Hello from a newbie... Oh... And HELP!

[Wanderer]

Just found out that my request for voluntary redundancy has been turned down, so I'm going to have to stick it out in permieland until the next round of redundances.

It's probably worth waiting for as you can get the first £30k tax free too....

[Tez]

Well.....

Just found out that my request for voluntary redundancy has been turned down, so I'm going to have to stick it out in permieland until the next round of redundances.

This is the 4th in 2 years so hopefully not much longer.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone in this forum, the posts are incredibly useful and entertaining at the same time, and I'll continue to lurk here, picking up bits & bats, in the hope that I can jump ship soon.

Cheers!

[Tez]

Oh!!! You said a naughty word, and I'm a delicate soul!

Ha! Cheers for the advice. I'll try to scam work out of ITIL & Prince before I take the cheque, although at that price, I'm not that bothered if I have to fork out for it myself...

Thanks again

[Zippy]

Welcome

If you can't get training for Prince2 as part of your redundancy it's probably worth paying for it yourself. It is possible to get courses for £500-£600.

And you can say shit:. Simply put colons at the beginning and end of the offending word. Note - if you preview your post or quote other posts it removes the colons and you have to put them back before submitting.

All the best!

[Tez]

Excellent, thanks for the reply.

They do do a retraining scheme for compulsary redundees(?) but not for those that choose voluntary like I'm doing. I don't want to risk turning down voluntary because they have a habit of redeploying people into rubbish roles rather than forcing redundancy - looks better in the press I suppose.

I've looked at a fair few courses for Prince that guarantee a pass or you get a free retake so one of those may be the best way, same with the ITIL.

I guess the only other way round the holiday issue would be to try the old substitution clause, see if they'd go with that for a few weeks, although given that I'm (hoping to be) new to contracting, my contacts are pretty thin on the ground!

Cheers for the advice, and if this comes off like I'm hoping it will, I reckon I'll be spending a fair bit of time here!

[northernladuk]

A few facts:
I'm currently a permie
I work as an IT project transition manager currently, I'm also experienced at support management and project management (although no official Prince2 or ITIL qualifications)
IF I get offered voluntary redundancy, I'll likely be out the door in late Nov, early Dec.

I do have a few questions that I hope you guys can help me with though...

1) Given the timing I'll be redundant, if I get it, what's the market traditionally like through the xmas/new year period?

It isn't the best period to be fair but it isn't totally wasted. Two of the last 4 of my gigs started in Nov and Jan. I would try and avoid this if it didn't cost me anything but if I was released around this period I wouldn't be too upset.

2) I have a 3 week holiday booked in March - If I'm looking for work during December/January time and I mention this to a potential client looking for a 3+ month contract, what's the likelihood of them kicking me out the door & not giving me a 2nd thought?

Hmmm, that is a tough one. 3 weeks a long time when you are only 2-3 months in. I wouldn't mention it at the interview but would mention it if an offer is made. I think it would depend on the client but if it was me I wouldn't be happy at all.

3) As a transition manager, there are no "official" qualifications (although ITIL is recognised as the standard); How much does having Prince2/ITIL expert qualifications enhance the chances of bagging a contract? I have the experience, however I know some places insist on the piece of paper.

I started out with exactly the same experience as you but I had ITIL V2 already. I didn't get a look in without the Prince but this was down to agents not knowing their arse from their elbow. A client might be more inclined to look at your experience than an agent though. For the cost of the course I got my Prince straight off and upgraded to V3. There are a lot of service and PM bodies with many years experience AND the paper so I couldn't afford not to have them. Do them as soon as you can. You could write it in to your redundancy, particularly if you are being made redundant rather than VR. The company may have a policy of helping retrain as part of the redundancy.

4) Why tulip?

There is a swear filter on for the delicate souls. Tulip is the replacement for sh!t.

[Tez]

Howdy folks.

This is my 1st post here and I want to start by saying thanks. Through reading posts on this forum & the rest of the site over the last few months, I've learned a shed load about contracting, which I aim to start doing ASAP. I've been thinking about contracting for a while now, and a potential opportunity has arisen (voluntary redundancy, put my name on the list but no guarantee I'll get it, keeping everything crossed...) for me to start in earnest.

A few facts:
I'm currently a permie
I work as an IT project transition manager currently, I'm also experienced at support management and project management (although no official Prince2 or ITIL qualifications)
IF I get offered voluntary redundancy, I'll likely be out the door in late Nov, early Dec.

I've been putting my feelers out there to see what the market is currently like, bunged my CV up on a few sites etc, and I'm getting a fair few calls a week. That's without going direct to agencies.

I do have a few questions that I hope you guys can help me with though...

1) Given the timing I'll be redundant, if I get it, what's the market traditionally like through the xmas/new year period?
2) I have a 3 week holiday booked in March - If I'm looking for work during December/January time and I mention this to a potential client looking for a 3+ month contract, what's the likelihood of them kicking me out the door & not giving me a 2nd thought?
3) As a transition manager, there are no "official" qualifications (although ITIL is recognised as the standard); How much does having Prince2/ITIL expert qualifications enhance the chances of bagging a contract? I have the experience, however I know some places insist on the piece of paper.
4) Why tulip?

Thanks again for your valuable posts in the past, and thanks in advance for your help with the above.

Cheers!