Candidates - Is contracting right for you?

Companies across the UK are citing the skills shortage in the creative and marketing sector as one of the main prohibiting factors for growth. As marketing channels continue to evolve, particularly within digital, candidates who are experts in their fields are in short supply. This has led to the rise in contracting and the need for companies to hire contractors or freelancers on a project by project basis, or for interim periods, has risen.

COVID also changed the employment market hugely. Many more people decided to take control over their work and took the plunge into contracting, for more of that work/life balance. It’s much more popular to be a freelancer or serial contractor now than ever before.

As a marketing or creative contractor, you have the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge across a range of clients in different sectors. You may work with one, two or even three clients at the same time, but you can dictate how long you want to work in that role and even how many days in the week. Of course, the more flexible you are, the more opportunities will appear!

Flexibility also applies to the location of work with many working from home on laptops to complete work with maybe occasional visits to the company offices. This, of course, is role dependent and whether there is a need to be close to the other members of staff. There is also a large degree of independence in contracting, with projects being largely briefed at the beginning of the assignment and delivery points throughout to deliver your work.

Contractor payments tend to be based on a cost-per-day, with levels varying depending on how senior or how niche the specialism is. They tend to be higher compared to their full time, permanent counterparts, which means that project-based work can be very lucrative for contractors. Remember though that you won’t get the benefits that full-time employees enjoy like holiday or sickness pay for example.

If you’d like to talk through some of the contracting opportunities we have and whether they’d be right for you, then please get in touch. We can advise you and point you in the direction of others who have taken the plunge into contracting.