After a contractor has successfully marketed their skills to the extent that they’ve aroused the interest of a recruiter or end client, the next step is the interview. It is at the interview where the final decision about the contractor with whom they will engage is made.
In this article, we look at:
Although it is understandable that the focus of a contractor during an interview will be on themselves and their own performance and interests, there is value in understanding the mind-set of the interviewer during the process.
In most cases, the interviewer will not be the owner of a business or organisation. They will be someone who has been delegated by an owner, director, or senior manager to make the decision. They will have been given a brief and a budget to work to.
Making the wrong decision for them may have severe and negative consequences on the forward progression of their careers. During an interview, a contractor limited company director should look to provide the interviewee with the following comforts:
Clients use phone interviews more often than not to whittle down from a shortlist to a handful of face to face interview candidates. Although not unheard of, it’s unlikely that a contract will be offered solely on the basis of a telephone interview.
When speaking in a face to face interview, clients will evaluate the use of verbal communication and non-verbal communication (also known as body language) as part of their judgement process on a contractor.
In a phone interview, the quality and confidence in verbal delivery is important so it’s important for a contractor to sound likeable, dependable, and confident of their ability to carry out the requirements laid out in a contract.
The best telephone conversations turn into focused but free flowing conversations between a contractor and their interviewee. People buy people first so a contractor should give as many reasons as possible over the phone for them to be invited in for a face-to-face interview.
A contractor should do as much preparation as possible prior to an interview. Preparation materials used should include the job spec itself, knowledge on this history of the company, and, if possible, knowledge on the interviewer as gleaned from his or her LinkedIn profile.
Certain jobs will be difficult and technical in their nature. In these instances, a client will be looking for a contractor who is confident about their own abilities and confident about themselves as professionals capable of performing the work to a very high standard.
Slower speech delivery exudes confidence. It should be used because it makes a speaker sound much more assured in their own abilities and capable of handling pressurised situations.
A confident, calm, and measured verbal delivery paired with controlled body language often gives an interviewer comfort.
Skype is a Voice-over-IP (VoIP) platform offering users video and audio telephony services. It has seen increasing adoption by businesses over the last 10 years not only for contractor interviews but for staff meetings, videoconferencing, and more.
Many clients like to speak first with potential contractors via Skype. Skype can be installed onto mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and desktops. For laptop and desktop users, a camera, speakers/earphones, and microphone will be required.
Prior to speaking with a potential client, a contractor should make sure that the picture (including the position of the face and lighting conditions) looks professional. Programs and apps which give sound notifications should be switched off prior to a Skype call because they will be heard by clients. A contractor should look and sound dependable on a Skype call.
Once these factors have been dealt with, a contractor should treat a Skype call in a similar way to a face to face interview if the picture mode is switched on.
In this post we cover everything you need to know when appointing an accountant for your Limited company. Appointing an accountant can be a very important part of the process as can Appointing your accountant with HMRC as your “agent”.
Directors of contractor limited companies must be aware of their responsibilities to HMRC and Companies House. In this guide, we cover everything from what is IR35, a Director's role and also Contractor VAT.
It is important to know about the broad range of limited company contractor expenses that can be claimed back. This section covers Capital allowances for contractors, types of expenses you can claim back and Contractor expenses when working away from home.
Bookkeeping software is essential for providing estimates to clients, invoicing, chasing payment, accepting payment, receipt storage, and more. We look at the importance of keeping money aside for tax and slower trading periods, how to separate personal and business finances and keeping business records safe & accessible for inspection by HMRC.
There is a wide variety of ways in which a contractor limited company can market itself including a well-written CV, using a recruitment agency, online job boards, LinkedIn, networking, websites, and email marketing. Marketing gets a contractor in to see an interviewer who will eventually award the job. We look at the mindset of an interviewer, phone interviews, what’s expected at face-to-face interviews, and the increasing frequency of Skype interviews.
Insurance is a necessary business expense for contractor limited companies providing protection against a variety of different threats to the business. We discuss employer’s liability insurance, and director’s liability insurance. Also included are if contractor income security insurance and contractor personal accident insurance policies offer value for money.
A contractor limited company pays its own taxes including corporation tax, Employer National Insurance, IS and VAT. There are schemes available from HMRC which allow contractors extra time to pay what they owe when money is tight. In this post we look at the tax burden faced by contractor limited companies.
Contractor limited company directors are required by law to complete a Self Assessment every year. In this post, we look at how to register and when the self assessment submission needs to be made by. We also examine tax bands for contractors, income tax, National Insurance and dividends.
Directors of contractor limited companies have multiple opportunities to efficiently structure how they pay tax. In this post, we consider salary and dividend splits, appointing family members, claiming back expenses from previous years, capital expenditure allowances, tax free savings accounts, special investment schemes, single premium investment bonds, and Members’ Voluntary Liquidations.
