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Currently considering a big cut

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    Currently considering a big cut

    .NET Winforms roles seem to have dried up except for city slicker types with banking sector background. My CV is pretty good with recent .NET 2.0, 3.0 WCF, LINQ and the like but I'm getting the usual agency banter with nothing concrete emerging...not even an interview after a month of looking despite a couple having been promised.

    My current client where the gig ends this Friday has offered me a rolling 1 week open ended contract until I can find something else paying better which is nice except it's at 65% of my current rate. They know I'll be off if something more lucrative appears but they have dangled the one week notice thing to make it more attractive.

    I know some on here will respond with "tell 'em to screw off" but I do have bills to pay and only a few months backup in the bank, so it's a proposition I'm seriously considering. It seems a better option than going perm and still keeps a workable level of cash rolling in. Anyone else in a similar position?
    Moving to Montana soon, gonna be a dental floss tycoon

    #2
    No, I'm not.

    But for what it is worth (which is nothing by the way) in your position I would take the 65% rate with 1 weeks notice for a couple of months at most, so that the reserves last at least 6 months, and then tell them to f.o.

    Comment


      #3
      I was in a similar situation around 2000.

      What I did was to accept the rate cut but match it with an hours cut so I had time to look for work and develop plan B.

      In the end I picked up a couple of direct contracts to cover the days I had off and did OK till I got a full time gig.

      If you don't have a decent fighting fund, I'd say take their money while you look for something better. Who knows, you may be able to moonlight with them in the future.

      Comment


        #4
        The rate I'm on at the moment, my lifestyle could easily be supported on less that 50% of that rate.

        Take the cut if it makes life easier for you... I don't see any benefit in not taking a lower rate because it sets a bad precedent. If you don't take it then someone else will.

        And its not as if were a f**king union
        Coffee's for closers

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          #5
          Originally posted by TheRefactornator View Post
          I know some on here will respond with "tell 'em to screw off" but I do have bills to pay and only a few months backup in the bank, so it's a proposition I'm seriously considering. It seems a better option than going perm and still keeps a workable level of cash rolling in. Anyone else in a similar position?
          You are running a ltdco (presumeably) so look at it this way - would your shareholders prefer a significantly reduced turnover or zero turnover?

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by moorfield View Post
            You are running a ltdco (presumeably) so look at it this way - would your shareholders prefer a significantly reduced turnover or zero turnover?
            WHS
            I don't want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying...

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Gonzo View Post
              No, I'm not.

              But for what it is worth (which is nothing by the way) in your position I would take the 65% rate with 1 weeks notice for a couple of months at most, so that the reserves last at least 6 months, and then tell them to f.o.
              What He Said.

              In the situation of involuntary and inconvenient time on the bench or being paid a lower rate with no strings I'd take the rate.

              You can keep turning over while you look and it's a better situation than not earning when you've got too small a war chest to survive.

              Comment


                #8
                Last time I was asked to take a cut was back in 2001. I left pretty sharpish and got work elsewhere. The company asking for the cut went into administration in 2003.

                Moral

                If you ever get asked for a cut, run as fast as you can.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Do it....it's a one week notice period....

                  You might only need to do it for like two or three weeks, good to have income coming in....

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I'd be tempted to accept it too, knowing it's at least some money coming in whilst you're trying to secure another contract, which may only take another week, but could be months.

                    Obviously the terms would include short notice time off to attend any interviews, and preferably a reduction in time rather than rate.

                    So counter offer with a 65% reduction in time, so you're effectively on the same rate, and probably meet somewhere in the middle if they're reluctant. If you're working away from home, then Monday and Friday would seem the obvious days to try to cull.
                    Feist - 1234. One camera, one take, no editing. Superb. How they did it
                    Feist - I Feel It All
                    Feist - The Bad In Each Other (Later With Jools Holland)

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