I'm a fan of Nick Corcodilos' Ask the Headhunter newsletter and have been for a few years now. I even picked up his book a while ago to get a deeper understanding of his recommended approach to job hunting. And so I was pleased once again to see Nick take on the video resume movement and completely deflate the balloon of hype. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for the “Working without a Recruiter” CategoryUsing a recruiter isn't necessary, just convenient. Eventually you may come across the opportunity to work without one so here are some ideas for moving beyond working with a recruiter. The upside being that the fee normally paid to the recruiter is now up for grabs. Deductions for IT ConsultantsPosted by IT Consultant in Money Matters, Working with Recruiters, Working without a RecruiterOne of the advantages of being an independent IT consultant is that you can deduct expenses. This doesn't make purchases free, it just means you don't have to pay income tax on the amount of income equivalent to the expenses. In effect, this means that everything that you buy that is a valid expense is essentially purchased at a 30% (approx.) discount. Read the rest of this entry » It is very, very rare for a piece of software to go on to be a huge revenue generator for a company. As such, it's a bad idea to get in to an arrangement where your services will be paid via future profits from the project. The numbers may sound very attractive, but neither you or the client are likely to be in a good position to truly assess the risk of failure. Read the rest of this entry » At some point you're going to be tempted to work for free. That is, a potential client will subtly or not so subtly request a freebie. This could be in the form of recommendations or even a plan of how you would proceed with a certain project. And why shouldn't client's try to get something free? We all do it, after all. Read the rest of this entry » W2 Umbrella CompaniesPosted by IT Consultant in Working without a RecruiterIn between working through a recruiter and going out entirely on your own with an incorporated entity, there's a middle ground that umbrella companies can fill. An umbrella company, also known as a pass through service, allows you to be a W2-employee as far as the IRS is concerned, but otherwise behave like an independent consultant. Read the rest of this entry » It can be tempting to work overtime so that you're perceived as a team player but to feel guilty asking for payment for these hours. It has been my experience that this sets a bad precedent and you should almost always bill for any time that you spent working. Read the rest of this entry » Moving Beyond Recruiters Tip #1Posted by IT Consultant in Working without a RecruiterEnlisting the help of a recruiter to find contracts for you can be quite helpful. However, if you want to get an instant raise, find your own contracts. Read the rest of this entry » |
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