Contractors are skilled experts in their specialist often technical field, having niche skills or extensive experience in multi-million dollar, time critical technologies or business projects. They are well paid, and are seen as providing value to clients for three major reasons:
- An instant hired experienced expert on a key subject
- A hence low risked choice for the desired business result
- A greater level of expertise bought at a higher cost, which does not remain on the balance sheet post implementation
In summary, contractors are bought for their low-risked business results in critical areas.
However, although contractors are often paid well compared to their equally skilled but salaried colleges – 20% + is a minimum premium, but it can be higher than three times a salaried worker – the criticality of their overall annual earnings is defined by getting their next project lined up before or soon after their last project completes.
In skills sets where project length is long, such as construction, this is a problem not often faced but can result in longer durations of down time; in skills set areas where projects lengths are short, such as IT where projects can last as little as a few days but more often in quarters, the reliance on being able to communicate consistent delivery capability and developing skill set breadth are essential.
So, how does the contractor communicate their consistent delivery capability? As in many other professions and employment mandates, using the CV: a CV is a personal sales and marketing document against a defined job, no more and no less.
But the problem for the contractor is two fold:
- Firstly to communicate consistency of success of delivery
- But secondly to overcome the problems associated with continuous change of employer, often disliked by HR professionals, which may question there ability to socially fit in and since their choice of profession
If contractors can not communicate both a high level of functional delivery and social fit, then their skill set will become main stream, and they resultantly isolated. This brings two further problems:
- That they over sell / differentiate their skill set, and become too niche
- That as their skill is not used or updated as quickly, it becomes more main stream and their pay-premium quickly reduces
How do contractors overcome these problems?
Like many professions, a contractor needs to manage their career. As they are normally self employed, this means both defining and having a career goal, as well as mapping a way of getting there. The latter requires some investment in the business / their career, meaning that a development package of both project selection as well as training investment is required. In most businesses, an investment of circa ten percent of group turnover is seen as a good level in training budget, although if contractors aim to continue to charge a premium a higher investment at stages of their career and business development could be required.
In most cases periods of training require time away from the business learning, which is why project selection is also key to long term earnings, as well as many other parts of the business. Whilst it is accepted that permanent hires have to show career track, management and choice of new post to develop their career, so do contractors – although many simply choose their next project solely on remission rate and length, not thinking about career track. Part of the enjoyment of contracting is being able to make large sums of money on certain contracts, but an excess or consecutive choice to this mantra will in the medium term lead to an equally dramatic down turn in remuneration rates as employability reduces thanks to an over reliance on a single skill set or serial partners.
The final problem element to show in a Contractor CV is that of social fit – can you fit in to a team and gain the desired result, or are you a contractor because you do not fit? Much as though many contractors have well developed social fit skills – if you are going to get kicked out initially, its because you do not get on with someone – it continues to be a question in the HR professionals mind. Often the most successful way of over coming the social fit question is to show contract follow-on / extension, or offer of permanent hire. Both show that not only did you deliver on a business level, but also integrated well on a social level – so well that they wanted you to stay. Here, if ever you are offered a contract extension of permanent hire option, make sure it is placed in writing on the companies headed paper, and add it to your portfolio. It is easy enough to write "was offered contract extension" on your CV, but accepting that people move on in their own carers the best evidence is written.
Contractor CV"s must avoid the tendency to simply list skills, but be set out to show the wider portfolio of skills, proven results and social fit. The benefits of doing so – together with some thought and planning to career management – can bring quick and instant greater engagement at higher remuneration. If you are unsure of how to apply these principles and make these financial gains, then simply ask a professional CV writer for complimentary review and much like your clients ask for your expertise, deploy their advice.
Good Luck!
The Contractor CV - Part 1 of 2 - Strategy
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