objection whatsoever to contracting for them in the future (we've already got a contractor PM who sits opposite me), so I could return one day. I'll be leaving on good terms.

So yes, they might say "ok fair enough we're willing to grant you a reduced notice period" - but then again I probably need the money for the savings (i.e. an extra weeks pay) - so I'm not sure about this.

I'm planning on having a 4 month buffer in which to get a contract job. Month 4 is basically going to be a pretty bad position to be in - but those are the breaks if you're going to try and switch. If you believe you'll fail, you'll find a way. My mind-set is on the other side of that.

Month 4 will include permie applications in addition to contract applications, as being jobless at that point might mean you may have made the wrong choice and need to go back. But nothing ventured nothing gained.

How did you make the switch?

[ForBajor]

All the advice about having enough to survive a few months without any income is precisely what I would say too.

As a permie, I would watch and keep track of my current account balance going from a thousand down to nil every month. As a contractor I keep track of my account over a much longer time-frame and start worrying when it gets below £5K. Different mindset. Probably not a healthy or recommendable one either.

If you don't have that right now, then liquidate something or borrow it and pay it back after a year. Making the change in autumn is a good idea too as someone else said.

I'm thinking along those lines at the moment. I'm working on options to secure a 4 month security blanket. Based on every inspection of the job market in the south west and London I'm optimistic about my chances. If I wasn't I'd not even be considering this. But it's live by the sword die by the sword and I'm prepared for that. I'll regret not trying this - of that I am absolutely 100% certain.

Having a figure to maintain in the kitty at all times sounds like a good mindset to me.

[ICantStop]

ForBayor - what kind of salary are you on at the moment?

And your notice period is 2 months right? How about applying for contract roles whilst you're still in employment? If you do manage to secure something, then either find out if they are prepared to wait 2 months, or resign and try your best to negotiate your current notice period down?

Do you really only have enough savings to get you through 2 months? Assuming you'll be able to get something in that period is a hell of a risk to take...

[adam42]

All the advice about having enough to survive a few months without any income is precisely what I would say too.

As a permie, I would watch and keep track of my current account balance going from a thousand down to nil every month. As a contractor I keep track of my account over a much longer time-frame and start worrying when it gets below £5K. Different mindset. Probably not a healthy or recommendable one either.

If you don't have that right now, then liquidate something or borrow it and pay it back after a year. Making the change in autumn is a good idea too as someone else said.

[SussexSeagull]

You also need to be mentally prepared that you do become something of a one man army without the security blanket of an HR department or any professional friends you may have picked up.

Also you can go from being a key part of a major project one week and mowing the lawn the next.

Saying that, this might appeal to you (I find it quite liberating, personally).

[vwdan]

I stole our house buying fund - was doing great until I had to buy a 'new' car

[tractor]

...

All good points. More savings will be required the worse the situation may become. As to how bad it will be - who knows. My assessment based on my skills, catchment area, and research on job boards suggests I would have to be really unlucky - but it's either chance it or do nothing. Where do you drawn the line in terms of savings to do for it the first time?

No one can really answer that for you. How much do you need to live? How long can you go hungry?

A good rule of thumb is at least 3 months worth of funds. Then, if you don't get anything or can't hack it after that, at least you tried and you have 3 months to find something else; that of course assumes that you have a contract to walk into after your permy notice runs out. Maybe you would want to save more.

The thing is though, that as soon as you secure a contract, you will be adding to the warchest weekly/monthly so the risk become less and less as time goes on.

[ForBajor]

So lets say it takes you 1 month after finishing your permie job to actually land and start a contract.
The terms of this contract state that you're going to get paid 1 month after invoice, and you will be invoicing weekly. You fill timesheets in each week, and Clientco approves them at the start of next week. Clientco is crap at approving invoices, sometimes they approve them on a monday or tuesday, sometimes they forget or your time is rejected for some petty time code reason, meaning you wait about a week to get it resolved. You can't invoice until this is approved. In this scenario you're getting paid more than 2 months after you've finished your permie job.

You'd be pretty unlucky to get messed around so much, but it happens. Got enough savings for this? Can you stretch it out by reducing your outgoings, etc?
What if it takes you 2 or 3 months to get your first contract?

All good points. More savings will be required the worse the situation may become. As to how bad it will be - who knows. My assessment based on my skills, catchment area, and research on job boards suggests I would have to be really unlucky - but it's either chance it or do nothing. Where do you drawn the line in terms of savings to do for it the first time?

[CheeseSlice]

I've got savings to last me 2 months out of work to make sure the mortgage gets paid.

So lets say it takes you 1 month after finishing your permie job to actually land and start a contract.
The terms of this contract state that you're going to get paid 1 month after invoice, and you will be invoicing weekly. You fill timesheets in each week, and Clientco approves them at the start of next week. Clientco is crap at approving invoices, sometimes they approve them on a monday or tuesday, sometimes they forget or your time is rejected for some petty time code reason, meaning you wait about a week to get it resolved. You can't invoice until this is approved. In this scenario you're getting paid more than 2 months after you've finished your permie job.

You'd be pretty unlucky to get messed around so much, but it happens. Got enough savings for this? Can you stretch it out by reducing your outgoings, etc?
What if it takes you 2 or 3 months to get your first contract?