I’m a contractor and take jobs for three-month or six-month periods, and occasionally for a year.
I have 15 years’ experience in the tech field I’m in and plenty of references, but for the first time ever, I’m struggling to find a new contract.
I’ve been hunting since October and I know it’s the quietest time to find a new role, but I’ve gotten jobs at this time of year before – and it seems hundreds of us are now going for the same job.
I’m starting to panic slightly. My CV is fairly basic, in that it does everything a conventional CV does, but is that leaving me behind? Do I need to do something to jazz it up for 2024 and beyond?
What can I do to stand out from the crowd and get an interview in what seems to be a very competitive market?
The jobs market in tech is really competitive, how can I boost my chances? Dave Fishwick replies
Dave Fishwick, This Is Money’s business doctor replies: I have employed many people over the years in many of my businesses, ranging from property, vehicles, investments, banking and many more.
However, the people in particular that stand out are those who come knocking on my office door and ask for a job. They then tell me what they can bring to the party and how they can help my company improve sales, efficiency, and productivity.
Many times over the years, I have given them a chance. There is no substitute for knocking on doors.
I’m not an expert in the IT industry. However, I do speak to people who are. The last year or two have been exceptional for many professions, including IT. The legacy of the economy shutting down during the pandemic meant there was a lot of catching up to do.
A colossal stimulus campaign with borrowed money from the government flooded the economy. The effect of supply chain delays clearing saw a large backlog of overdue goods arriving in the country in a hectic year.
All these goods needed selling, and companies needed to increase advertising spending to tackle extensive inventories.
All these things stimulated a boom in many sectors, including retail, manufacturing and transportation.
Since IT provides services for all these industries, it’s no surprise it followed the same trend. What you are seeing now could be seen as a hangover from this.
Hopefully, things will level out over the next year or so. The question for you is how to ride out this dry spell best.
You could consider becoming formally self-employed and bidding for work directly from the end client instead of contracting for companies that sell their services to those clients.
I recommend reaching out to a broader audience and sending your details to as many potential employers or customers as possible. There will still be enough work for you somewhere, but finding it might take more time, effort, and lots of knocking on doors.
I’m not sure which field within IT you specialise in, but as I’m sure you are aware, there are websites where people requiring tech services are matched with IT professionals.
This type of ‘gig work’ could be a temporary solution, even if it’s not the longer-term route you’d want to take.
It might be a good idea to use this quiet spell to update and add to your range of skills, and I know that cybersecurity is a growing area with plenty of work available. Someone I know has just started a fantastic new job in cybersecurity sales.
It might be necessary to adjust expectations for now if the industry is going through a difficult period.
An important point to make here is that it is much easier to find a better job while you are in a position of employment than it is to find one when you are unemployed.
I think a CV will always be an essential tool to help find permanent employment or contracts, but with gig work I’m told that recent experience and examples of work that have recently been completed are great to add.
I would also suggest you speak to colleagues and friends in the industry, show them your CV and ask for their feedback.
Most importantly, knock on some doors and tell them: Dave sent you! Good Luck.
