Reply to: The contract market

[robbie274]

Problem is, how are we going to explain a 4 or 5 month gap in the CV? I mean my last gig was Nov, if my next is April/May, then thats a lot of time to be doing nothing productive.

Maybe we could all use each others Ltd's on the CV to fill the gaps and 'make-up' some experience.

[suityou01]

Yeah I would have thought that the contract market will be better than the permie one, since its easier to get a contractor for 3 or 6 months at the moment, but there seem to be more permie jobs around.

Mid April means another two and a half months idle? That's hard to digest

I know it is. I'm doing some study, and looking in the paper for part time work just to bring some pennies in to try and eek things out.

[JohannM]

Yeah I would have thought that the contract market will be better than the permie one, since its easier to get a contractor for 3 or 6 months at the moment, but there seem to be more permie jobs around.

Mid April means another two and a half months idle? That's hard to digest

[robbie274]

New budgets coming up?

But they won't come in until April, thats another 2 months on the bench.

I've been out since mid-Nov (Java developer, North West England) and I agree it did pick up mid to late Jan I had a few calls out of the blue, with loads of promise, then... tumble weed. Even the permie job ads have reduced, there was loads before and just after Xmas.

I do hope there is a big wave coming soon, the only way out of this recession and downturn for major companies is to invest a little in their systems/processes. They should be preparing for the next surge in the economy so they can become competitive. I would of thought the contract market is ideal for this, allowing them to bring in expert professionals for 6 to 12 months.

At the end of the day, I just want to work again, bored of ground hog day now!

[norrahe]

New budgets coming up?

And quickly being taken away or not approved when they realise they need to watch the pennies for the next while.

[JohannM]

yeah lets hope for some good new budgets

[suityou01]

There's been the over excitable flurry of the new year and then all those promises have faded to nothing.

To be honest it was to be expected given the current climate.

New budgets coming up?

[expat]

There's been the over excitable flurry of the new year and then all those promises have faded to nothing.

To be honest it was to be expected given the current climate.

A quick flurry and then nothing moving? That's the current climate all right!

[norrahe]

There's been the over excitable flurry of the new year and then all those promises have faded to nothing.

To be honest it was to be expected given the current climate.

[suityou01]

Things seem quite dead here in Ireland

Quite slow in London as well. Been on jobserve all year. There was a slight rally the second week in Jan, then most Wednesday afternoons I get three or four calls. Other than that, dead. Dead dead dead. Doom doom doom.

[DocP]

IBench

Well, I've been implementing the System.Bench interface for a whole month now. I got laid off just before Xmas with a few other contractors. They are still looking. But hey with an MCTS in MOSS 2007, the boom times surely beckon?

[JohannM]

hehe

well, its fairly slow but not that slow, am just catching up

[swamp]

Things seem quite dead here in Ireland

So was this thread before you revived it! Is the Internet that slow over there?

[JohannM]

Ireland

Things seem quite dead here in Ireland

[PAH]

Also, I'll try and blag for an extra 10% after a verbal acceptance of the gig.

I once managed that, for legitimate reasons. Accepted a gig over the phone, then said I needed a better rate or I was going to pull out due to the high cost of hotels near the client site.

Found a cheap b&b anyway.