Contract to hire

How many of you have left a full-time position for a contract to hire job? It seems harder and harder to find a direct hire full-time position. I'm not doubting my skills to get hired off a contract, that is just a big risk to take.

What's everyone's opinion on this?

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Comments

markulous

It seems like it's becoming the standard now days for companies to do this. They don't have to do as much work finding these guys, the recruiters do all the leg work (background check, drug screen, etc.), and if there's a problem with the guy before 90 days, they just call the recruiting office after the person left and they avoid all conflicts.

I don't see a problem with leaving a full-time job for one if it's honestly a contract to hire position and not one where they just string you along.

kohr-ah

I did.

I am glad I did contract to hire because what the position was told to me what it was and what it is are totally seperate. So I am going to keep looking.

The downside is I now have to keep looking for work :P But I know a lot of people that got good jobs doing contract to hire as long as like above said they do hire you and at the end just dont go welp. We are done.

coreyb80

I left my job of 6 years for a contract position back in August and I'm still here. They recently extended me, but I'm still on the job hunt until they decide if/when they want to hire me permanently. I left my last job for this because was a great way for me to get my foot in the door in IT and it has worked out for me. Funny thing is that I received an email from a recruiter another about another contract gig paying $8 more an hour than what I'm making now and it's in the city.

Eston21

In my current position everyone I work with started off as contract to hire. It's seems like the norm for a lot of companies in the IT field nowadays.

kohr-ah

coreyb80 wrote: »

I left my job of 6 years for a contract position back in August and I'm still here. They recently extended me, but I'm still on the job hunt until they decide if/when they want to hire me permanently. I left my last job for this because was a great way for me to get my foot in the door in IT and it has worked out for me. Funny thing is that I received an email from a recruiter another about another contract gig paying $8 more an hour than what I'm making now and it's in the city.

Hello fellow illinoian, illinoianite...whatever we are.

Funny thing is I have had 2 emails today alone from other recruiters as well.

One is same pay but Perm out in the burbs.
The other one is 6 month C-to-H out in the burbs for $3 more an hour.

I debating whether to look into it or not but I am doing the same thing I am still always looking even while I am here and I only been here a month.

coreyb80

kohr-ah wrote: »

Funny thing is I have had 2 emails today alone from other recruiters as well.

One is same pay but Perm out in the burbs.
The other one is 6 month C-to-H out in the burbs for $3 more an hour.

I debating whether to look into it or not but I am doing the same thing I am still always looking even while I am here and I only been here a month.

I would look in to them. You never know what you could be missing out on. I work out in the burbs now, but wouldn't mind going back to the city for the right opportunity.

Iristheangel

I've done it twice. Both times I ended up doubling my pay and it turned into an FTE position within a year.

I'm sure that there are plenty of people with bad experiences but mine have been positive so far

coreyb80

That's pretty good to hear.

kohr-ah

coreyb80 wrote: »

I would look in to them. You never know what you could be missing out on. I work out in the burbs now, but wouldn't mind going back to the city for the right opportunity.

Haha I am doing the opposite. I want to go back to the burbs and get out of the city if I can.

Iristheangel wrote: »

I've done it twice. Both times I ended up doubling my pay and it turned into an FTE position within a year.

I'm sure that there are plenty of people with bad experiences but mine have been positive so far

Did you find them on you own or were they both recruiters? I know there are good recruiters or bad recruiters but it seems here in Chicago area that I have had little luck on finding on my own but recruiters finding work all the time.

Iristheangel

The first one was one I found. I applied for a job on Craigslist and it ended up being Insight Global. 8 months of contracting turned into an FTE at the company. The next one found me after I posted an updated resume on a job board out there. They actually found me pretty quickly - like a day after I posted. That turned into a job after about 11 months or so

shodown

Left my full time for a contract to hire, one of the best moves I ever did. Pushed my salary well over 100K. I asked for the max rate they were paying at the time 75hr and got it. The full time offer came after 8 months which was way less, but I had already planed my escape to the next contractor job. If you work in area with a lot of IT, this is the way to go. If there aren't many contractor jobs out there, then I would avoid it.

coreyb80

kohr-ah ,

I left the city after spending 7 years in it back in August and I've fallen for the burbs all over again. I would actually love to move this way, but if an opportunity in the city arose w/ the right package I wouldn't hesitate to go back, but do I see that happening...that reamins to be seen.

MSP-IT

I left a salaried position for a contract to hire position and was just recently brought in as a full-time employee. Whether I would do it again or not would be purely circumstantial.

no!all!

I've done it and I'm still in my contract position hoping to get hired as an employee within the next 6 months. However, they keep renewing my contract. Not that it's a bad thing, but being a contractor has it's cons

When I left my full time job I was making about $7 less/hour so the contract job was a good bump in my pay. I do have my regrets now and then, but looking back it was worth it.

coreyb80

The biggest con for me is PTO.

Death Dream

coreyb80 wrote: »

The biggest con for me is PTO.

Ouch, I didn't even think of PTO. Not that I use mine much anyways but vacations are nice. I was more worried about health insurance.

markulous

coreyb80 wrote: »

The biggest con for me is PTO.

As long as it's contract to hire, and you actually get hired, that and health benefits are a given at that point.

Death Dream

markulous wrote: »

As long as it's contract to hire, and you actually get hired, that and health benefits are a given at that point.

That is a given, unless they keep dragging out your contract.

no!all!

coreyb80 wrote: »

The biggest con for me is PTO.

I hear that. I work in the financial industry and my company is closed when the market is. My contracting company doesn't recognize those days as holidays so I end up using PTO for them and run out pretty quickly

coreyb80

Death Dream wrote: »

That is a given, unless they keep dragging out your contract.

Pretty much!

WafflesAndRootbeer

Most work around here is short-term contract or contract-to-hire and it's hard to get hired. Companies just don't want to pay for people in certain IT roles, especially at the front-line and frankly, things are pretty screwed up around here with regards to what you are told before you sign up and what you get when you're on the job.

bigdogz

I have done both. I have actually had good luck on both sides of the fence. Before I found my better half for life I was doing quite a bit of contract work. Since then I have been working FTE for one company.

If you have to / want to work on a contract basis you may want to get enough for healthcare (considering the new AHA and how much you have to donate to the cause ...more for spouse and kids) and benefits. Doing some research work and checking with other friends or associates who have heard about the company may be helpful.

goldenlight

There is no Way in H%^%^LL I would quit a permanent job for a contract to Hire position. This is nothing more then putting a carrot on the stick. After being unemployed earlier this year and dealing with these clowns, I rather seek out my own opportunities directly through the employer.