Obtaining 1st IT contract proving very difficult ?
Discussion
Hi, I have been working in IT for 12+ years and since leaving my previous company decided to go freelance as an MSI Application Packager. I have now been looking for a while now and not managed to get very far with the agencies in securing my 1st contract. I have registered with the big names Monster, Jobserve etc and got a small website up and running online offering my services www.ApplicationPackager.co.uk. I have applied for a few roles online but heard nothing back even though my skillset matches very well? I have also been phoned/emailed for a few roles too and after confirming I'm interested in the job I've not heard anything back?
Now thinking of contacting companies direct to see if there is the possibility of imminent work? I'm just after any advice from contractors out there as to successful ways to obtain work and any names of good recruitment agencies that WILL call you back and update you (even if you have not been successful because feedback is something to build on). I gather its also a matter of networking and it will get easier once I've done a few contracts?
thanks in advance
Now thinking of contacting companies direct to see if there is the possibility of imminent work? I'm just after any advice from contractors out there as to successful ways to obtain work and any names of good recruitment agencies that WILL call you back and update you (even if you have not been successful because feedback is something to build on). I gather its also a matter of networking and it will get easier once I've done a few contracts?
thanks in advance
How long can you wait for the right contract?
If nothing is happening is there anything else you can get away with (e.g. Windows Admin). If so could you put together a CV covering that area, try and get a 3 month contract to keep you going then go back to your real area of specialism.
Thinking of quitting my permie job in a couple of months to go Oracle Apps contracting so I'm rooting for you!
If nothing is happening is there anything else you can get away with (e.g. Windows Admin). If so could you put together a CV covering that area, try and get a 3 month contract to keep you going then go back to your real area of specialism.
Thinking of quitting my permie job in a couple of months to go Oracle Apps contracting so I'm rooting for you!
Beeing looking for about 4 weeks, sounds promising if this is a slow part of the year for landing contracts.
I am also considering falling back on my desktop/server back office support but will need to brush up on a few skills to be slick with them from the offset.
cheers for the replies
I am also considering falling back on my desktop/server back office support but will need to brush up on a few skills to be slick with them from the offset.
cheers for the replies
The first contract can often be difficult to get, I think agents sometimes think they will have handhold you through all the company set up stuff, so might be put off. Worth sticking that your are fully set up and ready to go in the covering letter (if that is the case).
Difficult to be specific about agencies, as they tend to be better in certain areas, so those good for me might not be good for you. But as a rule I have found the smaller agencies far more use than the mega-corps - where they just treat you as "temp employee #22322" along with a hundred Ukrainian cleaners.
I have never had any luck with cold selling to companies, even when I had the help of a a recruitment company to do a pro job with a fancy one pager and lots of calls. But I have spent at least 50% of my time in contracts where it was via contacts from previous work - so networking has always worked better for me. Many larger companies outsource the whole recruitment to a single preferred supplier now, so it is not always possible to avoid agents even if you introduce yourself.
Sure this grandma and eggs, but always tailor the CV to the position. And check it through that your have included any keywords from the ad - many agencies use an automatic CV scanner. I tend to send the CV and then follow up with a phone call.
It can be soul destroying, but does get a bit easier. Agents rarely call back if they are not going to put you forward. But some are humans underneath, worth finding someone who advertises contracts in your specialty, and trying to find out where you can improve the CV etc.
Good luck, sure the right thing will come along soon.
Difficult to be specific about agencies, as they tend to be better in certain areas, so those good for me might not be good for you. But as a rule I have found the smaller agencies far more use than the mega-corps - where they just treat you as "temp employee #22322" along with a hundred Ukrainian cleaners.
I have never had any luck with cold selling to companies, even when I had the help of a a recruitment company to do a pro job with a fancy one pager and lots of calls. But I have spent at least 50% of my time in contracts where it was via contacts from previous work - so networking has always worked better for me. Many larger companies outsource the whole recruitment to a single preferred supplier now, so it is not always possible to avoid agents even if you introduce yourself.
Sure this grandma and eggs, but always tailor the CV to the position. And check it through that your have included any keywords from the ad - many agencies use an automatic CV scanner. I tend to send the CV and then follow up with a phone call.
It can be soul destroying, but does get a bit easier. Agents rarely call back if they are not going to put you forward. But some are humans underneath, worth finding someone who advertises contracts in your specialty, and trying to find out where you can improve the CV etc.
Good luck, sure the right thing will come along soon.
Noger said:
The first contract can often be difficult to get, I think agents sometimes think they will have handhold you through all the company set up stuff, so might be put off. Worth sticking that your are fully set up and ready to go in the covering letter (if that is the case).
Companies also require different things of contractors than perms and expect you to be able to get up and running very quickly indeed. Given the choice of two candidates they will probably choose the one who has contracting experience.I got in to it by accepting a rate much lower than an established contractor would accept and built up over a number of contracts. This was nine years ago now.
This is also a slow period of the year. It'll pick up again in September when everyone has finished their summer holidays.
Sunday morning brain dump......
Well, you haven't picked the worst time of year to be looking for a gig. Second worst, maybe
Trawl through your contact book and call everyone. Are you on LinkedIn, or similar? Or any of the technology/help/community sites, like Tek-Tips? Getting your name out on tinterweb is a good thing. The last 3 clients of mine have (apparently) all done a Google on me and my business.
Agents won't chase you, you have to chase them, especially as a first-timer. Consider they may get dozens of profiles for one gig that they can put forward three candidates for. What makes you stand out? Are you ready to start immediately? How flexible are you on money and/or location? Consider your first gig as a loss leader... agents get twitchy putting newbies forward. They get less worried if they're making 50% margin on you instead of 20% margin on someone else, if you get my drift.
Tailor your profile for each gig. Consider agents (and clients to some extent) will match keywords. What are the main ones, and some good differentiators, for your market, and are they in your profile?
Nothing wrong with approaching clients direct. Most weeks I'll have a trawl through the jobsites, work out who's looking (I'm 'lucky' in that respect, my market is very small) and, although I'm snowed under, contact them direct. Get's you a possible 'in' for the future. Also means I can keep track of my competition and who's working where. What is your market actually like? Buoyant, dead, over-supplied...?
Your online resume has (at least) one spelling mistake in it, and as a contractor I'd lose the 'Interests' part. Clients pay for your expertise not your personality
Mind you, I'd also call it a Consultant Profile not a resume or a CV.
Good luck!
Well, you haven't picked the worst time of year to be looking for a gig. Second worst, maybe
Trawl through your contact book and call everyone. Are you on LinkedIn, or similar? Or any of the technology/help/community sites, like Tek-Tips? Getting your name out on tinterweb is a good thing. The last 3 clients of mine have (apparently) all done a Google on me and my business.
Agents won't chase you, you have to chase them, especially as a first-timer. Consider they may get dozens of profiles for one gig that they can put forward three candidates for. What makes you stand out? Are you ready to start immediately? How flexible are you on money and/or location? Consider your first gig as a loss leader... agents get twitchy putting newbies forward. They get less worried if they're making 50% margin on you instead of 20% margin on someone else, if you get my drift.
Tailor your profile for each gig. Consider agents (and clients to some extent) will match keywords. What are the main ones, and some good differentiators, for your market, and are they in your profile?
Nothing wrong with approaching clients direct. Most weeks I'll have a trawl through the jobsites, work out who's looking (I'm 'lucky' in that respect, my market is very small) and, although I'm snowed under, contact them direct. Get's you a possible 'in' for the future. Also means I can keep track of my competition and who's working where. What is your market actually like? Buoyant, dead, over-supplied...?
Your online resume has (at least) one spelling mistake in it, and as a contractor I'd lose the 'Interests' part. Clients pay for your expertise not your personality
Mind you, I'd also call it a Consultant Profile not a resume or a CV.Good luck!
Cheers Dern and Big and Clever. I've digested and taken on board your posts. I've made a couple of changes this morning to the website and from tomorrow I will be trying a few new approaches (any advice on the site is very well received as I've not had much due to only getting it online about a week ago). I think from the sounds of it I need to pick the phone up a bit more instead of relying on emails and online applications only. Will also consider a lower rate as this will give me the edge over a more experienced contractor. I've been told the market is good for packager and have a seen a few roles but over the last 4 weeks these roles keep reappearing? (I was wondering if these where the roles I hear of people mentioning that recruitment agencies use just to obtain clients and the roles don't actually exist?) Will also do a bit of cold calling to get acquainted with local firms for work in the future. I also going to check out the sites recommended and you cannot have too much internet presence IMO. Will post up how I get on. Cheers once again and keep any advice coming because I cannot ever have too much.
Edited by Sussex on Sunday 29th July 11:13
Edited by Sussex on Sunday 29th July 11:13
Sussex said:
I think from the sounds of it I need to pick the phone up a bit more instead of relying on emails and online applications only.
This can pay dividends if you're a good communicator. An agency will tend to match skills to requirements (ideally) but from their perspective they want to put forward people who can communicate the fact that they have the skills to the interviewee. An agency will have a finite number of cvs they can put forward (if they want to be viewed as competent). Therefore in order to be considered for the job the first people you need to convince is the agency. Therefore, having good communications skills will benefit you here possibly more than they will benefit you in the interview. You need to view yourself as a commodity in a standard market where all the usual rules apply in my opinion.Sussex said:
Will also consider a lower rate as this will give me the edge over a more experienced contractor. I've been told the market is good for packager and have a seen a few roles but over the last 4 weeks these roles keep reappearing? (I was wondering if these where the roles I hear of people mentioning that recruitment agencies use just to obtain clients and the roles don't actually exist?) Will also do a bit of cold calling to get acquainted with local firms for work in the future. I also going to check out the sites recommended and you cannot have too much internet presence IMO.
You shouldn't view a lower rate as a mechanism for giving you the edge, you should consider it as finding your actual market rate or worth. Viewing it in this way will set you in good stead because your rate will fluctuate markedly over the years but up and down. For the future, if you're sensible, you'll put money by to level your personal income out while your company income fluctuates.Agencies do advertise jobs that don't exist to collect cvs. Doesn't matter, the more agencies that have your cv the better. The critical thing though is to make absolutely sure that no more than one agency puts your cv forward for a job. This is why it's important to choose the agency that represents you for a position. For example, if the same job appears in the same jobserve email 5 times then choose which agency you apply to carefully. A big one will hopefully be more reliable but they will also have more choice of cvs. A smaller one may not but they may not be an approved supplier and may be simply hoping to become one.
I don't personally use linked in for finding contracts yet but it may become a tool I use at some point. I basically rely on jobs advertised on jobserve and also on agencies calling me. They will call you by the way if you have skills they want. If you don't have the skills the market wants then get them. Be prepared in the long term to switch from one set of skills to another even if it means a short term drop in rates.
It can all be a bit stressful at times but worth it if you're any good. If you're not up to it it'll soon become apparent
Regards,
Mark
Cheers Dern, have taken all that info onboard. Have also created a LinkedIn profile too and it does look a very good site. Its going to be a busy week for my telephone but hopefully will allow me to get me more acquainted with the agencies and also let me judge how good they are. Really just need the right break now to get me started.
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