I guess if you are reading this blog you are contemplating or considering the move from permanent employment to working for yourself and starting your contracting business. I made the move four years ago and I have not looked back since.
So what is the first thing you need? Before a telephone call, before an interview, before a contract offer, that’s right you will need a killer CV.
Why?
Contracting and Permanent employment are not the same thing in the slightest. In contracting terms a CV is your sales document, it needs to qualify you to be able to undertake the task/project that the client needs you to fulfil. It needs to demonstrate your skills and experience that sell you to the client as someone capable of delivering results in the area that they are hiring you for. It needs to show that you can solve their problem. It is the document that will get you the phone call from the agent and the meeting/interview with the client. Which is crucial if you are going to be a successful contractor.
What should be in it?
The readers of your CV don’t want your life story, they want to know you have the skills and experience necessary to complete the task at hand. Your CV should demonstrate:
- You understand the clients problem and have the knowledge to overcome that problem.
- You have the necessary skills to complete the task and solve the problem your being hired for.
- You have experience in using those skills successfully.
- You have provided benefit and value to other clients or employers.
The crux of a good sales person is be to able to identify the potential client’s problems and overcome those problems using the products they are selling. As you can see from my points above in order to be a success at contracting you need to have a good sales technique. Your CV is your sales document and it should let the client know that you understand their problem and also that you have the skills and experience (The product) to help them overcome it. You can use the interview/client meeting to overcome any objections that the client may have about your product. That though is another post entirely.
Other Useful Links
Don’t take my word for it, there’s a whole bunch of sites out there that offer advice in this area, contractorcalulator.co.uk is one of my favourites. You can find a whole bunch of good advice on CV’s here http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/Contractor_CV_Writing.aspx
Future Posts
- Contracting – A Sales based approach
- Contracting – The Importance of targeted CV
- Contracting – The Interview
