\nFinally, we learnt the basics of how to write an appealing advertisement.<\/p>\n
In this second part, we expand on the question.<\/p>\n
Part 2<\/h2>\n
Some do not believe that great contractors are in short supply. Well it stands to reason, if a contractor is already working on a job, because under 3, 6, 9 or even 12 months contract then they are unavailable for immediate requirement. Unavailability is one answer. Some contractors that are supremely good are almost operating like consultants. In other words, they have many choices, and a few frugal contractors, may have a substantial war chest, so they will wait until a juicy project [read “challenge”] appears once they have finished an engagement.<\/p>\n
Everyone can shoot themselves in a foot.<\/p>\n
Recruiters can shoot themselves in the foot, because they fail to handle the client\u2019s true requests. They may not have the experience and the knowledge of the technical and\/or business challenge. If the recruiter keeps sending you CV with generalist Java developers, when you actually require a Java developer with IBM MQ Series then there is probably a miscommunication between you and the recruiter. However, it might be also true that there are no MQ Series Java engineers available right now and for the significant near future. What can you do? Of course, chucking money at the problem rarely solves the long-term pain. <\/p>\n
Clients can also definitely shoot themselves in the foot. An obvious way that will happen, is that the business suddenly unprepared for demand. The so-called impossible deadline caused by sales and marketing, which causes a miscalculation of the effort to deliver the product on the time. Ergo: the product was undersold to the customer. With this scope, you need schedule in order to maintain quality. However, you can’t save face by going to the client and then demand more money from them. Now you are stuck. Now the company has to commit more bodies to product. (This is a very bad idea see The Mythical Man Month by Fred Brooks<\/a>.) Therefore, it may easy and tempting to rush-release a tired out-dated job specification to any recruiters. I believe in American Football, they call this idea something like the \u201cHail Mary pass!\u201d<\/a> Don\u2019t do this! It leads to resentment and eventual offence. Rather the business strategy should have been clearer months earlier rather than today.<\/p>\n Contractors can also shoot and blow their foot off. A contractor can become too uppity and stupid just like another person who rediscovers a silver mirror and vanity. It is up to contractors, and indeed, consultants to stay real. Contract can rest on their laurels with inactivity, boredom and mundanity.<\/p>\n Moral: Take your sodding time and definitely make time when hiring a top talented contractor. It is your money to waste, if you get it wrong. However, don\u2019t take an ice age to respond in order to avoid losing the guy to the competition and also know exactly what you want to achieve.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s move on economics.<\/p>\n The economy is the true driver of supply and demand. As a technical leader you are at the effect of it, and you will find job market place and the economy blows hot and cold for certain periods. As a rule of thumb, in the UK, recruitment falls off in July and August<\/a> and also around Christmas and New Year. Demand typically starts on the first week in January, after the tax period in April and then there is autumn run from September. This is well understood, because IT directors will sign-off for multi-phase projects just before and after these periods. <\/p>\n However, in the year 2016, there was a sudden difference of opinion and attitude to general life not just in digital, or information technology. We are all at the effect of #BREXIT<\/a> and we still are not sure how this will affect the long-term economy. One thing that is definitely understood is that we have different political opinions, and what we want to get out of leaving the European Unions. In other terms, politics and general attitude WILL affect all of us. <\/p>\n Some people have a practical model of the situation in their heads about economy, society and politics. They explain the situation of bad economy like rough seas using a metaphor; equally a calm sea is like a boom economy. <\/p>\n Let me throw in two things in this contemporary allegory of the economy. First, let\u2019s imagine that we also have foggy conditions. A dense fogs means you cannot also see the oceans and also that is much harder to navigate without something like radar<\/a>, or satellite communications and GPS equivalent and therefore two super tankers could smash into each other. The second, thing, I would add is to throw every single person on earth 7 billion people in to a lifeboat or other sea-worthy vessel and tether them so how together. The tethering represents the communication and channels of information: globalisation and sociology<\/a>. Now if one massive super tanker sinks to the bottom, then there is more than a fair chance all of those other small vessels would be taken down in a rope, chain and anchor. <\/p>\n As a technical leader, it is your responsibility to ensure that your ship never goes down in rough seas or calms seas. It is YOUR JOB, even if a super tanker (read major investment bank) goes down. Whilst there may be rough seas, seriously dense fog out there in the economy and in general politics, as a technical leader, you first responsibility is to LEAD THE PEOPLE, no matter what. The workplace ought to be a place of calm. In your job advertisement, you can get that thought indirectly to the prospective candidate and also on the interview side reinforce that view. Because you won\u2019t or you can\u2019t, why should a top consultant devote their time and energy to work with you, even you can\u2019t show decent enough leadership from the first handshake? <\/p>\n The sea is rough out there, but don\u2019t delude yourself, because everybody knows that there are no excuses for ignorant, petty and pathetic behaviour.\n<\/p><\/div>\n With flux and constant change, people expect improvements in their quality of life. It is not just about work sitting constantly in front of computer screen. Experienced people often are older, if not wiser; they can see life differently to when they were just starting out. The best may want a flexible work-life balance?<\/p>\n Recruiters have a bad reputation in the industry. Especially, since the explosive growth of Linked-In and dramatic reduction of cost of sending mails to everyone, some candidates have turned against recruiters. Recruiters have a big role to play and let’s face it someone has to manage the process of connecting opportunities to both client and contractor. We would be lost, if there was no one to shepherd<\/em> the communication and motives. There are some great shepherds around, the trouble is finding them.\n<\/div>\n Do you really need a contractor or a consultant to be on site (BoS) every single day? Some corporations do, indeed, insist on this requirement, because they have a culture of in-grained authoritative leadership. Hey! I\u2019m sure that you heard of the old phrase, \u201cIf you can\u2019t change the organisation, then change the organisation.\u201d<\/em>, and usually that applies to permanent people. But guess what? How do you think the best consultants evaluate companies when they want to find the next engagement? Same logic applies to decent contractors!<\/p>\n There are real-world changes in the demography of the IT industry. Women in IT need more flexibility to work from home, because they are often looking after of children. No offence to all men, who deliberately take time off, between contracts and consultative engagements in order to give their partners, spouses and wives a much needed break from looking after the kids and playing house. Do you really believe that being in office 40+ hours a week and chained to work desk in sometimes crappy conditions is befitting of the best technical people out there and inside your team? No. I didn\u2019t think so. <\/p>\n Likewise jumping into car at 7:30 in the morning, driving over 50 miles to an office and then leaving at night 6:30pm is absolutely thrilling and great for digital productivity. It\u2019s just not great for family life, surprisingly. How about jumping on a long distance train and then dealing with 35 minute London Underground and commuting 2 hours to a distance is fantastically great for moral? I am being severely sarcastic deliberately, but I want to get the point across that commuting is a very British problem<\/a>. (Some have called it a disease.) We live in the year 2016, with Skype, GitHub, and RSA security keys<\/a>, abundant remote working possibilities, 4G Internet, fibre broadband, SaaS solutions and Virtual Private Network<\/a>. Get your act together!<\/p>\n I believe this will be one of the positive fall outs of #BREXIT, there will be reflective consideration given to daily toil, and IT software people will consider Working-From-Home<\/em>.<\/p>\n There are a few people who love to commute to work, absolutely. In order to get away from the kids, the dogs, the cats, the spouse and they have a psychological need to be somewhere. Some people cannot cope with any form of cabin fever. We shouldn\u2019t forget those people as well. Perhaps, we should look at building shared workspace offices like they have in the USA. Above all, after the 2016 socio-economical-political surprise, I believe that we want definitely more work-life balance choices in Britain.\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"hiring](\"https:\/\/www.xenonique.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/hiring-a-contractor-consultant.png\")
\n<\/div>\nThe sea is rough about there and there are no excuses<\/h2>\n
Use your illusion<\/h3>\n
Consider a flexible approach<\/h2>\n
Are recruiters really the bane?<\/h3>\n
\nHowever, there are great recruiters out there that are fighting the tide. Like every other profession, recruitment has its superstars, journey persons and rubbish bottom of the league players. <\/p>\nDispleasure of long distance commuting and the time; a very British problem<\/h3>\n
![\"Astrid](\"https:\/\/www.xenonique.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/astrid-byro-remote-project-manager-96dpi.png\")
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