Searching on a big job board for contracting work will bring up plenty of roles. But what you won’t be able to find is any real idea of just how many similar roles got filled in the week or two before through word of mouth, a trusted colleague or just a good old-fashioned phone call with someone they know. And you know what? That number is probably a lot higher than most contractors think it is, and it completely changes the way the market works for every role that does get advertised.
The Job Board Illusion in IT Contracting
The IT contracting jobs posted on the big boards are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a whole load of high-value IT jobs that get filled through trusted contacts before they even come up for public view. These are usually jobs in things like architecture, security, cloud infrastructure and data leadership, and they tend to get snapped up through referrals before they hit the external sites. So by the time you see a job posted, the hiring manager has probably already phoned up 2 or 3 people they’ve got a good relationship with to see if they know anyone, and if those calls don’t come up with what they’re looking for, then and only then do they put up the public listing. The public listing is just a backup plan, not because the company is looking for transparency, but because they couldn’t find anyone through their personal network.
Contractors putting all their time into optimising their profiles on those big aggregator platforms are basically competing in the most crowded and competitive part of the market. And don’t get me wrong, you can still find jobs through those channels, it’s just that the most interesting and well-paid jobs don’t usually end up there. The market itself isn’t getting any smaller, but the competition for the good roles is getting more intense.
What the Numbers Actually Tell You?
The Aussie Bureau of Statistics came out with a figure of 1.1 million independent contractors in August last year, which is up to 7.6% of all employed Aussies. And it’s no surprise that ICT and the professional services sector are at the top of the list in terms of driving contractor demand. The thing is, the workforce is still growing and still looking for skilled contractors to fill its needs. What’s actually shifted is where the work is coming from and how it gets handed out.
The demand for skilled IT contractors hasn’t gone away. What’s changed is how the roles get allocated. More and more of them are now getting filled through word of mouth and personal connections before they ever get advertised on a public site. And with a growing pool of contractors all competing for the same limited number of public listings, you get this exact situation where experienced contractors are complaining about the market being too competitive, more and more applications per job, longer wait times for decisions, and people getting paid less and less because there’s always someone else willing to do the job for a bit less cash and a bit less hassle.
Why Referral Hiring is So Different in IT?
A project manager deciding on a contractor for a 6-week security gig is not just looking for someone with the right skills, they’re also trying to work out if they can trust this person with sensitive data and a live project. If things go wrong, the consequences are pretty severe, so it’s no wonder that most experienced hiring managers would much rather get a referral from someone already working inside the business than take a chance on some unknown person who’s just applied for the job.
How the Community Model Impacts the Contractor’s Situation?
A membership in the community implies a vetted community and, therefore, the job search situation will be transformed. If the hiring manager asks an existing contractor whether he knows anybody in the profession, the person who will be mentioned would definitely be someone who was present in the community and exhibited his or her competence there.
In such a case, the membership indicates the minimum quality threshold for any organisation seeking a contractor but does not imply interviewing for every single job opportunity. In addition, working with contractors recommended by community members implies less time required between contact and actual starting of work due to the fact that the vetting has already been done.
Learning within a professional community of IT contractors solves the issue of currency. As technologies change rapidly, one needs to continuously develop oneself by studying the newest technologies. However, the exposure to what others in the community learn helps to get an idea about the transitions in the market even earlier than taking individual courses does.
What the Current Situation in IT Contracting in Melbourne Is?
Melbourne continues to be one of Australia’s two main markets for IT contracting volume with high demand for financial services, digital transformation of government and enterprise cloud migration. Currently, the pressure on day rates in the IT contracting market of Melbourne is polarised, with specialist and senior delivery roles commanding high rates while other roles face downward pressures.
Established relationships in the Melbourne market make contractors better situated than those who depend solely on inbound applications. However, the relationship advantage develops through continuous participation in professional communities where Melbourne-based technology projects are discussed.
