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Previously on "Commute vs great expectations?"

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  • Paddy
    replied
    Originally posted by bobspud View Post
    So I am sick because I actually like complex commutes because I get time to reflect and listen to music. I also work from home a lot too so my life is balanced quite well. So taking a job 3 hours away would never put me off. Are you due a renewal any time soon? How far into the current project are you?

    A few things you should consider when an agent picks up a phone and tells you how great their role is...

    1) Some people in life are good at starting ideas and others are far better at finishing them, or turning them from a vision into reality. Which are you? This matters because you need to decide if you can hand over your current work and walk away knowing that someone else will finish it better than you could. Or if you are the driving force behind the success of what you are currently doing. Of you are the former it changes the rules a bit because you can set the vision and flee.

    1) When an agent calls you, at that point they have not got any money but want it. Meanwhile you are already earning and providing wealth for someone else. So they need a hook to dislodge you. 9 times out of 10 that will be a lie about how great their new project is and what it does for you. Anyone that is reading this can think back to the last 20 calls any agent made and know that none of them started with "Hey we have this really nasty role where the permies are all infighting over getting the next best technology on their CV and everyone feels compelled to sit at a desk looking busy for 12 hours a day..."

    2) What is the length of your current role likely to be if you stay with your current client? compare that with what you will gain if you get to the new place and you have to make another improvised jump.

    3) Most importantly after you complete this current project and role off site, do you see yourself taking further years of repeat business from of your current client? Would you want to do the same with the new guys? Sometimes being a stable pair of hands will pay dividends. (I wouldn't know, I do brutal change where clients don't have the will to do it for themselves. So my capital is always spent when I roll off site, but many guys out there do more subtle work that gets them 2 months here or there in the background for years)

    Technology changes but I am finding far more of the "set up design standards" or "Really good in front of a client" parts of my CV are taking over despite being in Cloud technology and it being about the fads.


    So decide how your CV looks from a business point of view and decide if bouncing out mid contract will help your CV or hinder it because the only person that gains in this situation was the shark that called you...
    +1

    Leave a comment:


  • bobspud
    replied
    Originally posted by p3t3 View Post
    Reflect while listening to the music while being crammed deep underground into the sweaty London tube where you can't even straighten your neck?

    Not my cup of tea.

    I figure ppl living far from London may only have a faint idea of how the daily life here is not quite the same as in Cotswolds...
    Yes I do live in the West Country But I grew up in Walthmstow and my standard client base will be anywhere from London, Reading or Birmingham but never Bristol ( it seems to change just around my two years of expenses for some unknown reason ) So yes I spend loads of time either in the car or on a train. Current client is in London so I stay down a couple of days or drive straight into the centre for the day... So when I say I commute, I _commute_

    Leave a comment:


  • p3t3
    replied
    Originally posted by bobspud View Post
    So I am sick because I actually like complex commutes because I get time to reflect and listen to music. I also work from home a lot too so my life is balanced quite well. So taking a job 3 hours away would never put me off. Are you due a renewal any time soon? How far into the current project are you?

    A few things you should consider when an agent picks up a phone and tells you how great their role is...

    1) Some people in life are good at starting ideas and others are far better at finishing them, or turning them from a vision into reality. Which are you? This matters because you need to decide if you can hand over your current work and walk away knowing that someone else will finish it better than you could. Or if you are the driving force behind the success of what you are currently doing. Of you are the former it changes the rules a bit because you can set the vision and flee.

    1) When an agent calls you, at that point they have not got any money but want it. Meanwhile you are already earning and providing wealth for someone else. So they need a hook to dislodge you. 9 times out of 10 that will be a lie about how great their new project is and what it does for you. Anyone that is reading this can think back to the last 20 calls any agent made and know that none of them started with "Hey we have this really nasty role where the permies are all infighting over getting the next best technology on their CV and everyone feels compelled to sit at a desk looking busy for 12 hours a day..."

    2) What is the length of your current role likely to be if you stay with your current client? compare that with what you will gain if you get to the new place and you have to make another improvised jump.

    3) Most importantly after you complete this current project and role off site, do you see yourself taking further years of repeat business from of your current client? Would you want to do the same with the new guys? Sometimes being a stable pair of hands will pay dividends. (I wouldn't know, I do brutal change where clients don't have the will to do it for themselves. So my capital is always spent when I roll off site, but many guys out there do more subtle work that gets them 2 months here or there in the background for years)

    Technology changes but I am finding far more of the "set up design standards" or "Really good in front of a client" parts of my CV are taking over despite being in Cloud technology and it being about the fads.


    So decide how your CV looks from a business point of view and decide if bouncing out mid contract will help your CV or hinder it because the only person that gains in this situation was the shark that called you...
    Reflect while listening to the music while being crammed deep underground into the sweaty London tube where you can't even straighten your neck?

    Not my cup of tea.

    I figure ppl living far from London may only have a faint idea of how the daily life here is not quite the same as in Cotswolds...

    Leave a comment:


  • bobspud
    replied
    Originally posted by p3t3 View Post
    Hi, have a decent contract with a great commute. An agent called about an interesting piece of work with good prospects but a much less convenient commute.

    Heads or tails?
    So I am sick because I actually like complex commutes because I get time to reflect and listen to music. I also work from home a lot too so my life is balanced quite well. So taking a job 3 hours away would never put me off. Are you due a renewal any time soon? How far into the current project are you?

    A few things you should consider when an agent picks up a phone and tells you how great their role is...

    1) Some people in life are good at starting ideas and others are far better at finishing them, or turning them from a vision into reality. Which are you? This matters because you need to decide if you can hand over your current work and walk away knowing that someone else will finish it better than you could. Or if you are the driving force behind the success of what you are currently doing. Of you are the former it changes the rules a bit because you can set the vision and flee.

    1) When an agent calls you, at that point they have not got any money but want it. Meanwhile you are already earning and providing wealth for someone else. So they need a hook to dislodge you. 9 times out of 10 that will be a lie about how great their new project is and what it does for you. Anyone that is reading this can think back to the last 20 calls any agent made and know that none of them started with "Hey we have this really nasty role where the permies are all infighting over getting the next best technology on their CV and everyone feels compelled to sit at a desk looking busy for 12 hours a day..."

    2) What is the length of your current role likely to be if you stay with your current client? compare that with what you will gain if you get to the new place and you have to make another improvised jump.

    3) Most importantly after you complete this current project and role off site, do you see yourself taking further years of repeat business from of your current client? Would you want to do the same with the new guys? Sometimes being a stable pair of hands will pay dividends. (I wouldn't know, I do brutal change where clients don't have the will to do it for themselves. So my capital is always spent when I roll off site, but many guys out there do more subtle work that gets them 2 months here or there in the background for years)

    Technology changes but I am finding far more of the "set up design standards" or "Really good in front of a client" parts of my CV are taking over despite being in Cloud technology and it being about the fads.


    So decide how your CV looks from a business point of view and decide if bouncing out mid contract will help your CV or hinder it because the only person that gains in this situation was the shark that called you...

    Leave a comment:


  • SimonMac
    replied
    When deciding between a contract you actually have and one you don't have I always err on the side of caution

    Leave a comment:


  • p3t3
    started a topic Commute vs great expectations?

    Commute vs great expectations?

    Hi, have a decent contract with a great commute. An agent called about an interesting piece of work with good prospects but a much less convenient commute.

    Heads or tails?

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