I'm currently a permie looking to get my first contract. I think I'm in a fairly good position to start, no real financial or personal commitments, wiling to move anywhere and have current DV clearence. I have about 3.5 yrs Java/J2EE experience.
I haven't quit my permie job yet. My employer requires 4 weeks notice, but I can shorten this with some leave. I'm only looking for jobs which require DV clearance and my understanding is that clients with this kind of vacancy are usually willing to wait a bit longer. My plan is to resign as soon as I get my first interview. If it goes pear shaped, I've enough savings to see me through 2 months and I can always go and stay with my parents for while.
I put my CV in jobsite at about 1.30am Thursday. Phone started ringing at 8.00am was taking calls from various agents for about half an hour. I got another bunch of calls during the day and another one yesterday, but the jobs are starting to repeat. I've actually lost track of exactly where my CV has gone now. I was a bit taken by surprise when I started getting all these calls and didn't always have a pen handy . I had no idea that agencies follow these things up so aggressively!
I was wondering what the next step is. I've seen some advice suggesting that I chase up some of the calls. One of the agencies is local; would it be worth popping in to their office?
I can't figure a lot of these agents out. Most of them were up beat. I've been setting my rate at about £400, some of the agents seemed eager for me to bump it up a bit. One agent told me that he didn't rate my chances of getting any contract work and forwarded me a bunch of permie roles.
So far I've gotten an idea of some of the don'ts with agents:
Don't give them references,
Don't ask 'what do YOU think my rate should be?'.
Don't tell them what other agencies you've been talking to.
Don't tell them about other positions you've been put forward for.
Anything else I should watch out for?
I haven't quit my permie job yet. My employer requires 4 weeks notice, but I can shorten this with some leave. I'm only looking for jobs which require DV clearance and my understanding is that clients with this kind of vacancy are usually willing to wait a bit longer. My plan is to resign as soon as I get my first interview. If it goes pear shaped, I've enough savings to see me through 2 months and I can always go and stay with my parents for while.
I put my CV in jobsite at about 1.30am Thursday. Phone started ringing at 8.00am was taking calls from various agents for about half an hour. I got another bunch of calls during the day and another one yesterday, but the jobs are starting to repeat. I've actually lost track of exactly where my CV has gone now. I was a bit taken by surprise when I started getting all these calls and didn't always have a pen handy . I had no idea that agencies follow these things up so aggressively!
I was wondering what the next step is. I've seen some advice suggesting that I chase up some of the calls. One of the agencies is local; would it be worth popping in to their office?
I can't figure a lot of these agents out. Most of them were up beat. I've been setting my rate at about £400, some of the agents seemed eager for me to bump it up a bit. One agent told me that he didn't rate my chances of getting any contract work and forwarded me a bunch of permie roles.
So far I've gotten an idea of some of the don'ts with agents:
Don't give them references,
Don't ask 'what do YOU think my rate should be?'.
Don't tell them what other agencies you've been talking to.
Don't tell them about other positions you've been put forward for.
Anything else I should watch out for?
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