Reply to: What am I doing wrong?

[BlasterBates]

Lot of good advice about flexibility there.

Spread your net wider, and go for permie jobs as well. In any case if you apply permie now it'll take a few weeks before you get anything and if you can't find a contract by then, then you might as well take the permie job. You can always go contracting later. Once you've been out for a few months you can't be fussy.

[expat]

You describe the process very well; except that it's good if it does come up with a contract or two as well as all the grief.

The geographical flexibility is important, ask any contractor from north of Watford if he or she has managed to stay there.

And pay attention to the commodity nature of the demad for a contractor. The client doesn't take on the whole you, just a particular person for a particular job. Which person are you, for which job? Are you a Project Manager? Then what's the rest got to do with it? Or are you a VB SQL Access coder? How much do you think that pays? (not being rude, just drawing attention to the market characteristics).


And listen to DodgyAgent, he's sometimes obviously got out of bed on the wrong side but he often knows what he's talking about (what's he doing here?).

[DodgyAgent]

Cv

Owl Hoot,

I have sent you an email, can you re-send your CV as an attachment to my office email and I will give it the "once over"

Best regards

DA

[OwlHoot]

If you would like to send me your CV I will look at it and suggest improvements. Your problem (as the others have said) is likely to be with your CV.
It will not go into my own agency database.

Dodgy, as I'm having the same problem as "jobless", I've sent my CV to your ***4@hotmail.com email address, in case you get a chance to skim through it and suggest things I could ditch.

(I haven't quoted your full email address, er, 'cos your profile says you don't want to receive email.)

[DodgyAgent]

Cv

If you would like to send me your CV I will look at it and suggest improvements. Your problem (as the others have said) is likely to be with your CV.
It will not go into my own agency database.

[PRC1964]

Your skillset:

Access, SQl, ASP, project management - not prince2 accreddited though - OCA, VB/VBA etc

Shouldn't that read: ASP.Net, VB.Net

If not, you should be spending your spare time learning.

PRC in Milan mode.

[TwoWolves]

... and cultivate that "devil may care" swagger.

[privateeye]

Business sector knowledge should also be stressed on your CV, ex BT people should be in high demand with all the telco/new media companies taking advantage of the "breaking up" of the BT empire. With all your BT experience and going for the right contract you could really take advantage here. One of the problems telco's are having is getting the information from BT - you have inside knowledge of how it works and where to go for info and that can make you invaluable. That is something I have taken advantage of.

[Not So Wise]

The jump from permie can be "painfull" and slow for some, especially in todays market. Agents and clients are afraid new contractors might really be "temps in disguise" aka just looking for something till they find a permanent position and if that permanent position comes along in the middle of a contract that the contractor will leave them high and dry. Funny enough the transition the other way has the same type of problems

Your experience seems pretty varied and guessing you might be applying for anything from basic access dev work to PM stuff? If thats the case do multiple versions of your CV, each one giving a "vibe" that you are specialised in that particular area with the rest being "added value".

Also make sure all your versions are a "contractors CV", not a permies. aka clients don't care what your hobbies/interests are and how you managed to to improve moral 1000% at your last position. The skills and proven experience are all that interests them, so these are what what should first and very clear in your CV, they are quite litterly more important than your name/age/sex. You are not looking for a job, you are a business offering services, so make sure your cv reflects that

I chase agent

Besides an initial call after CV is sent to check if agent is sending CV to the client (and also to get you to be more than just another cv in the agents mind) don't bother. If the client wants to see you don't worry the agent will track you down to the ends of the world, because he will smell money to be made. If you don't hear from them either the agent has heard nothing, client does not want to see you, position never existed or even all 3.

And yes, you have to be willing to look and travel wide and far, about the only place in the UK one does not have to that is London and even here sometimes you have to.

[ancient]

I am new to the contracting world and am having real problems getting a contract. I spent 8 years at BT and took voluntary redundancy a few months ago. My experience of the contracting world has been this:

Agency calls me.
Brief discussion about cv/experience
CV (apparently) sent to client.
I then hear nothing.
I chase agent
Always away from desk/in a meeting
Finally I get hold of them
"haven't heard back from client yet, probably won't hear for a week or two"
Hear nothing.


This happens roughly once every two days. I have now been looking for a contract for 10 weeks.

I am highly skilled (Access, SQl, ASP, project management - not prince2 accreddited though - OCA, VB/VBA etc) and have heaps of proven industry experience.

I have been looking in the Manchester/North West area.

What can I do to get a contract?

1. Understand the fire and forget syndrome in terms of applying for contracts

2. Only spend max an hour a day on jobserve looking for or applying for contracts (early evening?), use the RSS or Email facilitiy to help the sift.

3. Use the free time to recharge rather than drain the batteries - go for long walks, gym, holiday, research/technology refresh; what ever your hobbies are - if you a'int got any then you need to get some, reconsider work-life balance.

4. Look at your CV objectively, what value are you offering and does it fit (remember you have too get a tick in the box based on a word sift by agent morons who only have a qualification in word match - they mostly don't know anything about IT)

5. Be prepaired to travel

6. Remember contracting is not all it is cracked up to be and is often a hard road - (work/life balance) and especially given current tax constraints if you do it legal - probably about a 42% return on advertised rate.

7. As time goes on be prepared to accept the reality of current rates - the streets are no longer paved with gold. Many rates offered are less than permanent if you are on full IR35 and you consider employer NI, Pensions, risk, reward, stress/insecurity, holidays, hotel expenses, living in a flee-pit etc.

8. consider both permanent and contract opportunities based on location, lifestyle choice, age, hidden benefits - e.g. promotions, raises etc.

9. How do you see yourself in 5/10 years time, what will you want to be doing by then?

10. What does the contract offer in terms of learning new skills and improving your position within an ever changing market palce?

11. Can you keep it up, or do you decide I want a life?

[vista]

Contract hunting

The other advice in this thread is spot on, be prepared to travel etc.

Other tips

1. Get your certs MCSE/Prince2 etc, they won't automatically get you work on their own but without them it'll certainly discount you from many contracts (the agency/client will ask why haven't you got them) Agents are simple souls and need it all to be really simple.

2. Don't try to mix disciplines on the same CV i.e. Technical and PM, in contracting you are either one or the other, try and come across as both and you'll confuse the Agents and after all they are simple souls and need it to be as simple as possible. How many contracts on jobserve say 'we want a full time PM that'll do all the techie work as well?

3. Target what you want to do / can do / pays most then edit your CV so everything in there is directly relevant to the contracts you're going after, try to show parcels of work that were started and completed. Agents are simple souls and need it all to be really simple.

4. Keep your CV really short, even if this means cutting out huge chunks of text. Agents are simple souls and need it all to be really simple.

5. Clients want someone to do a specific task / project / deliverable, anything that isn't directly related to this however good is not value add, it has absolutely no value to the client or the agent they simply do not care about any other virtues you may have.

6. If you're having a hard time finding work be flexible on your rate, chances are a low rate is still going to be more than £0 per day and just because you get a contract doesn't mean you have to stop looking and then you can be picky about rate.

7. Be prepared to chase hard for the rest of October and first week of November and if you have no luck stop looking until the second week of January, if you keep looking December will be soul destroying as the chances of anyone finding a contract are slim, the feeling of rejection and lack of progress will destroy your christmas and will not leave you in the best frame of mind for January when the real hiring begins.

[thunderlizard]

Jobless, if you want any chance of success you'll have to change your name to something more positive.

No really, you've described the agency bidding process about right. Don't expect more than 10% of approaches to go any further, mainly due to things outside your control (e.g. it wasn't a real requirement in the first place).

Agencies are only one of many ways of getting contracts, though they do tend to have the monopoly on long-term projects with reputable clients. If you are using them, it can be tricky to get your first contract after years and years of working for somebody else. Probably because contracting's about completing projects to everybody's satisfaction, whereas permie is about keeping your head down until somebody notices and fires you. It's just agents who seem to think this - the actual customers would probably see it in your favour.

As a contractor you are probably better off putting yourself forward as a specialist (e.g. telcomms web-enabled database designer), especially as your skills fall in the 'high demand, high availability' category. As MF says, be prepared to move with the work. 'project management' isn't just something else to tack onto a list of skills that starts with Access.

+ Don't worry Cojak, it's definitely a small one

[cojak]

*shows teeth*

[MarillionFan]

1) Broaden your search to include the whole of the UK.

Correct. If you are only willing to look locally then to be honest, you may as well go perm. Contractors are flexible.

2) Look on Jobserve and go for the new major projects that are scooping up contractors.

Use jobserve regularly. Send your CV in, talk to the agent an hour later. If the agent doesnt tell you the client, its probably because they are not on the PSL so forget it. Be the first in and be positive.

3) Review your CV - are you giving off 'permie' vibes?

Be positive. Agents love good talkers, not perms.

The market will now start tailing off until after Xmas, so the last tip may be the most important:

4) Don't be too choosy.

She isnt?!

[cojak]

1) Broaden your search to include the whole of the UK.

2) Look on Jobserve and go for the new major projects that are scooping up contractors.

3) Review your CV - are you giving off 'permie' vibes?

The market will now start tailing off until after Xmas, so the last tip may be the most important:

4) Don't be too choosy.