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I've worked with A Team (www.a.team) for about a year now and I've had an amazing experience with them so far. Really interesting projects, good pay and their team is very supportive with getting you up and running. Can't recommend enough
I'm based in Europe and I have mostly worked in EU countries, except for a couple of very lucrative contracts in the Middle East. I can see you are based in London: London has tons of contract gigs, especially in the financial sector (mostly using JVM languages I'm afraid). If you can move around, Switzerland has also lots of contract work at the moment - and low taxes.
Take a look at jobserve.com for UK contracts.
What has worked for me so far:
- Find some good recruiters from reputable hiring agencies. Once you establish a relationship with them, they can provide a stream of constant contract opportunities. You can accept or refuse, based on location, rate, tech stack etc.
Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, because the bar for entering an hiring agency is quite low these days and you get all sort of cowboys. Personally, I prefer to work with older dudes with at least 10 years of experience in the fields (reverse ageism!).
- Never, ever leave a company slamming the door. If you do a good job, they will call you back
- Linkedin lists contract gigs sometime, I have never really got anything out of it, but it's good to keep an eye
- At some point, I wrote a book that landed me a couple of good gigs. I'm not suggesting to write a book, but you can try to establish yourself as an authority is some field (Elixir, Rust, etc). Again, easier said than done
Ultimately, the hiring agencies are the gateways to the majority of contract gigs, so you really want to talk to them.
Good luck!
What are the good platforms? Emailing the CEO of small, local software companies with your experience and your rate. Also, posting your info on the monthly HN Who's Hiring Freelancers post.
Same with that HN who wants to work thread, you are just racing to the bottom and making it easier for others to emulate your own posting in terms of skills.
I don't really have a good answer, I really think its down to mostly luck or you have a skill market fit
One thing that makes me sad, is the old "contract agent" seems to have gone the way of the dodo. I clearly remember these folks. They acted in almost exactly the same way as literary or artist agents; searching out opportunities for their clients, and setting up interviews, etc. As a hiring manager, I dealt with them frequently, and had friends that used them. They used to make a lot of money, because they would char…
What are the good platforms? Emailing the CEO of small, local software companies with your experience and your rate. Also, posting your info on the monthly HN Who's Hiring Freelancers post.
Neither of those really work well, unless you have rapport with that CEO. Same with that HN who wants to work thread, you are just racing to the bottom and making it easier for others to emulate your own posting in terms of skills. I don't really have a good answer, I really think its down to mostly luck or you have a skill market fit
If you are in the EU, check out Freelancermap, Austin Fraser, Hays, Malt, Darwin Recruitment, Upper.co (for less pay, but startup work).
I think one thing which is restricting your search is your tech stack. I'd honestly concentrate on finding something for Go, as I think you'll have the easiest time with that. You can try https://www.golangprojects.com/ and https://golang.cafe/ for that.
One thing that makes me sad, is the old "contract agent" seems to have gone the way of the dodo. I clearly remember these folks. They acted in almost exactly the same way as literary or artist agents; searching out opportunities for their clients, and setting up interviews, etc. As a hiring manager, I dealt with them frequently, and had friends that used them. They used to make a lot of money, because they would char…
I can't help but feel like these platforms are like Uber for programmers: devoid of all meaningful professional contact and ultimately the commodification of programming as a job. The power dynamic has shifted to give most of the power to the buyer. Sad times indeed.
Toptal is trash if you're in the US or in EU. They have shit hourly rates and you compete against developers from anywhere in the world, so you can't ever match the rates they are throwing in. If you are in the EU, check out Freelancermap, Austin Fraser, Hays, Malt, Darwin Recruitment, Upper.co (for less pay, but startup work). I think one thing which is restricting your search is your tech stack. I'd honestly concen…