how many 'I've got a chance here' contracts do you see in a week?

[stevieshaker]

I'm currently doing my homework on if I have the right skills to make a good go of contracting.

I currently look on sites like job serve / techno/ indeed everyday and probably see an average of 1 contract a day where I think my skills are a good match and maybe another 1 where I could stand a chance.

So that's an average of 5 decent applications a week and 5 speculative ones.

In peoples opinion, right now in the current market conditions and ignoring location is that a reasonable number to go at in terms of getting interviews?

Appreciate situations are different for different roles but any general opinion appreciated.

Cheers

[BlasterBates]

Depends on the competition. In a bouyant market you should be seeing a quite a bit more than that.

I would apply and see if you get any answers.

[Eirikur]

Depends a lot on your skills as well. mine are quite niche, but if there's a contract that matches very well an interview is almost guaranteed
A 100% match maybe once or twice per week
75-99% match once or twice per day

[psychocandy]

Just 10 a week. hmmm?

When I'm looking actively I try and get around 5-6 day in on average. Out of these possibly 2-3 are a long shot but theres usually at least 2-3 day which is right up my street.

And I restrict to geographical area (south west) which obviously restricts things. Always though if I looked nationally there'd be at least 15-20 a day that I could be well up for.

[jjdarg]

Roles for me tend to be few and far between, but I do see maybe about 10 adverts for appropriate roles per week.

If I apply to all of them, I usually only get maybe 1 out of 10 agents getting back to me. The majority of the roles that my CV goes forward for usually come from cold calls from agents rather than applying to the advert - some of these roles are advertised, but most aren't.

I find that loading my CV up on the job sites on a daily basis works best to get me to the top of their scanning pile. They tend to be only interested in people who have fresh CVs on the boards.

[stevieshaker]

Thanks for your thoughts. Some good advice there too. I will think I will see if my ratio improves over the next month or so. Applying and see what kind of response I get seems sensible too.

Cheers

[northernladuk]

Personally i would forget the 'stand a chance' gig's. There are more than enough people out there that will fit it perfectly meaning you don't stand a chance.

[BolshieBastard]

If you're just starting contracting or been benched for a while, apply for everything that's within your ability and let the agents sift you out. Obviously, I dont include applying for roles where you arent a good fit or dont have the skills.

Many a time clients will issue a job spec with 20 different requirements but you only satisfy 15 or 16. If you feel competent especially with the main requirements, chuck your hat in the ring.