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Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

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Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#91

Post by tomrod »

MOARDONGZPLZ wrote: post #57
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #9

Contracting platforms are a race to the bottom. Successful freelancing requires a lot of outreach. Start with your network and then move on to cold outreach to companies that might need your services. Hint: If a company has full-time job postings for your work domain, it means they need your services. You can pitch them on contract work and offer to augment their teams on a contractual basis while they search for a f…

I get about 50 of these cold emails a day. Almost all of them are wanting to provide contracting services to me. Most are just offshore body shops. I could very easily hire contractors for discrete work given my company’s posture on this, much easier than hiring FTEs, but there is so much noise it just all goes to spam. What I wouldn’t give for some trusted source of signal to just take my money, honestly, but a cold…

What high-signal channels are you open to?

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#92

Post by jokethrowaway »

dominotw wrote: post #5
scastiel wrote: post #2

As a person who is starting a new freelance career in 10 days with 12 years of experience, I’ll keep an eye on the answers in that thread :)

oof. what made you make this jump. I might have to go down this path soon due to family circumstances .

I kinda feel the opposite.

When you can afford to risk it, become your own boss.

When something hard in life is coming up, it's better to be employed.

Less stress, more benefits, lower chance of being fired.

If time is a concern I'd recommend some part time (albeit I realise it's not that popular in the USA).

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#93

Post by caseydm »

tluyben2 wrote: post #69
caseydm wrote: post #36

I was very successful on UpWork. However, it is not something you can jump into with no work history on the site, like "I have 16 years experience so my rate is $125/hr." People don't believe you when you say that. They want to see proof from a third party. So you need to start lower ($30 to $50/hr), stay in a niche, and successfully complete jobs while gradually raising your rates. When someone sees glowing reviews…

Do you use the spyware tools they want you to use ‘for your and their protection’? As a senior engineer and not in kindergarten, I cannot imagine anyone with over a year or so experience doing that.

No I never used any of that. I would have moved on to another job if someone insisted on it.

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#94

Post by dkaigorodov »

mberger wrote: post #34
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #14

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 feel the same having worked for a couple contracting companies. I think if I job hop in the near future, which is unlikely given the recent layoffs, I'll go for a company that is building a product. I'd rather the golden handcuffs than the freedom of mobility.

Same, building product feels great and stock options are usually worth it

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#95

Post by dkaigorodov »

sph wrote: post #47
eatYourFood wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't the US have an active contractor market like the UK? In the UK there are lots of job boards with a contract filter and many recruitment agents deal exclusively in contracts rather than perm roles. Is this different in the US?

Care to direct me to these UK-specific job boards for contracts?

Subscribing

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#96

Post by brudgers »

Contract work is about relationships.

Since you have 16 years of experience, talking to all the people you have worked for and with over your career might be the best place to start.

As a rule of thumb, a good working hypothesis is that there are already enough contractors/consultants in the market to meet demand...or another way of thinking about it is that established businesses already have logistical solutions to their normal operational requirements.

This means that random potential clients won't be excited that you are suddenly available. They already have consultants. Those consultants work hard to keep them as clients.

Easy button websites for finding consulting work are races to the bottom because new consultants only get the worst work. Good work is regular well paying work and regular work means there are a regular cadre of consultant/contractors in that workflow.

Quite simply, contracting/consulting is not driven by performance but by sales. The easy button is Amazon Mechanical Turk.

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#97

Post by benjaminwootton »

larksimian wrote: post #46
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #14

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…

My recruiter(in the UK) sends me contracting offers as well. Am I missing something about what a contracting agent does?

The responses in this whole sub-thread are a bit strange regarding the UK.

The typical model is for end clients or employers to hire a recruitment agent to find them either contract or permanent staff.

For contract staff, the agency will invoice the customer, keep approximately 10% and pass the difference to the contractor.

A contractor can choose to work as a LTD company or through an umbrella organisation depending on how much admin they want to take on and requirements of the client such as IR35.

Consultancies are a slightly different model where they own the outcome and more of the risk, and are perceived to be bringing IP and value as well as just the resource. This is where there is a the big delta between what the contractor is paid and what the consultancy charge.

In some cases, the agent can of course be disintermediated and the end client can recruit people directly.

In 20 years working in the London contract market, I have never heard of a situation where a contractor hires an agent to go out and sell their services. You can however build a relationship with agents to remain front of mine when their customers (end clients) have a relevant opportunity.

In a way, contract agents are operating as a match maker and making a living by taking a percentage of the day rate, so it is partly perception who is their customer. However, I think it's fair to say that they are hired by and represent the interests of the end client rather than the contractor.

I know you didn't ask all of these questions, but it seemed like the best place to respond :-).

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#98

Post by fiznool »

I’ve been a freelancer / consultant in the UK since 2013. Here’s the approach I took.

Initially, I stuck with the ‘permanent’ day job and start freelancing part time, in the evenings. This allowed me to focus on building a network of connections without the stress of needing to find a contract that would pay for my cost of living.

My first contract was through upwork (when it was called elance). I found a UK-based client who needed a small job doing for $25/hour. This merged into a new opportunity with the same client. 9 years on, and I’m about to go back to working for the same client once more, on a different project, at a much higher rate.

In parallel with this, as the pressure was not on to earn a living from freelancing (yet), I didn’t feel the need to fill every spare hour with billable work. Instead, I signed up to a bunch of different meetups, and volunteered to help run a couple of them. Through this I built a network of connections and opportunities, which led to _every_ other client I have worked for. I can’t stress enough how important this was for my freelancing career - visibility is everything. Tell everyone who will listen that you are a freelancer and you are open to new opportunities.

The contract market is rich and lucrative in the UK but you can’t expect to be handed opportunities via platforms. As others have mentioned, the best gigs come to those who put themselves out there. Speak to other developers at meetups and conferences, tell people you are a freelancer and eventually something will crop up.

Good luck!

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#99

Post by tluyben2 »

caseydm wrote: post #93
tluyben2 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you use the spyware tools they want you to use ‘for your and their protection’? As a senior engineer and not in kindergarten, I cannot imagine anyone with over a year or so experience doing that.

No I never used any of that. I would have moved on to another job if someone insisted on it.

Also, the other way around, when you hire a senior and they insist on using that crap, they are more likely to scam you as you cannot dispute hours made ‘if the recorded screens show code’.

Re: Ask HN: Where are the good platforms for contract work?

#100

Post by benjaminwootton »

brtkdotse wrote: post #67
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #14

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…

They're alive and well in Northern Europe at least. I'd say a majority of contracting work is done through them since they somehow get exclusivity deals with big clients like H&M, Scania, SAAB and the like. They charge around 5-15% (almost always 10% though) of every invoice. Before you balk at the number, consider that during my almost 5 years as a solo contractor I've spent _zero_ hours doing sales. None. When I wa…

The end client is usually the one hiring and paying these people though, not the contractor.

In a way they are operating as a match maker and making a living by taking a percentage of the day rate, so it is partly perception. However, I think it's fair to say that they are hired by and represent the interests of the end client rather than the contractor.

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