Twice a week we publish problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy’s own insights. Here is the latest dilemma – what are your thoughts?
I have been doing contract work in “change management” for a few years – an all-encompassing term for the methods used for managing projects, and all the roles involved from managers to business analysts. I am now seriously contemplating going back into permanent work. I’m in my mid-to-late 40s, and the contract market isn’t as buoyant as it has been.
My dilemma is that the last permanent role I took was a bad experience. The role and business unit culture turned out to be very different to that outlined throughout the interview process and induction. The business unit had an extremely high turnover of staff, especially among those with less than two years’ service.
Contract working has been rewarding: I am proud that my work and attitude have been used as “best practice” examples. However, as a contract worker, I feel my mindset is that I’ve had a “get-out clause”. If a particular contract is not working well, there are only ever a few months until it ends for both parties. In other words, I can move on easily.
I am also wondering whether my skills – an ability to see the bigger picture, and an insistence on getting things right first time – lend themselves better to being a collaborative consultant, than a permanent employee.
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.
