The first IT contract is usually a pretty easy one to land. A former boss needs someone they know, a colleague refers an opportunity or you get a call from an ex-boss. Everything feels pretty smooth, a client is already lined up. But six months later, when that engagement ends and your pipeline of upcoming work is empty, the problems with being an IT contractor really start to show.
The Feast and Famine Pattern That Every IT Contractor Knows All Too Well
The cycle is just not very sustainable. When you’re fully engaged on a project you’ve got no time or brain room to devote to the other stuff, networking, attending industry events or building the relationships that will get you the next gig. And when that project wraps up, your pipeline is empty and you’re starting from scratch, which is only made worse by the fact that you’re under the gun and need to get something lined up fast.
Billing rate and project length are the two things that IT contractors can actually influence, but it’s the periods between jobs that are where the financial risk really concentrates. Most solo contractors don’t have a system in place to generate new leads independently of their own time and attention. When you’re deep in the middle of a project it’s just not possible to also be actively promoting yourself. The two things are just competing for the same finite resource, your time and energy.
What A Membership Network Can Do That Your LinkedIn Profile Can’t?
A LinkedIn profile is basically just passive, it just sits there looking good to people who are already on the hunt for someone. A membership network for IT contractors, on the other hand, is actually active, it puts your name out there in conversations you might not be a part of, through people who already have the right connections.
Active referral from within a community of vetted peers means that when someone asks if you know anyone who can fill a particular role, they’re going to be getting names from people who are known to have the skills and who have a good reputation. That referral carries a lot more weight than an application from a stranger, it’s got a stamp of approval attached. And that can make all the difference.
Vetted membership also works as a quality signal for hiring organisations. Businesses who work with contractors who have come from a community network know that there’s a baseline level of capability and a certain level of professionalism that’s already been tested. That cuts down on the hassle of each new job negotiation and gets you into an engagement much faster.
Being a solo contractor can be a pretty lonely existence, it’s a lot easier for someone who’s got a team and colleagues and all the usual internal comms channels that come with working in a big org. Community events, workshops and peer learning help address that directly, by creating professional relationships that are not just good for your business but also personally sustaining over the long haul.
The Accountability Structure That Keeps Your Skills Current
The tech market moves so fast that it’s almost impossible to keep up with all the changes on your own, not just with new tools and platforms but also with the latest security best practices and all the other stuff that you need to be up on if you’re going to stay competitive. That’s why it’s super valuable to have early visibility into what your peers are dealing with, not just what the training courses are telling you about. Contractors who are part of peer communities get a sense of the trends and transitions that are coming down the pike before they even show up in job listings or market rate data.
Why Organisations Profit from Network Hiring?
Organisations engaging in the hiring of contractors through community referral have an advantage over open recruitment in terms of time to shortlist in relation to hiring for specialist positions. The vetting process of a membership community eliminates the need for the majority of the filtering process required by the organisation looking to hire.
The referral processes allow organisations to tap into the expanded network of each community member beyond just the contracted individual. It is very likely that a referred contractor will have additional contacts from within the relevant community which allows for follow-up hiring efforts without having to start from zero.
Whom the Model Will Actually Serve?
This model of hiring contractors will best serve senior contractors with established capability and experience looking for steady project flow independent of the agency channel. These contractors have proven themselves capable in the field and are at a point in their careers where referral-based hiring makes sense for them.
Contractors with mid-career specialties making the move from employee status to contractors will find the soft landing of a peer community invaluable. The many decisions that would otherwise be hit and miss can be handled with the benefit of advice from those who have already made the journey.
Specialists in narrow technical fields with a small enough market available in any one city to be classified as a niche are the best-suited members of a membership network for IT contractors. With a small enough number of potential clients, every warm contact counts.
