CVs / Matching specs and skills / Adding new skills

[QwertyNow]

I don't. I either mail the agent with my CV asking to see a spec so i can further tailor the CV to evidence the skills required or give them a call asking for the same. If there is more than one agent going for the same gig its in their best interests to help so they have a greater chance of their candidate getting the gig.

That sounds logical. And I like your point about the situation with multiple agents involved.

Thanks again, guys. Hope you enjoy the rest of the extended weekend ...

QN

[QwertyNow]

Let me be a little more succinct. Permies are hired for what they can do and are expected to evolve over time.

Contractors are hired for what they have done. End of...

Understood, and absolutely no disagreement with it. I was only trying to find out what is the best way forward when the information available (the online advert in most cases) is not the proper role spec with the list of necessary and sufficient skills needed.

[northernladuk]

A lot of the adverts are pretty trash with every skill under the sun listed but when you see the actual role spec it's pretty evident what is required. If you don't meet that requirement exactly I wouldn't waste my time. There are plenty of contractors out there that will.

Problem is that the advert is all you have to start with, and on the basis of which you apply, isn't it? And sometimes even the job spec, when you get it, is so bloated that the core skills really required for the gig is hard to deduce. I had a spec sent to me which listed 11 skills. More intriguingly, the skills combination was very strange, a bit like looking for a chef specializing in Norwegian and Moroccan cuisines.

QN

I don't. I either mail the agent with my CV asking to see a spec so i can further tailor the CV to evidence the skills required or give them a call asking for the same. If there is more than one agent going for the same gig its in their best interests to help so they have a greater chance of their candidate getting the gig.

[malvolio]

Let me be a little more succinct. Permies are hired for what they can do and are expected to evolve over time.

Contractors are hired for what they have done. End of...

[QwertyNow]

A lot of the adverts are pretty trash with every skill under the sun listed but when you see the actual role spec it's pretty evident what is required. If you don't meet that requirement exactly I wouldn't waste my time. There are plenty of contractors out there that will.

Problem is that the advert is all you have to start with, and on the basis of which you apply, isn't it? And sometimes even the job spec, when you get it, is so bloated that the core skills really required for the gig is hard to deduce. I had a spec sent to me which listed 11 skills. More intriguingly, the skills combination was very strange, a bit like looking for a chef specializing in Norwegian and Moroccan cuisines.

QN

[QwertyNow]

Thank you, for being so prompt and succinct.

QN

[northernladuk]

I do have a few issues about which any feedback / comments would be most welcome.

(a) CVs: Some of the advice on CUK seems self-contradictory. One article says Your CV should be no more than two pages long, and another one is titled Job-hopefuls warned against the 2-page CV. Also, has anyone tried the professional CV writing/reviewing companies, and found of them of any real use? Can someone who has never met you and has no knowledge of you as a person, and is unlikely of a technical background do an effective review and/or redesign your CV for you? I would imagine feedback from recruiters / end clients would be really useful, but of course I don't expect to get such feedback any time soon (or ever).

We've argued long and hard on the CV topic and the consensus seems to be 2 - 3 pages is ok. To be fair if you are good fit for the gig it should be evident on page 1 with page 2 a bit of supporting material. If an agent has to read page 3 you're not going to get the gig. In fact an agent won't read page 3, maybe the client will, but not the agent.

Lots of threads about professional CV services and the consensus seems to be don't bother.

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourc...ntractoruk.com

(b) Matching specs and skills: I understand that as a contractor you would be expected to be productive right from the beginning, but then my experience is that for any non-trivial problem to be solved, there is always a bit of learning involved. So does it make sense to apply and pursue contracts (specially when there is a long list of skills specified) where you have a significant but not an exact overlap between your profile and the spec?

But your experience isn't as a contractor. There is some requirements gathering and getting up to speed with what is required but I wouldn't call this learning. We are brought in to hit the ground running and provide a specific skill. We are not brought in because we look ok but with a bit extra learning/training you might be able to do it. A lot of the adverts are pretty trash with every skill under the sun listed but when you see the actual role spec it's pretty evident what is required. If you don't meet that requirement exactly I wouldn't waste my time. There are plenty of contractors out there that will.

(c) Adding new skills: Sort of related to be (b). If it is imperative that you have all the skills that a contract may require, and you are essentially reusing only existing skills, how you would pick up new skills? You could obviously self train, but then we go back to the familiar debate about skills learned in a commercial environment vs those of a (let's say, a dedicated and disciplined) amateur. A related question would be about skills not new but not requested very often (and proportionally a small number of professionals offering that skill). Let's say, as an example, programming in Erlang. Let's say, I learn Erlang out of interest, but would this knowledge be useful, if I applied for jobs where one of the (or the only) skill asked was Erlang?

If you are lucky you get exposure to new skills, or you could self learn and present yourself to your current client and slide in to that new skill. It's not very common though and should be treated as lucky rather than banking on this process for your long term career. I'm not saying it doesn't happen but it's not a given. Doing self learning and then finding an opportunity to use it on a client would be the best way to try this route.

I'd say pretty much no to the Erlang question. If you can't deliver something that is required of the bat the it's of no use to the client. Again, you have to deliver, not to learn. If you can't demonstrate that you have applied this in the past to a client he won't look at you twice. It could help you move in to a role use Erlang if you were already on a gig and you got lucky but it's not a marketable skill as yet.

PS: I finally figured out what/who NLUK is !

[QwertyNow]

Dear seasoned contractors,

I am at the moment trying to pick up my first contract. For a host of reasons, I decided to quit my permanent job and spend all my time and energy on finding that first contract which well get me started in this (as someone else said in another post) "wibbly wobbly world". I have been looking for a month now, had an face to face interview where I did not the contract.

Contracting is not, quite clearly, for the faint of heart. I do understand that, and am fine with it. Forums like this one are a like a lifeline, so thanks to everyone who contributes and helps out.

I do have a few issues about which any feedback / comments would be most welcome.

(a) CVs: Some of the advice on CUK seems self-contradictory. One article says Your CV should be no more than two pages long, and another one is titled Job-hopefuls warned against the 2-page CV. Also, has anyone tried the professional CV writing/reviewing companies, and found of them of any real use? Can someone who has never met you and has no knowledge of you as a person, and is unlikely of a technical background do an effective review and/or redesign your CV for you? I would imagine feedback from recruiters / end clients would be really useful, but of course I don't expect to get such feedback any time soon (or ever).

(b) Matching specs and skills: I understand that as a contractor you would be expected to be productive right from the beginning, but then my experience is that for any non-trivial problem to be solved, there is always a bit of learning involved. So does it make sense to apply and pursue contracts (specially when there is a long list of skills specified) where you have a significant but not an exact overlap between your profile and the spec?

(c) Adding new skills: Sort of related to be (b). If it is imperative that you have all the skills that a contract may require, and you are essentially reusing only existing skills, how you would pick up new skills? You could obviously self train, but then we go back to the familiar debate about skills learned in a commercial environment vs those of a (let's say, a dedicated and disciplined) amateur. A related question would be about skills not new but not requested very often (and proportionally a small number of professionals offering that skill). Let's say, as an example, programming in Erlang. Let's say, I learn Erlang out of interest, but would this knowledge be useful, if I applied for jobs where one of the (or the only) skill asked was Erlang?

Am sorry if the questions sound too theoretical.

Thanks,
QN

PS: I finally figured out what/who NLUK is !