In 2004, while facing redundancy for the third time, I accepted a six-month contract with BT to fill a potential gap until a permanent role became available. A former colleague told me that contracting can be a long-term career choice. He offered various reasons, but I went ahead; I couldn’t afford to be out of work.
My first two contracts were with BT in London and at its HQ in Ipswich. Then came T-Mobile (now EE), NTTE, and Capita. Before I knew it, five years had passed, and recruitment agents were calling with contract and permanent job opportunities.
However, some agents were reluctant to forward a contractor to a client wanting a permanent technical author. Recruitment agents had stories of contractors accepting a permanent role and quitting after a month (or a week) to return to the contract market. Yet, while I interviewed for several permanent positions, none matched what I wanted.
I moved between tasks, meeting TAs who shared work stories each year.
Note: To be a technical author, you need a sense of humour and a sharp wit.
However, I never got to grips with the gaps between contracts. While the money was above average, it allowed me to pay myself an inconsistent amount every month. During the 2008 financial crisis, my earnings dropped by a massive 33%, which was further exacerbated by a four-month contract gap. During that period, BlackBerry offered me a permanent role. Unfortunately, I didn’t stay long because of an overzealous Canadian-based micro-management team leader. So desperate to make her mark, she called me as soon as she arrived at her office in Waterloo, Ontario. She said during one call, I must learn to manage my stress. Yet, she caused me stress by constantly interfering and telling me how to do my job—her two years of experience against my 13 years.
Yet, look on the bright side: with more contracts under my belt, I developed more skills:
- SharePoint (Document Management)
- Confluence
- Help Desk support,
- policy & process writing,
- VISIO process flows
- ITIL (incident and change management),
- ITSM.
- PCI/DSS,
- ISO 27001 Audits and
- operations manuals for data centre migrations and
- project management
Goodbye to software environments and hello to the broader world of technical authoring. Not only did I broaden my experience, but I also travelled to Pune in India, as well as to Germany, Belgium, and Canada.
I have started, but cannot finish.
A common trend with contracts is poor budget allocation. In one PCI/DSS project, I worked with two technical authors on a 10-week assignment. By then, the PM had used most of the budget to prepare for an audit by hiring an expensive external consultant.
We needed to prepare the groundwork, identify SMEs, and divide the sixty titles between us. After five weeks, we began speaking with SMEs and drafting the documents. The task exceeded our capabilities; it involved a great deal of labour and an inadequate duration. Although the company in question went bankrupt during the pandemic, it had no connection to the project.
Hiring managers and project managers often struggle with the dynamics of documentation projects. Many project managers assume that documentation is a straightforward task. It rarely works out that way.
On my journey to a permanent role, the points below formed the basis of my decision. If you are a contractor considering a change towards a permanent position, consider what you could offer as a permanent employee.
- I could concentrate on doing what I’m good at rather than spending gaps and seeking new freelance jobs.
- Working as a freelancer has allowed me to improve my flexibility and adapt to new situations. Technical authors require an understanding of adaptability, as well as the capacity to operate effectively individually or within group settings.
- I respond to many people, environments, and attitudes. This experience has enabled me to work effectively with diverse management styles and personalities.
- Can they manage me? Even as a freelancer, my role is to contribute to a team. And as a freelancer, I have always been “managed…” by my clients.
- How would you benefit our clients? If you would like me to be involved in client contact, I can assist with their needs, leveraging my knowledge and experience to provide effective documentation solutions.
We are also
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- I am confident that our considerable Skill Set will shine through.
- Understand the issues and be prepared to address them head-on.
- experience of multiple environments
- recognition of common problems
- Understanding of project needs
- broad experience
- Renewed enjoyment of teamwork
What are you thinking?
Perhaps you’re wondering, how can I transition from contract to permanent and take a significant financial hit? As a contractor, my earnings fluctuated, with no consistent monthly payments due to:
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- The time between contracts is a few weeks to a couple of months.
- Increasing administration and overheads through my limited company.
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- unemployment insurance (£150 per month to cover me in case of an injury or debilitating illness),
- personal and public liability insurance (£10m in value £160 p/a),
- private medical for quick treatment (£1200 p/a)
- accounting fees (£1200+ p/a)
- Travel costs were deductible.
- Car mileage
- Air Fares between Brussels and Gatwick
- Hotels and meals while working away from home in the UK
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- Increased Taxation on Dividends
- The Government fails to grasp that risk-takers often lack holiday pay, sickness benefits, and company benefits.
Before the pandemic, I received about five calls a week from agents checking my availability for work. Meanwhile, I maintained a growing Excel spreadsheet of calls, listing potential clients, and updated my CV every six months.
During the 2020 pandemic, I was out of work from March to October. My company’s accounts for 2020 showed a £ 5,000 loss, and a £ 3,000 loss in 2021.
In April 2021, to circumvent IR35, I joined an umbrella organisation.
Post-pandemic, IR35 has played havoc with the contract market, causing an enormous drop in calls from recruitment agents.
Here's a fun fact. In eighteen years as a contractor, I worked at 45 different companies. That doesn't include about ten companies where I walked away after a few days to avoid a disaster in the making. Why did I walk? The hiring manager sold me a dud while management expectations were unrealistic.. Between 2004 to 2021 over 300 hiring managers received my CV and more than half interviewed me.
The last journey
In 2021/22, after I completed a long-term contract project, I focused on finding a permanent role. The HR department of a County Durham-based bank (my home county) offered me an interview. However, HR rejected me because of my contracting background. So, if you are reading this, take note. I am now a permie, see what you missed.
While I had three more interviews, the sticking point was the salary. A business owner, a lady, contacted me after finding my CV online and offered me a permanent role paying £ 35,000 after a five-minute discussion.
And Finally…
So, when I read the Atkins job description, I thought, let’s give it a go, with nothing to lose. During the interview, the interviewer asked the inevitable question. I refer the reader to the first three paragraphs of this post.
After quitting the contract market, I am no worse off when considering my salary and the benefits I receive. I no longer worry about tax bills, dividend taxes, accounting fees, and various insurance costs that can be a fortune. A permanent role has worked for me and might work for you. Never say never.
With over 23 years of experience, I possess an extensive library of generic documentation and various templates. This resourcefulness lets me tweak documents to meet your business profile, saving time and money.
You search SharePoint. It’s not in the correct folder. A keyword search returns hundreds of results. You open several files only to find outdated versions. Panic sets in—your manager is calling again, already late for her meeting.
They fail because organisations place the wrong people in charge of them.
