Finding your next contract (IT)
Discussion
How do you guys (especially those of you in the IT space) typically find your next contract role?
I'm new to contracting and my first contract is coming to an end. I was headhunted for this role via LinkedIn and worked as a permie previously so I've not really had to look before.
Do you typically register with recruiters, browse sites like CV library, jobserve, (others)? Any must do's and things to avoid?
Thanks in advance.
I'm new to contracting and my first contract is coming to an end. I was headhunted for this role via LinkedIn and worked as a permie previously so I've not really had to look before.
Do you typically register with recruiters, browse sites like CV library, jobserve, (others)? Any must do's and things to avoid?
Thanks in advance.
It's a while back now, but quite a few of my contracts came via other contractors.
I used to keep a database of agents and agencies who listed relevant jobs, I started that about a month before I became a contractor.
I wasn't in IT, so most of the agents worth me speaking to were fairly specialised, although it's worth keeping an eye on those who specialise in certain industries, even if they rarely need someone in your role.
Last time I looked for a contract I thought it had got silly. Not only were there seemingly a thousand agencies dabbling in my field, dozens of them obviously trying to fill the same job, but there were loads of jobsearch type sites each of which offered a different combination of the agencies.
I got the same result by just googling "**** engineer contract job"
Contacting employers who are looking for permies is worth a phone call sometimes.
I used to keep a database of agents and agencies who listed relevant jobs, I started that about a month before I became a contractor.
I wasn't in IT, so most of the agents worth me speaking to were fairly specialised, although it's worth keeping an eye on those who specialise in certain industries, even if they rarely need someone in your role.
Last time I looked for a contract I thought it had got silly. Not only were there seemingly a thousand agencies dabbling in my field, dozens of them obviously trying to fill the same job, but there were loads of jobsearch type sites each of which offered a different combination of the agencies.
I got the same result by just googling "**** engineer contract job"
Contacting employers who are looking for permies is worth a phone call sometimes.
You need to be a bit savvy with Jobserve now.
Jobs cycle round to make them look fresh. There is a job that regularly appears on the 6th of each month.
I don't know if this is something that is setup in the portal or something the agent does manually. Knowing the fecklessness of agents I am assuming its the former.
In addition to be competitive there are far more 1 man band (or 2) operations. I always checkout any potential agent before firing off my details. Those that do not checkout with Companies House or deliberately obfuscate their contact details (phone numbers and / or email addresses) I tend to stay away from.
Lastly if you choose to go down the route of making your details searchable be prepared for some s
te spam emails.
In summary yes Jobserve is good but do the checking. At the moment (for my area of expertise) there is a lot coming through but I have been in this game a long time and I have experienced the famine as well.
Jobs cycle round to make them look fresh. There is a job that regularly appears on the 6th of each month.
I don't know if this is something that is setup in the portal or something the agent does manually. Knowing the fecklessness of agents I am assuming its the former.
In addition to be competitive there are far more 1 man band (or 2) operations. I always checkout any potential agent before firing off my details. Those that do not checkout with Companies House or deliberately obfuscate their contact details (phone numbers and / or email addresses) I tend to stay away from.
Lastly if you choose to go down the route of making your details searchable be prepared for some s
te spam emails.In summary yes Jobserve is good but do the checking. At the moment (for my area of expertise) there is a lot coming through but I have been in this game a long time and I have experienced the famine as well.
I've been contracting for 25 years and until around 5-6 years ago I would have said Jobserve and other sites would be the go to, however when there are literally 1000's of people applying on-line for roles advertised the chances of actually getting a call let alone shortlisted/interview the chances are very slim.
It's a last resort now for recruiters because of the volume of applications and the number of calls they receive chasing the role. I'm not saying it won't work but the chances are slim.
What you need is good/strong relationships with recruiters, shortlist that to around 10 recruiters and keep in contact with them, some may arrange networking events, attend these if you can, it may work, it may not. Keeping in touch with a select few keeps you in their eyeline for anything that may come across their desk. Additionally, your own networking will be key, I've had countless roles where I've been recommended by someone already working at the company and then been approached directly by the company, quick interview and then pointed towards an agency etc.
I'd also build out a great profile on LinkedIn, set your status to available and be really active on there, comments, create posts relating to your skills. During Covid when most contractors were on the bench I was posting and generating over 100K views, and before long I was being approached by a few companies/recruiters.
If you do apply for a role on-line make sure your CV explicitly reflects the role you're applying for, agencies and recruiters don't read CV's they get churned through an automated tool which will be looking for key words relating to the role you have applied for, if you have enough hits the recruiter will then have a look at your CV and possibly give you a call. Likewise the employer may have said to the recruiter that they only want to interview 5 people, so you also need to be quick, again if a recruiter has 10-20 CV's that get through the screening process they'll start calling, but once they have enough suitable applicants they're not going to continue calling every other applicant in their list as they'll be working other opportunities.
It's a last resort now for recruiters because of the volume of applications and the number of calls they receive chasing the role. I'm not saying it won't work but the chances are slim.
What you need is good/strong relationships with recruiters, shortlist that to around 10 recruiters and keep in contact with them, some may arrange networking events, attend these if you can, it may work, it may not. Keeping in touch with a select few keeps you in their eyeline for anything that may come across their desk. Additionally, your own networking will be key, I've had countless roles where I've been recommended by someone already working at the company and then been approached directly by the company, quick interview and then pointed towards an agency etc.
I'd also build out a great profile on LinkedIn, set your status to available and be really active on there, comments, create posts relating to your skills. During Covid when most contractors were on the bench I was posting and generating over 100K views, and before long I was being approached by a few companies/recruiters.
If you do apply for a role on-line make sure your CV explicitly reflects the role you're applying for, agencies and recruiters don't read CV's they get churned through an automated tool which will be looking for key words relating to the role you have applied for, if you have enough hits the recruiter will then have a look at your CV and possibly give you a call. Likewise the employer may have said to the recruiter that they only want to interview 5 people, so you also need to be quick, again if a recruiter has 10-20 CV's that get through the screening process they'll start calling, but once they have enough suitable applicants they're not going to continue calling every other applicant in their list as they'll be working other opportunities.
Thanks all! Appreciate the replies.
I think especailly post covid where a lot of IT contract roles seem to be listed as 'fully remote' - often these appear on jobserve and get 100-200 applicants within a few days or something ridiculous, so yeah, chances with these are pretty slim. More chance with something local-ish that offers hybrid working.
Already have a good LinkedIn profile and it's fully listed as open to work, available to provide services etc. I do get recruiters reaching out to me on there but it's often the lazy type of recruiters where it's obvious they've scanned my profile for less than 5 seconds, asking me if I want a dev job when I am clearly not a developer, for example.
Regarding recruiters, do you typically try to sign up with 10 or so that are local to you? Send them your CV, give them a call etc or do you focus less on their location and more on their size and/or presence in the market? If the latter, any IT specific ones you can recommend?
Thanks
Freakuk said:
I've been contracting for 25 years and until around 5-6 years ago I would have said Jobserve and other sites would be the go to, however when there are literally 1000's of people applying on-line for roles advertised the chances of actually getting a call let alone shortlisted/interview the chances are very slim.
It's a last resort now for recruiters because of the volume of applications and the number of calls they receive chasing the role. I'm not saying it won't work but the chances are slim.
What you need is good/strong relationships with recruiters, shortlist that to around 10 recruiters and keep in contact with them, some may arrange networking events, attend these if you can, it may work, it may not. Keeping in touch with a select few keeps you in their eyeline for anything that may come across their desk. Additionally, your own networking will be key, I've had countless roles where I've been recommended by someone already working at the company and then been approached directly by the company, quick interview and then pointed towards an agency etc.
I'd also build out a great profile on LinkedIn, set your status to available and be really active on there, comments, create posts relating to your skills. During Covid when most contractors were on the bench I was posting and generating over 100K views, and before long I was being approached by a few companies/recruiters.
If you do apply for a role on-line make sure your CV explicitly reflects the role you're applying for, agencies and recruiters don't read CV's they get churned through an automated tool which will be looking for key words relating to the role you have applied for, if you have enough hits the recruiter will then have a look at your CV and possibly give you a call. Likewise the employer may have said to the recruiter that they only want to interview 5 people, so you also need to be quick, again if a recruiter has 10-20 CV's that get through the screening process they'll start calling, but once they have enough suitable applicants they're not going to continue calling every other applicant in their list as they'll be working other opportunities.
Some great advice here, many thanks.It's a last resort now for recruiters because of the volume of applications and the number of calls they receive chasing the role. I'm not saying it won't work but the chances are slim.
What you need is good/strong relationships with recruiters, shortlist that to around 10 recruiters and keep in contact with them, some may arrange networking events, attend these if you can, it may work, it may not. Keeping in touch with a select few keeps you in their eyeline for anything that may come across their desk. Additionally, your own networking will be key, I've had countless roles where I've been recommended by someone already working at the company and then been approached directly by the company, quick interview and then pointed towards an agency etc.
I'd also build out a great profile on LinkedIn, set your status to available and be really active on there, comments, create posts relating to your skills. During Covid when most contractors were on the bench I was posting and generating over 100K views, and before long I was being approached by a few companies/recruiters.
If you do apply for a role on-line make sure your CV explicitly reflects the role you're applying for, agencies and recruiters don't read CV's they get churned through an automated tool which will be looking for key words relating to the role you have applied for, if you have enough hits the recruiter will then have a look at your CV and possibly give you a call. Likewise the employer may have said to the recruiter that they only want to interview 5 people, so you also need to be quick, again if a recruiter has 10-20 CV's that get through the screening process they'll start calling, but once they have enough suitable applicants they're not going to continue calling every other applicant in their list as they'll be working other opportunities.
I think especailly post covid where a lot of IT contract roles seem to be listed as 'fully remote' - often these appear on jobserve and get 100-200 applicants within a few days or something ridiculous, so yeah, chances with these are pretty slim. More chance with something local-ish that offers hybrid working.
Already have a good LinkedIn profile and it's fully listed as open to work, available to provide services etc. I do get recruiters reaching out to me on there but it's often the lazy type of recruiters where it's obvious they've scanned my profile for less than 5 seconds, asking me if I want a dev job when I am clearly not a developer, for example.
Regarding recruiters, do you typically try to sign up with 10 or so that are local to you? Send them your CV, give them a call etc or do you focus less on their location and more on their size and/or presence in the market? If the latter, any IT specific ones you can recommend?
Thanks
KindPine said:
Thanks all! Appreciate the replies.
I think especailly post covid where a lot of IT contract roles seem to be listed as 'fully remote' - often these appear on jobserve and get 100-200 applicants within a few days or something ridiculous, so yeah, chances with these are pretty slim. More chance with something local-ish that offers hybrid working.
Already have a good LinkedIn profile and it's fully listed as open to work, available to provide services etc. I do get recruiters reaching out to me on there but it's often the lazy type of recruiters where it's obvious they've scanned my profile for less than 5 seconds, asking me if I want a dev job when I am clearly not a developer, for example.
Regarding recruiters, do you typically try to sign up with 10 or so that are local to you? Send them your CV, give them a call etc or do you focus less on their location and more on their size and/or presence in the market? If the latter, any IT specific ones you can recommend?
Thanks
How do you determine if you have a good LinkedIn profile?Freakuk said:
I've been contracting for 25 years and until around 5-6 years ago I would have said Jobserve and other sites would be the go to, however when there are literally 1000's of people applying on-line for roles advertised the chances of actually getting a call let alone shortlisted/interview the chances are very slim.
It's a last resort now for recruiters because of the volume of applications and the number of calls they receive chasing the role. I'm not saying it won't work but the chances are slim.
What you need is good/strong relationships with recruiters, shortlist that to around 10 recruiters and keep in contact with them, some may arrange networking events, attend these if you can, it may work, it may not. Keeping in touch with a select few keeps you in their eyeline for anything that may come across their desk. Additionally, your own networking will be key, I've had countless roles where I've been recommended by someone already working at the company and then been approached directly by the company, quick interview and then pointed towards an agency etc.
I'd also build out a great profile on LinkedIn, set your status to available and be really active on there, comments, create posts relating to your skills. During Covid when most contractors were on the bench I was posting and generating over 100K views, and before long I was being approached by a few companies/recruiters.
If you do apply for a role on-line make sure your CV explicitly reflects the role you're applying for, agencies and recruiters don't read CV's they get churned through an automated tool which will be looking for key words relating to the role you have applied for, if you have enough hits the recruiter will then have a look at your CV and possibly give you a call. Likewise the employer may have said to the recruiter that they only want to interview 5 people, so you also need to be quick, again if a recruiter has 10-20 CV's that get through the screening process they'll start calling, but once they have enough suitable applicants they're not going to continue calling every other applicant in their list as they'll be working other opportunities.
Some great advice here, many thanks.It's a last resort now for recruiters because of the volume of applications and the number of calls they receive chasing the role. I'm not saying it won't work but the chances are slim.
What you need is good/strong relationships with recruiters, shortlist that to around 10 recruiters and keep in contact with them, some may arrange networking events, attend these if you can, it may work, it may not. Keeping in touch with a select few keeps you in their eyeline for anything that may come across their desk. Additionally, your own networking will be key, I've had countless roles where I've been recommended by someone already working at the company and then been approached directly by the company, quick interview and then pointed towards an agency etc.
I'd also build out a great profile on LinkedIn, set your status to available and be really active on there, comments, create posts relating to your skills. During Covid when most contractors were on the bench I was posting and generating over 100K views, and before long I was being approached by a few companies/recruiters.
If you do apply for a role on-line make sure your CV explicitly reflects the role you're applying for, agencies and recruiters don't read CV's they get churned through an automated tool which will be looking for key words relating to the role you have applied for, if you have enough hits the recruiter will then have a look at your CV and possibly give you a call. Likewise the employer may have said to the recruiter that they only want to interview 5 people, so you also need to be quick, again if a recruiter has 10-20 CV's that get through the screening process they'll start calling, but once they have enough suitable applicants they're not going to continue calling every other applicant in their list as they'll be working other opportunities.
I think especailly post covid where a lot of IT contract roles seem to be listed as 'fully remote' - often these appear on jobserve and get 100-200 applicants within a few days or something ridiculous, so yeah, chances with these are pretty slim. More chance with something local-ish that offers hybrid working.
Already have a good LinkedIn profile and it's fully listed as open to work, available to provide services etc. I do get recruiters reaching out to me on there but it's often the lazy type of recruiters where it's obvious they've scanned my profile for less than 5 seconds, asking me if I want a dev job when I am clearly not a developer, for example.
Regarding recruiters, do you typically try to sign up with 10 or so that are local to you? Send them your CV, give them a call etc or do you focus less on their location and more on their size and/or presence in the market? If the latter, any IT specific ones you can recommend?
Thanks
Example during Covid as I mentioned in my earlier post I was generating a lot of interest through being active, I was seeing huge numbers viewing my profile, no idea if they were just curious or they were genuine, some were recruiters, others weren't but any view is a good thing. By comparison a friend of mine had moved from perm (25+ years) to contract, had one contract before Covid and then was at home twiddling his thumbs. I went round to have a brew and said let's have a look at your profile, it wasn't bad, not great, but he was literally single figure views on his profile, basically he wasn't using the platform.
Your question regarding recruiters, that's a tough one, some are really charlatan's and it's all about getting a bum on a seat and taking a commission plain and simple. I've had a few offer me less than idea roles, but said take the role and we'll get you something else in a few months, that helps them, heck they get to fill it again, but it does me zero favours.
You just need to figure it out, the obvious one is who recruited you for your current role, they must be keen to get you in somewhere else, you're a known quantity and provided them with ££ every month. You probably have a list of others you have spoken to previously and you can tell if they are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.
I don't think it matters where they are geographically to you, but they will be only dealing with clients within so many miles, it's unlikely someone say in the North has clients in the South and they are trying to recruit for them. How to find them and engage with them, again LinkedIn is your go to, search for recruiters, search for industries, companies you would like to work for and connect with them, send them a message introducing yourself, your skills and what you would be looking for in your next role. That should generate calls and you can build from there, sometimes the planets align instantly other times it takes weeks/months to get another role depending upon the time of year.
Freakuk said:
How do you determine if you have a good LinkedIn profile?
Example during Covid as I mentioned in my earlier post I was generating a lot of interest through being active, I was seeing huge numbers viewing my profile, no idea if they were just curious or they were genuine, some were recruiters, others weren't but any view is a good thing. By comparison a friend of mine had moved from perm (25+ years) to contract, had one contract before Covid and then was at home twiddling his thumbs. I went round to have a brew and said let's have a look at your profile, it wasn't bad, not great, but he was literally single figure views on his profile, basically he wasn't using the platform.
Your question regarding recruiters, that's a tough one, some are really charlatan's and it's all about getting a bum on a seat and taking a commission plain and simple. I've had a few offer me less than idea roles, but said take the role and we'll get you something else in a few months, that helps them, heck they get to fill it again, but it does me zero favours.
You just need to figure it out, the obvious one is who recruited you for your current role, they must be keen to get you in somewhere else, you're a known quantity and provided them with ££ every month. You probably have a list of others you have spoken to previously and you can tell if they are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.
I don't think it matters where they are geographically to you, but they will be only dealing with clients within so many miles, it's unlikely someone say in the North has clients in the South and they are trying to recruit for them. How to find them and engage with them, again LinkedIn is your go to, search for recruiters, search for industries, companies you would like to work for and connect with them, send them a message introducing yourself, your skills and what you would be looking for in your next role. That should generate calls and you can build from there, sometimes the planets align instantly other times it takes weeks/months to get another role depending upon the time of year.
I think my profile is 'good' in that I constantly keep it up to date, have put a lot of effort into the wording and accuracy, am reasonably active on LinkedIn, liking and sharing posts etc. So compared to those that sort of half arse set up a LinkedIn profile and never really use it, I'd say mine is pretty good. Never get the sort of numbers you say in terms of profile views though - I agree it's a good thing but I wouldn't really know what to share or post to get 100k views, those are crazy numbers.Example during Covid as I mentioned in my earlier post I was generating a lot of interest through being active, I was seeing huge numbers viewing my profile, no idea if they were just curious or they were genuine, some were recruiters, others weren't but any view is a good thing. By comparison a friend of mine had moved from perm (25+ years) to contract, had one contract before Covid and then was at home twiddling his thumbs. I went round to have a brew and said let's have a look at your profile, it wasn't bad, not great, but he was literally single figure views on his profile, basically he wasn't using the platform.
Your question regarding recruiters, that's a tough one, some are really charlatan's and it's all about getting a bum on a seat and taking a commission plain and simple. I've had a few offer me less than idea roles, but said take the role and we'll get you something else in a few months, that helps them, heck they get to fill it again, but it does me zero favours.
You just need to figure it out, the obvious one is who recruited you for your current role, they must be keen to get you in somewhere else, you're a known quantity and provided them with ££ every month. You probably have a list of others you have spoken to previously and you can tell if they are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.
I don't think it matters where they are geographically to you, but they will be only dealing with clients within so many miles, it's unlikely someone say in the North has clients in the South and they are trying to recruit for them. How to find them and engage with them, again LinkedIn is your go to, search for recruiters, search for industries, companies you would like to work for and connect with them, send them a message introducing yourself, your skills and what you would be looking for in your next role. That should generate calls and you can build from there, sometimes the planets align instantly other times it takes weeks/months to get another role depending upon the time of year.
Yeah I've definitely experienced a few chartalan type recruiters so far. Lots seem to be London based, can never get through to the contact listed, promised calls back and never receive them, leave the roles advertised weeks after they're filled, etc. On the other hand, the recruiter that found me my first role was excellent and I would love to go through them again but they just don't have any similar roles at present. I haven't spoken to any others previously as these guys headhunted me and found me my first role. Before that I was a permie.
Thanks for the advice - I will try reaching out to more recruiters directly either via LinkedIn or via the details listed on their site, even if they don't have any suitable roles advertisted at present, hopefully it will help generate leads and connections.
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