Too Experienced to Land a New Contract

After many years of working as a contractor, I have reached an unexpected conclusion. Finding contract work is no longer primarily about experience, skills or achievements. It is about convincing a recruitment agent that your CV/résumé matches a list of keywords. That may sound cynical, but it reflects the reality many experienced contractors face today.

Over the course of my career, I have worked in more than 20 professional roles across telecommunications, information technology, engineering, training, publishing, consulting, and product development. I spent many years as a permanent employee before moving into contracting, where I have worked for the past three decades. During that time, I have accumulated a wide range of skills and experience that have enabled me to adapt to evolving industries and technologies. The problem is that modern recruitment systems often view such breadth of experience as a disadvantage rather than a strength.

Whenever I apply for a contract role, my CV/résumé must be rewritten and tailored to fit the requirements of that particular position. If I submitted a complete record of everything I have done throughout my career, the document would run to several pages and cover dozens of different disciplines. Most recruitment agents are not interested in seeing that. They want evidence that matches the specific vacancy in front of them.

As a result, I restrict my CV/résumé to the most recent ten years of experience. Fortunately, many of my recent contracts have been in related fields. Had they not been, I suspect my chances of securing further work would be significantly reduced.

Looking back, the range of roles I have undertaken has been remarkably varied. I have worked as a journalist, conference speaker, training course designer, trainer, standards developer, telephone numbering specialist, arbitrator, technical author, content designer, interim technical director, project manager, programme manager, product delivery manager, technical architect, business analyst, quality assurance tester, military systems designer, website developer, product designer, product line manager, expert witness, recruiter, strategy consultant, bid manager, radio broadcast engineer, programmer, circuit board designer, cyber security consultant and several others.

Along the way, I have written industry reports and books, chaired international conferences, developed telecommunications standards, designed military systems, worked on fibre network rollouts, developed products, managed large technology programmes, created training courses and advised organisations ranging from government departments to multinational corporations.

I have worked with telecommunications operators, financial institutions, government agencies, manufacturers, consultancies, military organisations, broadcasters and technology vendors. Some projects involved designing systems, others involved managing implementations, while others focused on strategy, procurement or operational improvement. The irony is that much of this experience becomes invisible during the recruitment process.

An agent looking for an IT Project Manager is unlikely to be interested in the fact that I designed a component used in a torpedo system, helped create a national numbering plan for an island nation, served as an expert witness in court cases or wrote reports for major organisations. Those experiences may demonstrate problem-solving ability, technical knowledge, and adaptability, but they do not fit neatly within the keyword search for the advertised vacancy.

Similarly, there are roles I could still perform competently, having done them successfully in the past. However, if that experience does not appear in the most recent few years of my CV/résumé, it effectively ceases to exist from the recruiter's perspective.

For example, I might see a vacancy involving the management of a fibre rollout project that includes civil engineering activities. I have performed exactly that role before. However, because it was several contracts ago and followed by numerous assignments in different areas, it may not feature prominently on my current CV/résumé. The recruitment agent reviewing the application is unlikely to investigate further. More often than not, they will focus on the last two or three positions and move on to the next candidate. This highlights what I believe is one of the biggest changes in the recruitment industry.

Years ago, many recruitment consultants had industry experience. They understood the sectors they recruited for and could interpret a CV/résumé in context. They recognised transferable skills and appreciated the value of diverse experience. A good consultant would often identify opportunities that a contractor had not even considered. Today, the process appears increasingly driven by databases, keyword matching and scripted conversations.

Many contractors will recognise the experience of receiving calls about completely irrelevant vacancies. Despite decades of experience in telecommunications, information technology and programme management, I have been approached about positions ranging from hod carrier and hydraulic engineer to food security specialist and software developer. These recommendations clearly result from automated searches that identify a word or phrase without understanding the context in which it appears.

The problem is not that technology is being used. Technology can be extremely useful. The problem arises when technology replaces judgment rather than supporting it. A CV/résumé is not simply a collection of keywords. It is a summary of a person's professional life. Understanding it requires interpretation, experience and common sense.

Another significant change is the relationship between agents, contractors and clients. In the past, recruitment consultants often acted as intermediaries, representing both parties fairly. Today, many appear to work almost exclusively in the client's interests.

I experienced this personally when a client terminated a contract with less notice than specified in the agreement. The recruitment agent openly admitted he did not want to challenge the client for fear of losing future business. Fortunately, I already had another opportunity lined up, but the incident demonstrated where loyalties often lie.

This is understandable from a commercial perspective. Recruitment agencies depend on clients for revenue. Nevertheless, it can leave contractors feeling that they are treated as commodities rather than professionals.

Like many long-term contractors, I have built an extensive professional network over the years. My LinkedIn contacts number well over a thousand, including hundreds of recruitment professionals. Most are hardworking individuals doing a demanding job. However, I cannot help wondering how many actually read the CVs/résumés they receive in detail before making contact. Too often, it feels as though the process begins and ends with keyword searches.

The recruitment industry would benefit from returning to a more balanced approach. Technology should help consultants identify candidates, but it should not replace genuine understanding. Agencies should employ people who can interpret experience, recognise transferable skills and appreciate the value of a varied career.

Experienced contractors bring more than a list of technical qualifications. They bring judgment, adaptability, problem-solving ability and a proven record of delivering results across different environments. Those qualities are difficult to capture in a keyword search, yet they are often what clients value most once a contractor is on site.

Until recruitment practices evolve, many highly experienced professionals will continue to face a strange paradox. They possess decades of knowledge, a proven track record and an impressive range of achievements, yet they struggle to get past the first stage of the recruitment process.

In an age that constantly celebrates experience, it seems ironic that the biggest obstacle to winning a new contract can sometimes be having too much of it!