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Subject:FWD: Contracting and project queries From:"Eric J. Ray" <ejray -at- RAYCOMM -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 24 Jul 1998 12:44:12 -0600
Name withheld upon request. Please reply on list.
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Comments/Questions for Contractors:
1. For the second time, I'm working in a job where, before I took the job,
I was told I would be working on a specific technology that I was VERY
interested in learning, but when I started the job, was put to work on
information that basically, nobody else in the group wanted to work on. My
questions to other contractors are the following:
a) How can you ensure that the job that you were told about in the
interview translates into the job you actually do? Do you write it in the
contract?
b) If this happens to you, do you just confront the boss about it? I've
made several lighthearted remarks, but am ready for the "serious
discussion." However, I don't want to sound like I'm whining, and I've also
considered that I'm doing work that really needs to be done, and other
people in the group absolutely refuse to do it. I've thought that I could
contribute a few months, get it done, and leave. At least, I will have made
a contribution that no one else is willing to make.
c) Another consideration is that my resume is lacking in the latest
technology, because the last company I worked for was behind the times, to
say the least.
2. On a semi-related note, I've worked for the same contract agency for a
few years, but they haven't actually found a job for me in a long time.
Since I have had contacts for jobs in the past, which I've passed along to
them, they have this impression that I can just go out and find something on
my own whenever I need a new job. However, the job situation in this area
is really tight, and I've come to realize that I really need referrals from
my agency, which they are not providing. (This is assuming I leave my
present postion now rather than later.) I feel loyalty to my agency because
they've done a good job for me in the past, but I'm wondering at what point
do you decide if your agency is still taking the time to scope out good jobs
for you. I have to add that since the recession in 1992, when I was
unemployed for four days, I have not been without work, which counts for a
lot in my book.
