How to negotiate contracts

 One of the major differences between contracting work and more traditional employment is that instead of simply securing a job and then working in that place for a number of years, you have to constantly get jobs. This means that as a contractor you have to step up your job hunting game.

Searching for jobs can be more stressful as a contractor, as it is usually essential to take on a certain number of contracts in order to stay financially afloat, and a poor effort in the jobs market could mean long, unpaid gaps between contracts. It could also result in lower contract rates than what you could otherwise achieve when you do get a job.

Contracting vs full time employment

In order to use the contracting system to your advantage, it is vital to get a good understanding of how contractors are typically employed, and the differences between this and full time employment.

In many ways, getting a job as a contractor is easier – and as it is necessary to secure so many more contracts this is very fortunate.

For example, there is rarely more than one interview to attend, and the waiting process for the decision of whether you have been hired or not is also much shorter. Indeed, the decision to hire is often made within a week. What’s more, clients rarely assess the applicants in any way other than the questions asked at the interview.

In addition, the decision to hire a contractor is often taken shortly before they are needed, so the start date may also be much sooner.

Before you start…

Before you start applying for contracting positions, you need to create a brilliant CV that will do a great job of selling you to any employer you want to work for. Ensure it is clear, concise and makes the most of your skills. Also, remember to keep it updated as you go.

As you start applying for jobs you’re likely to find that you end up re-writing your CV in order to target it to different employers. Different skills and experience will need to be highlighted for different types of jobs, and after a while you’re likely to have honed a number of different versions of your CV.

It is also important to establish your market rate before applying for positions – this involves looking at your skills and how much other, similarly-qualified contractors are charging. If you charge too little you might miss out on higher incomes, appear over-qualified in interviews or appear less skilled than you actually are. However, quoting above the market rate could lose you interviews and jobs, and see you fail to get any jobs after interviewing as you are not as qualified as your rate would suggest.

It is also important to consider whether you want to operate as a limited company or go with an umbrella company UK. Deciding this will help you when it comes to decisions about money, expenses and taxes while looking for jobs. Click here for more info on how umbrella companies work.

What now?

Once all this has been done, it is time to get out there and sell yourself. Send your killer CV out to all the agencies, which will then file you away in their database and contact you if any matching jobs come up.

You can also do a bit of networking of your own – making business cards, attending industry events and setting up social media platforms for your business.

As with most things these days, a lot of job hunting is now done on the internet, so make sure to log on and see what you can find, and send off email applications for any positions you fancy.

Chasing up business is also a key part of securing contracts, and a large part of the job hunt should be spent on this. Call up agents and employers to find out about jobs you’ve applied for – don’t just wait for them to get in touch with you.