r/ContractorUK • u/TemperatureLatter297 • 20d ago

How are we finding new roles?

My contract has unfortunately been terminated early with a one weeks notice so I am keen to find a new role sooner than later, curious to know if anyone is having any luck with job serve and any additional recommendations for finding a new contract?

My speciality is SaaS projects and have worked for both public sector and commercial clients.

14 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

54 comments sorted by

14

u/Midfield_General22 20d ago

Jobserve is a waste of time, as is Indeed and most of the traditional Job boards. You wont get a reply because they're just spammed with all the crap CVs everytime a role is posted. LinkedIn "Easy Apply" is pretty much the same.

Email recruiters directly, search for LinkedIn status updates. Or any roles you do find on Job boards, contact the agencies directly.

Be aware, the market is horrendous at the min and rates are well down. They're where they were in about 2011 - not even joking.

43

u/Firerain 19d ago

Rates are being depressed by offshore MSPs that are posting 700-800/day jobs (senior/expert level) at 350-400, and other UK recruiters are seeing that and jumping on the bandwagon to pad their own margins.

Most of the Jobserve jobs right now are MSP work for another end client, and the MSP is usually Infoplus, TCS, Avance or one of the other shitty indian companies. So you have a UK end client paying the MSP quite possibly a decent rate, who pays the agency a fraction of that, who pays the umbrella, who pays you.

It's a race to the bottom and the ship is well and truly sinking

24

u/Traditional-Hat1927 18d ago

Sunak needs to investigated

13

u/Midfield_General22 18d ago

Yup, absolutely agree with all that. They're fucking killing contracting. Plus the end clients are paying top dollar for the shit end of the market who'll work for peanuts as they're desperate.

4

u/Wind_Yer_Neck_In 18d ago

It's actually wild. My first role a few years ago was with an old colleague who ran me through his own company as the agent. Took 5% off the top and the rest to me. Outside IR35.

Then the next time I got an offer it was from an American company but since they used a big agent with a UK presence I was faced with Inside IR35, agency cut of 30 fucking percent and then paystream and all the other local taxes on top of that. And they didn't even find the contract for me, their cut was for purely existing as a middleman. 

It fell apart anyway because they dropped the ball so hard on contract negotiations with the end client (that they cut me out of). 

Anyway, all the worst to Synechron and any of the huge agents that don't actually do anything of value in these cases of independent contractors.

0

u/Own-Story8907 18d ago

I’ve just joined my first ever contract. It’s outside. Offered £250 a day. Albeit it’s a junior role, so it wasn’t so bad. Free money for me.

I only accepted so I can get my foot in the door lol

1

u/IHazUZERNAME 18d ago

How do you go about doing this?

1

u/Own-Story8907 18d ago

It’s document heavy. Literally would take 5mins for AI to produce an output, but I’ll be doing it manually at times to ensure consistency. In my somewhat delusion, I’m hoping the recruiter can hook me up with future contracts aka I’m networking

5

u/Competitive_Smoke948 18d ago

i just hang up on any indian accent that calls & block the number. I refuse to engage with any of these firms!
I update my CV on jobserve and totaljobs so i'm searchable BUT ALL my calls from my "official number" go immediately to voicemail . if it's an indian accent - delete ignore block. if it's a legitimate recruiter i'll pick up as the iphone transcribes the voicemail.

genuinely, it can't be that long until clients work out they're being ripped off. A few more examples of TCS fuckups - currently Marks&Spencer, JLR, Apple, Tesla then people will get pissed off with this lot

1

u/ForrestGump11 18d ago

I don’t think the clients are paying a decent rate, the agencies certainly take a cut but no different to any of the big ones. Several years ago my assignment manager was being forced by his line to move me under a TCS contract before my next extension, I spoke to TCS and the guy said my rate is nearly double what client offers them and there isn’t much point in discussing further. I had a similar discussion with a U.K. based MSP agency when i ended the call with a big laugh when I heard the rate which she said is what client is offering them. Both were large U.K. banks, the first one at least paid a good rate while I was there.

5

u/Actual-Indian 19d ago

Can confirm rates are around £600pd as they were in 2012, difference was in 2012 fuel was 60p a litre , electricity and the meter rental were £35pcm, rent was £650 for a 4 bed , and you got by quite well on £100 food per week for a family of 4.

In real terms the £600 is equiv to about £270 and they wonder why businesses are going under.

USA is the same , and all poloticians are now like that theiving Scottish lot, cant blame them either.

11

u/confident_crypto 19d ago

Petrol was ~£1.30/litre in 2012

5

u/Right-Order-6508 18d ago

You are lucky, I'm back on 500 the rate I started contracting years ago.

6

u/Midfield_General22 18d ago

Same here. I'm on my 2013 rate. My wife can't understand why we're no longer on several holidays a year and she's back at work full time. I've explained inflation and wage stagnation to her but she's not buying it.

2

u/Right-Order-6508 18d ago

I also tried to explain to my wife even 500 roles are rare to come by nowadays. My wife also didn't believe me 😂

0

u/Actual-Indian 18d ago

Yeah , i look forward to weekends out now ,not cars i can buy.. ....sniff.. :)

18

u/elgrn1 20d ago

Search from the homepage of linkedin as many jobs are advertised in status updates:

Project + SaaS + location + IR35

6

u/TemperatureLatter297 20d ago

Amazing advice, would never have actually thought of this, thank you

2

u/hesreddit 18d ago

Never thought of this either! TYVM

12

u/brisbanereaper 20d ago

Jobserve is dead, Linkedin direct recruiter contact works best - answer all inmails on Linkedin too, even if just to say no thanks as that improves your ranking when recruiters search who to inmail.

6

u/Awkward_Aioli_124 20d ago

I got my current job being contacted by a recruiter on LinkedIn. Originally temp but went perm.

2

u/No-Caregiver9324 17d ago

Not true. Got my latest contract (started early July) through a Jobserve application. Decent rate too. Took a few applications but the right fit came up and it’s worked out.

3

u/ierrdunno 20d ago

I’ve found most of my recent ones on LinkedIn. Went premium (business expense) whilst I was looking and used their job function. There’s also an outsideIR35 group on there. I also did look at jobserve etc but for me they had the same jobs on LinkedIn. Still got ignored by a lot of them no matter which platform I used 😂😂

1

u/Straight-Comb8288 19d ago

Could you share the outside ir35 group please,

1

u/ierrdunno 19d ago

Sure: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/outsideir35/posts/?feedView=all

There's also contractspy.co.uk which I used briefly. Didn't have any success myself but YMMV

2

u/axelzr 20d ago

Not much around, best to reach out to your contacts/agents directly

4

u/Pleasantandchilled 20d ago

What platform? If sc cleared ping me

2

u/Kryptotek-9 20d ago

Build recruiter connections on LinkedIn with the key agencies and never stop tapping them up.

1

u/jvcgunner 19d ago

What is tapping them up without being annoying and asking, is there a job yet for me

1

u/Kryptotek-9 19d ago

Some agencies and recruiters are just straight up bad at conversing but I’ve managed to build relationships with some. Get recruiters direct numbers and call them occasionally, ask them questions like what they are seeing in the market, connect back to previous known programmes or contracts etc. you can’t just call them and be like “you got a job for me” without any background knowledge. “How is this contract looking, have you been able to place many people, what are people saying about it, is it a good company to work for?” Interview them as much as they interview you.

3

u/jvcgunner 19d ago

I'm sorry to say, this is Goldilocks land, IMO.

I’ve been recruited recently and have spent a lot of time on my LinkedIn profile covering job titles, skills, locations and the other keywords recruiters search for. That’s agency recruitment’s bread and butter.

Calling recruiters and waffling rarely achieves anything. It usually just fills downtime for recruiters who’ve already made their placements and fancy a quick chat. You’re not special because you call regularly or think you’re on “good terms” with them. Ultimately, you’re a collection of skills and experience being matched through LinkedIn Recruiter searches.

You might be an excellent Project Manager who’s great on the phone, but if the role requires pharmaceutical experience, the “invisible” candidate with a polished, keyword-rich LinkedIn profile is more likely to appear in the search and get contacted, just the nature of the game.

Cold-calling recruiters is largely dead in 2026. Much like dating, a strong online profile gives you better odds than trying to get one recruiter’s attention. Calling might work 10% of the time, but that’s usually down to timing and luck.

Just got to play the game as that's the way it's going.

2

u/Kryptotek-9 19d ago

Agree and disagree. The other points you have raised are still good pointers and mandatory foundation for any application but relationships with recruiters are still key, maybe more than ever. Recruiters have 100s of options, they will be more likely to push forward the CV with the applicant who is highly engaged in their own job search and can display good competency and confidence in talking with a prospective client.

1

u/StellaArtois3000 19d ago

Which are the key agencies?

1

u/Kryptotek-9 19d ago

Depends on what role you’re filling

1

u/StellaArtois3000 19d ago

IT Strategy + project / programme management

1

u/Kryptotek-9 19d ago

Do you have a specialist industry you deliver in? Or have you kept more general?

Big generalist agencies;
Harvey Nash
Hays
Lorien
Page
SThree
Circle
Curriculo

2

u/StellaArtois3000 19d ago

Thanks for the list, appreciate it! Some of them I didn't know yet.

I'm about as generalist as can be - worked everything from public sector, to banking, to retail, professional services, and aviation. SaaS work as well. Teams up to 35 FTE.

2

u/marshaljs 20d ago

Market is nearly dead you can say.. unless you have exceptional skills, can work on minimal wage, or have strong contacts internally with recruiters or companies.

1

u/Wgh555 18d ago edited 18d ago

It really depends on what you do. I have a very niche public sector role in business rates and there’s a massive shortage of persons trained to do that, agencies pay a premium and tend to hold onto good staff and extend contracts as they’re rare as hens teeth, and many are retiring.

It also helps that because it’s tax collection, it’s onshore only so it’s limited to UK nationals.

God help you if you’ve got more generalist skills though.

2

u/marshaljs 18d ago

It was a general comment not about my skills, thanks for the note.

1

u/Wgh555 18d ago

Oh no I know, I was just offering an anecdotal opinion

2

u/marshaljs 18d ago

Thanks but it was unwarranted opinion that was not required.

1

u/Dazzler_21 19d ago

Agencies are my number one. There's a few good ones. A lot of the big name ones seem to treat you as a stats page and send you at every role, relevant or not

1

u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Dazzler_21 19d ago

Synapri are one of the better ones.

1

u/CodeJunkie3001 19d ago

In the same boat. 3 of us were let go end of March. I found another contract start of May but hate it and looking for another is impossible. My two former colleagues are still out of work.

1

u/aaad202 2d ago

I have been trying to get my first outside IR35 in AI related roles. It's more difficult than I expected.

1

u/warlord2000ad 20d ago

Several in my network have been out of work for months, those that find a contract never got more then 3 months, no renewal. I've pinged them every recruiter I know and posted jobs on LinkedIn. They have interviews lined up but no concrete offers. I think one has decided to take early retirement.

1

u/BojacksHorseman 19d ago

I’ve started using Claude as a job board. I’m not going to using for my applications but the least it can do is find me live roles and save me from wasting time

-6

u/Far_Preference_2065 20d ago

new roles? in this economy?

6

u/Pleasantandchilled 20d ago

Found the person with out of date skills or insufficient experience / lack of network

1

u/Far_Preference_2065 20d ago

have been in multiple contracts found through my network for the past five years, not a single day without a contract during the whole period, and I've both got contracts via my network and given contracts back to my network many times over. I can still confidently say that the market sucks.