Senior Manager only ever did Permanent looking to switch sides

**WTFH** · 14 September 2018, 15:42

Originally posted by bobejo View Post

Hi forum... I am new here in my quest to find out how best to transition into contracting.
If there are existing threads on this topic or if i should be posting this elsewhere please direct me accordingly.
I am a COO with 15 years experience in Finance, Fintech, Digital where i led large teams on projects, transformations, operations, onboarding, customer support etc.
I really want to give contracting a Go (bucket list type thing) however I am finding that it is quite competitive already for pure contractors let alone an "outsider"
Can anyone offer me advice on how best to package myself given that i have a raft of experiences and skills spread out over different roles and many years.... how best do I find recruiters that are prepared to actually work with me.
Thanks
Bob

You need to know what your skills are.
What are you good at?
Is there a contracting market for what you are good at?

If you're coming from a high paid permanent role as a COO, be prepared for a shock. If you've got little experience outside of your permanent role, then unless your company is extremely well known to your potential clients, you're not going to be getting middle to high day rates, you need to be looking at the lower end of the rates.

Once you know what your skills are, then look on Jobserve, LinkedIn, etc and see what is out there.
...And then you start applying for roles.

You don't go out and find a recruiter to work with you, that's not how contracting works. You go out to find roles, and then apply for them through the recruitment agencies that are advertising the roles.

**northernladuk** · 14 September 2018, 15:52

Have a look at the links to the right, particularly the First Timers link.

Go look at the IPSE website. I believe there is a guide to freelancing on there as well.

**Syd** · 14 September 2018, 17:24

Originally posted by WTFH View Post

You don't go out and find a recruiter to work with you

Why not?

**northernladuk** · 14 September 2018, 17:46

Originally posted by Syd View Post

Why not?

Think about it. If you understand contractor recruitment you'll know why.

**WTFH** · 14 September 2018, 17:46

Originally posted by Syd View Post

Why not?

Because that is the big consultancy firm model - you work for them, they farm you out to their clients. If you want to be a permie in a consultancy, that's the way to do it. Expect all the drawbacks of permiedom with all the drawbacks of contracting.

Also because many clients have PSLs - if the agent you've jumped into bed with isn't on their PSL, either you have no chance of getting in, or you'll be in via at least two agencies, each taking a piece of the pie

And also because not every agent knows every aspect of the market. They will specialise

**Cirrus** · 14 September 2018, 22:33

Originally posted by bobejo View Post

I am a COO with 15 years experience in Finance, Fintech, Digital where i led large teams on projects, transformations, operations, onboarding, customer support etc.

Do a typical CV a few pages long. Include each role for as long back as it seems relevant ie don't try and tailor it for a particular role. Then punt it to every agency that you can get details of. You could eg answer every senior looking role on Jobserve. 99.999% of people will ignore you. But someone will take a shine. COOs are gold dust and they equal big bonuses.

Others on here might help with who are the more upmarket players.

As a COO you should have a network including recruiters who you dealt with in the past or have headhunted you before. Work that. The main thing is to accept it takes time and tons of leads so don't get impatient or frustrated. I'm not sure what your situation is but normally don't wait until you are out of work, to find the next role.

**mudskipper** · 15 September 2018, 06:06

It's worth attending one of the contractor CV webinars that pop up every so often

https://cvandinterviewadvisors.co.uk/about/our-webinars (salesy, but useful nevertheless)

Have a look at IPSE's guide to winning work too.

https://download.ipse.co.uk/winning-work/

**Lance** · 15 September 2018, 09:15

Have you ever considered a different business model to standard contracting? I used to know a guy who ran a small business providing interim management exec services for SMEs. The model was based on providing senior stand-ins to cover sickness/maternity/whatever. He went to all the networking events locally punting this and charged £1500 a day. All direct, no agencies.

**edison** · 16 September 2018, 09:24

I would think about going down the interim manager or associate consultant route rather than the traditional 'contractor' route. I know of many people going down the interim route, often through niche networks. If you have a good track record then coming from a perm background shouldn't be an insurmountable barrier. As per above, you need to be able to articulate and market your skills and how they will relate to short term assignments.

The associate model is also becoming more popular. You work as a contractor for typically a small to medium size consultancy, who will place you on an assignment they have sold to a client. They typically take up to 30% of the fee charged to the end client. A friend went down this route recently after earning around 90k in a perm job previously and her effective day rate was about 800 and she was charged at about 1100/day. The associate model is probably best suited for when you have at least one assignment under your belt, hence my suggestion to try interim first. Bigger consultancies use this model too but you may be better suited to a smaller firm at first.

Networking is absolutely vital but PM me if you want a couple more detailed suggestions.

Senior Manager only ever did Permanent looking to switch sides