IT Contractor Jobs - Finding IT Contract Work

Although most IT contractors may not view LinkedIn as a replacement for Jobserve when looking for immediate contract work, it provides networking benefits which can help secure contract roles through former colleagues and contacts - as well as providing a shopfront to show off your skills and experience.

A recent poll showed that 43% of PCG members thought LinkedIn was a "vital tool" for contractors, and even a majority of f those who were uncertain about its importance had still signed up to the service.

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn is aimed purely at the business market. The service allows users to post an online CV, detailing their past and present skills and experience. You can build up a list of 'contacts', provide status updates, answer questions from other users, and join any number of 'Groups', which are often geared towards niche skills, industries and even client sites.

One of the best ways to secure new contracts is via people you already know. Even social networking cynics would find it hard to deny the usefulness of LinkedIn in providing an obligation-free way of reconnecting (or connecting) with present and past contractor colleagues - who will often know about upcoming contract vacancies before they appear on job sites.

Your profile is really just an enhanced CV, which you can update in real time. Depending on how revealing you want to be, you can post information about your life from primary school to the present day. Your profile can also be linked to other social networking services, such as the ubiquitous Twitter and Facebook. The 'recommendations' function can add further kudos to your profile, although many people seem to use this as an excuse for mutual backslapping.

Although many recruiters now post contract vacancies via LinkedIn, it's hard to see how it could be a viable replacement for some of the leading contract job sites which aggregate posts from multiple sources. As a networking tool, it has its benefits, and provides a low-maintenance way of keeping potential contract sources warm.

One word of warning though; given that a growing number of recruiters (and pre-employment screening companies) use the web to find out more about job applicants, you should always be cautious about the type of information you post online (in your own name). Details about your qualifications and past contract experience, should be consistent, and spellchecked. Your contracting business is also your online brand, so we'd always recommend using alter egos when posting or blogging about non-work matters online!