Reply to: On the bench?

[HYpno27]

Project / Programme Manager with an ancient history in SAP

Always loads of jobs advertised on Jobserve etc, always loads of people going for them

[Clippy]

Hypno - what is your skillset.

Also, to the other posters on the bench, it helps others if you put what area (skills wise) you work in.

[HYpno27]

Unbenched

As of tonight. Weird one got a call out of the blue, nothing on any website. Big gig setting up a programme for blue-chip client co. One telephone interview of 20 mins and I'm in.


The power of the old contractors network wins over the interwebs!

[Marina]

To be qualified at Nick's level you have to be a super - read his posts on tpd. I reckon there are a max of 13 people qualified to that level. And he is the best...

Maybe, but is he best at the gift of the gab, and the luckiest with his CV?

(although he has mentioned nurturing contacts, which many of us don't bother with much)

[NickFitz]

To be qualified at Nick's level you have to be a super - read his posts on tpd. I reckon there are a max of 13 people qualified to that level. And he is the best...

Actually there are quite a few more than 13 - probably several dozen all told - but most of them are permies or have their own businesses (as in, they employ staff)

[BrilloPad]

What if there are 134,000 qualified candidates chasing them?

To be qualified at Nick's level you have to be a super - read his posts on tpd. I reckon there are a max of 13 people qualified to that level. And he is the best...

[DiscoStu]

What if there are 134,000 qualified candidates chasing them?

Especially if they'll do the needful for half your rate.

[Marina]

Hmm... a cursory search of Jobserve offers me 134 contract roles posted in the last two days, and a quick skim suggests about 5% - 10% of them might actually be suitable for me in terms of being stuff I can do, and paying a good enough rate.

I see no reason to panic at this stage, so I'm still taking a few more weeks off :

What if there are 134,000 qualified candidates chasing them?

[BrilloPad]

Incidentally, I find it really annoying when I see a contract role posted on there, yet the rate is quoted as an annual salary figure

It is worse when it includes sick pay.

[basshead]

in those days agents were posting fictional roles, I have a feeling this is not allowed now ... OK someone correct me if the above is total BS.

They definitely still do this.

PING: Gavin Broughton at Project Partners. Do you really exist?

[NickFitz]

Hmm... a cursory search of Jobserve offers me 134 contract roles posted in the last two days, and a quick skim suggests about 5% - 10% of them might actually be suitable for me in terms of being stuff I can do, and paying a good enough rate.

I see no reason to panic at this stage, so I'm still taking a few more weeks off

Incidentally, I find it really annoying when I see a contract role posted on there, yet the rate is quoted as an annual salary figure

[PeteB17]

Folks,

I have 12 years experience of contracting.

In 2002 I spent 3 months on the bench and I have just spent 2 months on the bench.

Contracts are hard to come by - renewals are like gold dust don't even think of a rate increase unless you know for sure that your market is not suffering under this downturn.

Regards

PeteB

[Ardesco]

2 weeks left in current gig, starting to hit jobserve in anger now

[BlasterBates]

Why do say its worse, I agree that the ads on job sites are much fewer, but I think cuz in those days agents were posting fictional roles, I have a feeling this is not allowed now ... OK someone correct me if the above is total BS.

hmmm

There's definitely a slow down. The banks for one thing, some banks are taking no contractors and have a renewal freeze in some depts. However I can't speak for other industries.

[luke warm]

Why do say its worse, I agree that the ads on job sites are much fewer, but I think cuz in those days agents were posting fictional roles, I have a feeling this is not allowed now ... OK someone correct me if the above is total BS.

I think there are less duplicate ads for the same role now. Last 2 agents I talked to seemed to have the roles exclusively.

Also I have seen a reduction in the number of ads that just look like made up positions to harvest CVs.