Reply to: Shortest contract?

[NotAllThere]

Shortest was when I had a contract with Enron. Then before the start date they cancelled it. Anne Zimkin was the agent. They paid her a week's fee, and she passed onto me my share. So, I'm going with -5 days.

[eek]

got Eu1500 for one day (actually <> 3 hrs work) installing OS on a new DR machine once.

craziest client flew me ZRH to BCN* for a meeting I had no input to, despite my protestations.

*then BCN - LHR for my normal break, then LHR-ZHR.

complete waste of time and resources, but that's what PM's are for, IME.

While at MS I flew LHR-AMS, sales pitch, AMS-MME home

The thing I remember is that those flights were cheaper than the train ticket down to London

[krytonsheep]

5 minutes. 'Sorry there's been a mixup, we've got no budget, but you can go home and invoice for today'.

[sadkingbilly]

got Eu1500 for one day (actually <> 3 hrs work) installing OS on a new DR machine once.

craziest client flew me ZRH to BCN* for a meeting I had no input to, despite my protestations.

*then BCN - LHR for my normal break, then LHR-ZHR.

complete waste of time and resources, but that's what PM's are for, IME.*

*the PM insisted i go. - typical knobhead PM.

[fiisch]

8 weeks, but only because I couldn't find someone to accept my notice...!

Started a contract during Covid-remote-working-crazy-season with a very large, well-known organisation and the project was canned half way through week 1 as the business was in chaos due to Covid, Brexit and some other factors. Was told I'd be moved onto something else, but that never materialised despite numerous nudges. I hadn't met many people in the company by this stage, so I started seeking people out in the change department to enquire if/what my job was. The people who'd hired me had since been transitioned into a separate part of the business and left me to rot.

Fortunately had another contract still warm that I'd turned down previously that were still willing to take me on, so decided to give notice, except no one would accept my notice as they had no knowledge of my working there (however during this time I was getting paid). When I did finally get some drone in HR to accept the notice, they insisted I complete a full 4 weeks during which I'd be reassigned to something else, which never materialised. Stupidly, I kept the second contract waiting until my notice finished (I really should have double-bubbled for a few weeks).

Even more bizarre, it was an FTC (my first and last!), so I guess I could have sat it out for the full term and gotten paid, but especially given the lockdown-climate at the time I was going a bit insane with nothing to do all day..!

[anonymouse]

Not the shortest, but a friend had a 6 week contract, basically sat in a store room to use up the budget. PS gig, so use it or lose it from the next financial year.

[Ketto]

Had a gig where i was expected to do about two days work dragged out over 6 months. Started three weeks after my first child was born so was very handy at the time.

[WTFH]

I once had a gig (actually it was back about the time of this thread) which lasted 3 months, but was probably about 1 week of work. Much of the time was spent flying to the US for meetings, or preparing for things that never happened. Gig was canned after about 3 weeks, but they didn’t want to lose face, so kept 8 contractors on and we sat in meeting rooms playing games.

Most expensive meeting - client paid £18,000 for me to attend a 45 minute chat that could have been done over zoom.

[willendure]

When I was still in my 20s - 1/2 a day. Arrived onsite as the new Java developer. Management realized the application was in C# and they had hired the wrong guy. Was told to go away, but paid for the whole week. Went home and took my girlfriend out.

[unixman]

Back in 2013 I had a one day contract. Objective: break into a machine for which the password had been lost. I accomplished this feat inside an hour, and gave them the good news. But they kept me around for the whole day anyway, writing reports. No problem I guess, they paid for 8 hours...

[TheDude]

I started at a public sector client last week and was immediately informed that the service provider would be replaced with a large French provider with a a 'crap' reputation in the industry and it would be up to them who (if any) they retained.

I currently don't really know the tech or the business so any handover would be futile but I have been offered the opportunity to handover for another six weeks.

I would rather take some time off so am considering walking today. I feel the original firm were very underhand offering a contract with this risk on the horizon. It has cost me the time and money to set up a new Ltd company plus I will have to repay the business disposal asset relief from shutting my previous firm down last year when it looked like I would never work outside again.

I realise that (at least) 7 days billable time is a lifetime compared to some of the stories here. Has anyone got any other horror stories about short tenure?

[Old Greg]

Run out of toilet paper?

Stolen it all. No reason to hang around.

[nomadd]

4 hours is my shortest.

Run out of toilet paper?

[SupremeSpod]

7 weeks, probably equal to suity's longest gig

Steady, he's already off to wet his bed.

[minestrone]

7 weeks, probably equal to suity's longest gig