Dear Contractor Doctor,

I'm interested in going contracting, but am concerned about the type/quality of work I'll be asked to do. I don't want to get the rubbish left over that the permies won't do.

Do I need to be concerned? What kind of work do contractors do compared to permanent staff?

Thanks

Matt Hobson

Contractor Doctor says:

Thanks for your question.

It is one of the common contracting myths that contract work is the boring tasks left over which permanent employees are not prepared to do. This is not the case at all. There are many reasons why firms hire contractors.

From a commercial perspective, if a firm has an unattractive piece of work that needs doing it is much more likely to squeeze the bandwidth out of its existing workforce than hire an expensive contractor.

Contractors do similar work to permanent staff with the same level of experience. There really is no distinction.

When you are contracting you are in charge of your own professional destiny. A client cannot insist that you tackle a piece of unattractive work for which you were not hired to do.

Good luck with your contracting!

Contractor Doctor

Published: Friday, April 11, 2008