We love building strong relationships with our clients and candidates and hearing about how we have made a real difference in people’s lives.
Here are just a few of the kind words shared with us about their experiences with Bowers Partnership.
The housing market has fared unexpectedly well since the first coronavirus lockdown ended.
But today, contractors and other individuals looking to buy property face three factors that threaten an extended run of confident home-purchasing, writes John Yerou, chief executive of Freelancer Financials.
These threats are -- the stamp duty holiday ending on March 31st 2021; punitive measures from lenders and thirdly, housing/banking capacity. Each carries a different weight of restriction on the contractor community. So just as the unwelcome news of fewer properties coming onto the market breaks, let’s assess this triple threat and outline what contractors might do to mitigate it.
Stamp duty holiday scheduled to end soon
For four months in a row over last summer, house prices dropped. As a result, government income dropped. With the future then so uncertain, the government needed to reverse that trend.
Even in its significant chaos of late, the government surely must have woken up by now to the legacy of the IR35 off-payroll reforms -- because the 2021 framework has simply not gone to plan, writes James Poyser, chief executive of inniAccounts and founder of off-payroll.org.
In political focus groups up and down the country, I expect IR35 is comfortably in the top 10 issues. Granted, it’s not as acute as cost of living, inflation and the NHS, but the impact is undoubtedly deeper and wider than policymakers thought.
Agents are supportive too but, like the advisories, mainly because the UK needs “stability” (which Mr Sunak vowed yesterday), following the turmoil of the Liz Truss-led government.
“Despite describing Rishi’s last Budget as drier than a bone, I for one am relieved that the awful Truss-mess has been concluded as quickly as it has been,” says agent Natalie Bowers.
Boss at Bowers Partnership, she also told ContractorUK: “Recruiters and PSCs were cheering when the previous chancellor [Kwasi Kwarteng] announced the off-payroll rules’ repeal.
“But it became patently clear very quickly that his un-costed, unsustainable Mini-Budget was financial suicide for our country.
“And so yes, although Mr Sunak has ‘form’ in the contractor sector, I’m now focussed on the financial stability of the country as a whole, and not just our own section of it.”
Demand for IT contractors came a hair’s breadth away from falling flat in November 2022 -- at just 50.3, its lowest index score for two years.
The REC, which keeps the index, had to reissue the sort of alerts it sent a month ago, saying ‘business/candidate caution is increasing’ but like October, “this is not yet a major slowdown.”
The reassurance by the staffing body follows IT contractor demand falling in November 2022 for the sixth month in a row, to a level not seen since the first winter of covid.
'Flat market'
Neil Carberry, of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) says it is “really important to remember that all this is happening from a historically high base”.
Moreover, given that it stood last month at 50.3, IT contractor demand still grew, albeit only just -- because the market becomes “flat” at 50.0, Carberry cautioned in a post.
Which IT contractors will be very in-demand in 2023?
Cloud Data Engineers, Visualisation Developers, Data Analysts, and all things Azure.
For these four, I’m already seeing rate inflation, says financial services tech recruiter Natalie Bowers, who predicts the quartet to be ‘hot’ for contractors in 2023.
And while not all IT contractors can ‘name their price,’ the techies setting theirs rate in these sought-after niches are “heavily influencing” the market rate overall. The co-founder of Bowers Partnership also said clients who want them are having to stump up, or go without.
Niche IT skills like these will be the only tech skills to grow in 2023, then?
Highly unlikely. If you look at our December 2nd-publihsed tracker of the labour market, says the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, you’ll see that demand for IT staff actually saw a 2.2% uplift, specifically for job vacancy postings for Programmers and Software Developers (from mid-November to the end of November 2022).
Are you looking for your next big career move in Investment Management and Wealth Management? Don't worry, we've got your back. Here are five tips to help you land your dream job (without losing your mind!):
Show off your skills: Make sure your CV highlights your unique skills and experience. Bonus points if you can include a funny anecdote or a pun – it'll make you stand out from the crowd!
Network like a pro: Attend industry events and connect with people on LinkedIn. And don't be afraid to throw in a few jokes or GIFs – everyone loves a good laugh!
Do your research (but don't be a stalker): Research the company and the position before applying, but don't go overboard. You don't want to come across as a creepy stalker, do you?
Ace that interview: Practise your interview skills with a friend or family member. And remember, a little bit of humour can go a long way – just don't overdo it and risk becoming the office clown!
Follow up (but not too much): After your interview, send a thank you note or email. And if you don't hear back right away, don't panic. Remember, good things come to those who wait (and follow up tactfully).
At Bowers Partnership, we know that finding the perfect job can be a daunting task. But with our industry connections and expertise, we can help make the process a little less stressful (and a lot more fun!). So why not drop us a line and see how we can help you find your next big adventure in Investment Management and Wealth Management?
Remember, job hunting doesn't have to be boring – embrace your unique personality and let your sense of humour shine through. After all, who doesn't love a candidate who can make them laugh? Good luck out there!
A boutique hiring firm placing contractors solely in FS says it’s hard not to notice on London’s Square Mile the virtual replacing the physical, which it confirmed is buoying rates.
'City firms scrambling for high-quality IT project folk’
“We’ve seen an ongoing scramble for high-quality IT project folk, ever since the pandemic, as many on-premises City firms shift to the Cloud,” says the firm, Bowers Partnership.
“So yes, rates have held nicely for the in-demand skillsets. Think project managers, developers -- and the more BI-focussed the better. And all contractors in Data and Cloud.”
The firm’s managing director Natalie Bowers says she doesn’t like to mention IR35, “but it is fact that we’ve seen rate inflation since the dreaded private sector off-payroll rules hit.”
End-clients have been known to stump up more cash to compensate for limited company contracting being potentially much more taxing under the rules.
But the framework of April 6th 2021 (and the framework of April 6th 2017 in the public sector) now acts as financial rub for many.
Even our office pooch Lady has got dog biscuits that aren’t as dry as Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement 2022.
But perhaps us recruitment bosses and everyone else should have expected that this statement from the chancellor, rather than future statements nearer to when the country goes to the polls, was always going to be less than friendly to contractors.
And that puts Mr Sunak at odds with our four-legged beauty, a German Shepherd, who’s friendly to just about anyone who comes through the door, writes Natalie Bowers of niche contractor recruitment agency Bowers Partnership.
In recruitment terms, this Spring Statement was a ‘no-show.’ For the contractor sector, and even contractors’ clients actually — other than if they are into R&D, it pretty much simply didn’t turn up.
Internal recruiters and direct-hirers on LinkedIn jobs should be your last resort if you’re serious about landing a freelance role!
Don’t forget, direct-hiring clients and their internal recruiters don’t source work for freelancers for a living, like we do. Often, your CV as a freelance candidate probably won’t ever get looked at, especially for those openings which are also advertised internally.
Us specialist, external agents live and die by filling jobs, and there is no one more highly motivated to fill that job! Remember, a good recruiter will finesse, explain, persuade, negotiate, influence and hound on your behalf on a free of charge basis. Conversely, when you apply direct-to-client, you are missing out on the most important part of the recruitment process. For true freelancers, it’s to be avoided at all costs!
Establish IR35 status for new contracts on a VERY EARLY DOORS basis.
So do this before any sort of rate negotiation takes place with the agent.
Once you’ve agreed the rate, it’s almost set in stone with the end-client. From here onwards, your power in the negotiation has dissolved.
Also question the IR35 status if it sounds too good to be true. For example, if you role will be sitting on a Helpdesk logging tickets on ServiceNow and the advert claims outside IR35, then that’s a red flag!
Next? Remember the rate needs to reflect the almost undeniable inside status of such gigs.
Natalie Bowers, founder of niche recruitment firm Bowers Partnership.
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Registered Office: The Bowers Partnership, Pharmacy Chambers, High Street, Wadhurst, East Sussex TN5 6AP
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