Reply to: does working in govt backlist you for the city

[AlfredJPruffock]

In my view anyone working for the government should beaten to death with a rusty pickaxe.

That does it.

I can no longer tolerate these cynical remarks aimed at our Public Sector.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself Xoggoth, a rusty pickaxe indeed.

Whats so wrong with a good old fashioned Iron Coffin?

With Spikes on the inside.

[wendigo100]

I did nearly two years in the public sector, working for a large, well-known consultancy. As far as I know, having a major government department on my CV hasn't worked against me.

However, the project I worked on was successful. The consultant's project manager had a "direct" style - cut through the crap, stop client scope creep, and get things done. He put several permy clients' backs up, but he got the job finished.

The consultancy began with "S".

[Gold Dalek]

I did 9 months in the public sector and vowed never again... compared to the banking environment I usually work in I found it petty and full of people with serious issues - permies & contractors.

I refused the extension & went back to the private sector, what I found during interviews was the private sector job was always being quizzed about during interviews- there were several failing Govt projects at the time and the one I had worked on (successful) was always associated.

Over time I expanded the end date of the previous contract and bought forward the start of the next one to completely erase from the C.V.

[vista]

Depends

quick question.

I have a contract offered to me on a NHS related govt PM job. Currently got a lot of city background, but this pays 550 a day. Also seems fairly low stress from what i saw at interview.

question is, will a 6 month+ stint on the CV for PM'ing for a white elephant project (computer weekly goes on and on about NHS IT etc), I am messing up future work in the city?

comments welcome.

I did 6 years in investment banking thinking it was the pinnacle of IT and it was good but then I took a contract in the Public Sector (MoD) and boy did it open my eyes, nothing I 've ever done, seen or heard about comes close to the detailed design and security that this project has implemented.

So I guess it depends on what project you are on.

At the end of the day you can take the 6 months cash then lie on your CV (say you took a holiday and from what you're describing it'll be an exaggeration rather than a big fat lie) to get back into the city.

it is via perot...subcontracted to bt

I've also contracted for Perot - good company to work with, the people were good and they didn't take the mickey.

[cojak]

Good grief, what a load of twad.... oh no, right you are, er yes. I mean no, never work for major managed services providers who are working on government contracts.

Kiss of death an' all that...

*taps side of nose and winks*

'Bullet' cojak

[Joe Black]

In that case I hope you don't read one of my other posts...

[xoggoth]

In my view anyone working for the government should beaten to death with a rusty pickaxe.

[WageSlave]

Some potential clients do see public sector work as the sign of a lightweight, yes.

OI!!!! Cheeky monkey!

The truth is that the public sector has a certain perception with many people, and having a lot of public sector contracts will deter a lot of potential clients. The flip side is that it opens the world of public sector contracting, which isn't all bad. It's a huge market, rates can be very good, mainly based in London for central gov (although Lyons is trying to change that) and stable. Let's face it, it's one of the few recession proof markets.

If you have a strong background then one or two contracts won't make the difference. One way of trying to get out of the public sector is to work as an associate with a consultancy. That way you're part of a bidding team and your background is less important. Of course, you have to convince the consultancy that you're up to it.

Is the public sector a doddle? Yes, it certainly can be. I've been on projects where the standard day involves nothing more stressful than posting crap on this forum. Such clients can usually tie their laces with a bit of help. By contrast I've also worked on gov projects where my standard week was 90 hours and the standard extremely high. It all depends on the client and the project.

[scottbell]

it is via perot...subcontracted to bt

ah, me thinks..i'll say no, and take the time out on the CV if i can't get anything else.

[interested]

Thanks folks this is really helpful.

skillset is all banking, infrastructure, .net development etc, a mixture, moved into PM for technical projects, or technical lead last few years.

To be honest, I have 5 years exp. Not that much....to walk back into a plum city role after. I dread the question, so why did you take the Govt role?

other way i could slant this is do a slopey lie on the CV, but really, if you say you travel, that makes it worse, they might ask about it.

so jury is out, still have a few hours to think, and scan jobserve. to be honest, urgh, hate these things.

If it's working directly for the NHS then I'd see it as a negative, if it's working for one of the consulting companies involved in the CfH project I wouldn't necessarily see it as a problem

[scottbell]

Thanks folks this is really helpful.

skillset is all banking, infrastructure, .net development etc, a mixture, moved into PM for technical projects, or technical lead last few years.

To be honest, I have 5 years exp. Not that much....to walk back into a plum city role after. I dread the question, so why did you take the Govt role?

other way i could slant this is do a slopey lie on the CV, but really, if you say you travel, that makes it worse, they might ask about it.

so jury is out, still have a few hours to think, and scan jobserve. to be honest, urgh, hate these things.

[sasguru]

I spent eight months last year working for the NHS. When that contract came to an end I walked straight into a plum role with an asset management company in the city even though I had no financial experience. The fact that I had been working in the public sector didn't work against me. It really comes down to your skills at the end of the day.

Maybe for totally bog-standard technical work. For anything with any level of seniority/business oriented - BA, PM work the answer is no.

[decode]

I spent eight months last year working for the NHS. When that contract came to an end I walked straight into a plum role with an asset management company in the city even though I had no financial experience. The fact that I had been working in the public sector didn't work against me. It really comes down to your skills at the end of the day.

[sasguru]

this is interesting and scares the life out of me....

so, bottom line, taking a govt contract will screw me over.

i need to decide today, dont have anything else on the table...london base

Take the contract, stash the cash, remove it from your CV next time you want a City job - just say you went on an action holiday in South America or some such. City recruiters appreciate interesting breaks but not public sector work.

[BlasterBates]

I think if you have stack loads of experience I'm sure you'd get back into a City bank. I mean its not uncommon to be unemployed for several months. The only thing is that what you'd be doing now isn't relevant.

If you want to stay in banking I would look for a better paid job. Personally I wouldn't get out of bed for anything less than £600 a day for a City bank.

If you have no other option, take it, delay signing for a couple of days while you blitz jobserve, if the response is good then don't sign.