Reply to: What's the longest you've been (involuntarily) benched?

[Ruse]

Was once benched for a year.

Stretched contract end date on my CV and put the rest down as "travel".

You want to be careful with that if you are going for Bank gigs. You have to fill in very detailed forms nowadays with full dates of all gigs and gaps. This then goes off to a checking agency who work through it in a very detailed manner to ensure there is no fibbing. If they find any inconsistencies which you can't fully explain they can and will get you canned.

[SantaClaus]

Was once benched for a year.

Stretched contract end date on my CV and put the rest down as "travel".

[OrangeHopper]

Too much time on here.
Helped look after newborn twins (that took up most of the time).
DIY (up to a point because of the cost).
Trying to find a plan B (that unfortunately came once I was back on the job).
Playing PS2 games.
Applying for credit cards.
Trying to stay sane.

I honestly don't remember much of the details.

[SueEllen]

Possibly.

What did you fill your time with?

I've got to do some DIY.

[OrangeHopper]

Possibly.

[SueEllen]

I'm not going to admit to how long I was benched after the millennium boom. I don't want to scare people.

You won't scare us.

Was it 2 years?

[OrangeHopper]

I'm not going to admit to how long I was benched after the millennium boom. I don't want to scare people.

[FarmerPalmer]

maximum 1 week so far

[scotspine]

i thought dear old pf had simply left of his own accord?

and, who are you, mr styles, that you remember pf?

[Doggy Styles]

There was a bloke called Pf who'd been out of work for ages, possibly years, but had a bit of an attitude problem. Has anybody heard of him, or know what he's up to now?

He used to get on various contractor websites. He was banned several times from the PCG forums, and finally banned for life for impersonating a moderator.

[Lockhouse]

Mainframe market dies, then Paradox has slipped away... what are you working in now so I know what to avoid?

Give me a break that was 20 years ago!

I went into Clipper which did very nicely for a few years, then VB/SQL Server, then C#. These days I rely more on my business knowledge than my technical skills to get by.

[Spacecadet]

I was benched for 9 months in 1989/90 when the mainframe market died overnight. I spent the 9 months answering phones at a mate's computer company for nowt whilst retraining myself in Clipper and Paradox which he provided. I bs'd my way into a small brokerage and I've been working in The City pretty much ever since.

Mainframe market dies, then Paradox has slipped away... what are you working in now so I know what to avoid?

[Weltchy]

Never been benched Involuntarily, Touch wood!

[Lockhouse]

I was benched for 9 months in 1989/90 when the mainframe market died overnight. I spent the 9 months answering phones at a mate's computer company for nowt whilst retraining myself in Clipper and Paradox which he provided. I bs'd my way into a small brokerage and I've been working in The City pretty much ever since.

[Clippy]

Currently almost 7 months - since start of June.