Reply to: Where is the best place to look for new contracts

[djw]

!Hola!

Check out this link re: good example of CV

http://www.contractoruk.com/news/00405.html

Back in November, I was getting moderate interest from agents, even changing my CV once/week to get it noticed.

I *completely* re-formatted it taking advise from the above link - took me a 6+ hours, but after uploading, I did notice a larger response and seemed to always get unsolicited comments about how good my CV was (not stating that smugly or anything, just followed the advise).

I think the best CV advise was having an attention grabbing 1st page which also sums up all your skills and typically contains more acronyms than English words :-).

I was registered on Jobserve, Jobsite and CWJobs.

My tactic after applying for a job was to *always* phone the agent a couple of hours later. Normally, they hadn't even looked at my CV at that point, and tended to do it whilst I was chatting to them. I know that got my CV put forth to several gigs which I reckon it wouldn't have if I hadn't have called.

That's my 2p.

Good luck with the job hunting ... there's always "Vegas Baby!" if no joy.

cheers

[suityou01]

...Now get down to gamblers anonymous.

I've been in the past, they wouldn't take me now because my anonymity would be questionable. They also required two references, so I told them to bugger off.

When you say keep posting my CV to the job boards, do you mean register my CV on them, is this good - do agencies actually user these services much?. Also when you say keep updating my CV, do you mean have a number of different CVs to reflect different roles I would apply for?.

Thanks, in advance.

What I mean is, upload your CV to jobsite-x/y/z and then the following day, upload a new version. It doesn't matter how small the change.

You are basically trying to play the

SELECT TOP 50 * FROM BENCHED_DESPERATE_CONTRACTORS
ORDER BY DATE_OF_LAST_CV_UPLOAD DESC

to your advantage.

[MeAndMyself]

No, actually - for me the main reason was to be in control of my working life. Sometimes I moved for the money, sometimes I moved for the experience. At all times I moved for me.

I was getting the money, I was getting the experience and new skills, I was in control and I did stay for me, I see no reason why I should have moved, this is what I said - would you have moved? - why?

[MeAndMyself]

...Jobserve now offers the facility to grab an RSS feed of your searches. The last time I was on the prowl (January) I constructed a number of highly-targeted queries (not just skills, but locations and rates and anything else that made sense) and subscribed to them - if you're using a modern browser, it will probably include feed subscription as one of its capabilities. This allowed me to check every half-hour for the latest vacancies.

Sounds good, I'll look into this, thanks NickFitz.

[MeAndMyself]

...Now get down to gamblers anonymous.

I've been in the past, they wouldn't take me now because my anonymity would be questionable. They also required two references, so I told them to bugger off.

When you say keep posting my CV to the job boards, do you mean register my CV on them, is this good - do agencies actually user these services much?. Also when you say keep updating my CV, do you mean have a number of different CVs to reflect different roles I would apply for?.

Thanks, in advance.

[Gonzo]

Gonzo

When I mention that I have got nowhere with the 30 or so applications I have made, I have had one f2f interview direct with a Client in which I did not get the position but was told that I was one of the last two candidates they were considering (so that was an 800 mile round trip for nothing).

I have had my CV put forward to another three clients recently in which I am still awaiting feedback from, however this was early last week and the respective agents went quiet on me since Thursday last week, so presume I have not got those positions.

I have also been told that my CV was put forward to a couple of other clients in the first two weeks of looking for a contract but again no response from agents and no call backs after numerous calls to them, so again would presume I have not got those positions.

Out of the other 25 or so positions I applied for, no response whatsoever from the agents – is this normal?

I personally believe that my CV is very good, but of course I could be wrong, so thanks for the advise on the CV, I may look to revising it or seek a professional CV writer for review if I don’t get anywhere next week.

I was being facetious because it would appear that you are blissfully unaware of what has been going on the world of business and recruitment for the past twelve months.

Professional CV writers are not generally regarded very highly. It is easy for us to forget that there are people out there who cannot type or find their way around a computer, I suppose they might be useful for that sort of person, but you are likely to be dissatisfied.

As you haven't seemed to notice, job hunting conditions are the toughest now that they have been for five or six years. People are still getting jobs, but the competition is fiercer than ever and your job-hunting experiences are a reflection of that.

There is probably not a lot that you can do differently. You were invited to one interview so you are probably doing most things right. Job hunting conditions are tough right now. This is what the war-chest is for.

[cojak]

Hi motoukenin

... surely the main reason for contracting for most contractors is to earn extra money than a permie, why would I move from where I was?

No, actually - for me the main reason was to be in control of my working life. Sometimes I moved for the money, sometimes I moved for the experience. At all times I moved for me.

[suityou01]

Suityou01, I'm nobody's sock puppet, nor did I ask for any sympathy, but thanks anyway for your ever so insightful input.

Any time.

Now get down to gamblers anonymous.

And good luck in your job search. Keep posting your CV to the job boards. Monster generated the most calls for me back in January, but do not exclude any. And keep updating your CV on these job boards daily, it increases your hit rate. And DO NOT fall for the two references up front cr*p. Job spec first or the role does not exist.

[NickFitz]

In ten years, every contract I've ever had has been found through Jobserve, except for a couple where I've been approached directly by the client.

If the agent doesn't get back to you within half an hour of initial email contact, phone them, and keep on phoning them until they finally tell you to fsck off - or actually look at your CV and put you up for the role.

If the agent doesn't get back to you within a couple of days after an interview, they never will. You can always call them if you want somebody at the next desk to tell you that they're "in a meeting, but I'll get them to call you back."

Jobserve now offers the facility to grab an RSS feed of your searches. The last time I was on the prowl (January) I constructed a number of highly-targeted queries (not just skills, but locations and rates and anything else that made sense) and subscribed to them - if you're using a modern browser, it will probably include feed subscription as one of its capabilities. This allowed me to check every half-hour for the latest vacancies.

Of course I had other things to do, but it meant that I could just check the feed and see anything of value since I went to the shops or whatever, rather than having to go to Jobserve again and plough through the results. I strongly recommend feed subscription as a way of keeping on top of the latest posts.

The fake jobs should be pretty obvious once you've been watching for a few weeks, as the crap agents who resort to such tactics don't have much skill in creating new posts, and you'll get used to seeing the same non-gig posted every two days by the same agent (or somebody at the same agency) for weeks on end.

However, a cautionary tale about such cynicism: back in 2005, knowing my gig might soon come to an end, I noticed the same position posted over and over again for weeks, which happened to include some very specific skills I possessed. When I then needed a gig I decided to send my CV on the offchance that it was real. It turned out that it was a real opportunity with a very fussy client; they had rejected everybody sent to them over the last three months. I got the gig, and the initial three month stint turned into two years in contract

[KentPhilip]

Sitting on your butt waiting for something to come through is not economical as you will spend more money sitting at home doing nothing.

eh??

[tim123]

Out of the other 25 or so positions I applied for, no response whatsoever from the agents – is this normal?

Yep.

At the moment, agents are farming for CV's from people who are in a contract, so that they can see which cliens still have any possibility at all of live contracts.

If someone who is betwen jobs sends in a CV, it is no use to them so they don't call you back.

tim

[voodooflux]

The newvbie gets the traditional CUK welcome!

Could be worse - we haven't had a party at their place yet

[Pondlife]

4 Years plus in the same contract , that means your a permie and I am hoping that you paid under the rules of IR35.

Evidence please... length of contract has no theoretical impact on IR35 status.

Although it may may the bill a bit hefty if you are caught.

[SantaClaus]

The newvbie gets the traditional CUK welcome!

Yep, only sado-masochists need apply

[MeAndMyself]

4 Years plus in the same contract , that means your a permie and I am hoping that you paid under the rules of IR35.

Actions to take now.

1) Consider all countries where you can get work , getting 6K dollars in Dubai and spending 2k on rent/living still leaves you 4k and even with taxes now rising to 5 percent you are still going to have enough left to pay debts/mortgage

2) Look at the possability of taking a loan to support yourself and retrain , there is help under govt. scheme for this but its not survivable on without some additional funding , normally because the course you will want to do wont be anywhere near you and govt. rules dont think of that.


3) phone companies direct (This requires some skill as you need to get to the right person) ask if they have any short term requirements with your skills , this to me is contracting, not sitting on the same job hoping for a renewal.

4) If all else fails , sign on and do some charity work . Sitting on your butt waiting for something to come through is not economical as you will spend more money sitting at home doing nothing.

best of luck

Hi motoukenin

Some good advice there, thanks.

I never fell under IR35 because of two reasons, one being that I never knew I would be with that client for a period of more than two years at any one time, the other being that the company I originally started for sold out to another company, then another, then another meaning that my contract changed and was assigned to the new company each time, even though I sat at the same desk for 4+ years.

I couldn’t contract outside the UK for personal reasons, I wouldn’t pass any credit check (even sub prime) for any loans or such.

I like the idea of phoning companies direct, I will look into this, but I’m no salesman.

I do disagree with your perception of contracting though, I was under contract on a good rate (better than anything on offer now), I was able to learn new skills whilst being in contract, I enjoyed the working at that contract, if this lasted 4+ years then all the better for me, you must agree – no?, surely the main reason for contracting for most contractors is to earn extra money than a permie, why would I move from where I was?