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Stepping out of permanent employment and into the world of contracting can be a big change – It can often require learning a host of new skills to remain competitive and find success.
Are you a technical contractor looking to thrive in your next venture? This article will tell you how.Technical contractors have the responsibility to bring the necessary experience and expertise to a company. They assist with the over management of a specific project, including both development and deployment.
When working as a technical contractor, a typical role will consist of supporting a wider team. This means being a key figure in a project’s planning, building formation through to completion.
If you aren’t particularly fond of change, becoming a technical contractor may not be suitable for you.
As a technical contractor, no two days are the same. Therefore, you must be able to face change with confidence, adapting your skills to the environment you are in.
Being adaptable to change is one of the most important skills a technical contractor can have, helping you not only hit the ground running but grow your business successfully from the ground up.
As a technical contractor, the person who needs to recommend your services to other people is you. The best technical contractors have excellent communication skills and dedicate time to those important one-to-one conversations.
As the building contractors at Southern Sheeting put it, excellent people skills are vital when trying to nail down repeat business. They state: “Many customers come back to us time and time again and appreciate the one-to-one personal contact we offer through our work.”
As such, having good people skills will help you go a long way. Leaving a lasting impression on people everywhere you go will help you to build a reputation. So, if you want to succeed as a technical contractor, learning how to engage effectively with different people in different environments is essential.
As a technical contractor, your employers will expect you to find solutions to their problems – both quickly and efficiently.
Therefore, if you are a naturally solution-orientated person, contracting could be the perfect next step in your career journey. Solving problems quickly and to a high standard is a great skill to have, encouraging employers to hire your services again and again.
Being a technical contractor takes initiative – after all, you are the one who is in control of your career progression. So, to remain competitive, you need to stay up to date with the developments, training courses, and certifications in your industry.
Having the right knowledge is just as important as having the expertise, particularly when it comes to your business succeeding over the coming years. Taking the reins in your business development will help ensure that you have always got new work lined up.
As a technical contractor, you can’t leave all the admin tasks to someone else. Instead, you will be responsible for all the invoices, tax payments, payroll, and pensions.
For someone who is not as naturally organised, the behind-the-scenes elements of contracting can be something to get used to. So, it is important to be as organised as you can. It requires planning and, often, a little bit of overtime.
Nobody likes to shout about how great they are but, to gain new business, you need to learn how to market yourself effectively. Fortunately, there are many great ways to do this and a key one of them is cold pitching.
While it may take confidence and a bit of thick skin, cold pitching is a great way to reach out to companies or people you want to work for.
Take the time earlier on to perfect your CV and brush up on your interviewing skills. That way, you’ll be able to succeed at cold pitching to your dream clients much sooner.
While contractors have the freedom to set their own hours and take on projects they want to work on, the downside can be job uncertainty.
Unfortunately, in contracting, there are never any guarantees. Not all technical contractors have regular work they can rely on. It can be easy to be shaken by financial insecurity.
As a technical contractor, you will need to remain confident in times of uncertainty. When your monthly income fluctuates slightly, or you don’t have another project lined up yet, you need to remain positive.
We hope the above insights have given you some great tips to get started as a technical contractor.
By following the advice outlined in this article, you will likely nail down plenty of work.
However, during some of your quieter weeks, it is important to remember that a technical contractor shows their grit by staying confident and unshaken in difficult times – do this, and you’ll reap the many benefits of working as a contractor in no time.
VHR’s team of recruitment consultants is made up of former technical professionals, including Aerospace Engineers, Formula 2 drivers, and international yacht racing champions. Our personal experiences mean we understand your industry, your career path, and the best ways to navigate the challenges and opportunities you will encounter in the coming year – get in touch with us to find out how we could help you.
Browse and apply for all our technical job opportunities around the world.
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