Its been a while since I updated my blog. This has been mainly down to Aardvark securing a contract with Content and Code to manage all of their recruitment. This means spending a bit of time "on site" and started in early March. This has seen us recruit 13 people across a wide range of roles including SharePoint Developers, Architects, Project Managers and Consultants. I am still looking for a few roles so take a look at the careers page if you or anyone you know is interested.
I also have a 3 Month contract available for a SharePoint Developer London based Contract, just off Baker Street. Give me a call 07969 789188 if interested.
Monday, 11 May 2009
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Exclusive Contract with Content and Code
I am pleased to confirm that I have recently agreed a deal with Content and Code to manage all of their recruitment.
As a company that did more SharePoint projects than any other consultancy, its a pleasure to work with them.
I am pleased to confirm that we still have the following Permanent roles available:.
SharePoint Solutions Consultant - £45k-£50k
SharePoint Technical Lead x 2 - £45-£50k
SharePoint Developer - £Neg
Support Developer (50% admin 50%) up to £40k
SharePoint Architect £Neg
If you would like to apply for any of these positions, please call me on 07969 789188 or email your CV to my email address there: lee.stevens@contentandcode.com
As a company that did more SharePoint projects than any other consultancy, its a pleasure to work with them.
I am pleased to confirm that we still have the following Permanent roles available:.
SharePoint Solutions Consultant - £45k-£50k
SharePoint Technical Lead x 2 - £45-£50k
SharePoint Developer - £Neg
Support Developer (50% admin 50%) up to £40k
SharePoint Architect £Neg
If you would like to apply for any of these positions, please call me on 07969 789188 or email your CV to my email address there: lee.stevens@contentandcode.com
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Front End SharePoint Developer Wanted | London
I Need a front end MOSS developer to work with me ASAP on a project in Canary Wharf. Starting ASAP really for around £400 a day.You need to have skills in branding sharepoint sites i.e. master pages, page layouts, css etc.Please call me on +44 7969 789 188 if you are interested.
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
How is SharePoint demand being affected by the Credit Crunch?
A debate has been going on the SharePoint User Group this week as to the effect the "Credit Crunch"
At the end of the day, Its all a numbers game. SharePoint Projects have to be of a certain size to require a Project Manager. As an estimate, out of 50 SharePoint projects, I'd say that 5 are big enough to need a PM.
All 50 however will require at least 1 Developer if not more. So best case scenario/ratio/demand for SharePoint PM's vs SharePouint Developers is 10:1
The demand for SharePoint has certainly not stopped, however what we are seeing is:
1) More Gold Partners enter the market creating a greater spread of market share of work. this equals less demand for contractors.
2) Companies who have invested in training and supporting permanent staff , where possible, dish the work out to their Permie guys and try to keep costs down. It will cost them roughly £275 -£300 a day, in real terms, to use one of their own SharePoint Developers (on £60k a year, many are not that lucky!) and around £700 a day to use a top end contractor. Work out the maths on a 90 day project and you will see why they try to rely on Permie Guys!.
Now don't get me wrong, there will ALWAYS be a demand for top end Contractors, especially in a niche skill such as SharePoint, but it will be those who are the most experienced and /or bring something new to the party, such as experience with the latest technologies / techniques etc. or they have no skills in the company.
This is not a dig at anyone, but what clients begrudge is paying £500 a day to a contractor when they know the quality of that person is not that good and less than their internal guys work. I don't blame them.
There is no doubting that there is a slight lull at the moment, but we have 2-3 projects on the go and anyone will tell you that happens every November / December, as clients put projects off until the new year. Credit Crunch or no Credit Crunch.
Contractors have seen 6 years of continuous growth, but in some ways need to see the potential downside to realise that like House Prices, demand can go down as well as up.
My advice would be to stick close to the good agents out there, keep in touch regularly and don't treat them as the bain of your life, which is easy in a busy market. They will always have work for you (or they will be out of work theirselves!) and look after you going forward if you do this. keep an eye on our website also
At the end of the day, Its all a numbers game. SharePoint Projects have to be of a certain size to require a Project Manager. As an estimate, out of 50 SharePoint projects, I'd say that 5 are big enough to need a PM.
All 50 however will require at least 1 Developer if not more. So best case scenario/ratio/demand for SharePoint PM's vs SharePouint Developers is 10:1
The demand for SharePoint has certainly not stopped, however what we are seeing is:
1) More Gold Partners enter the market creating a greater spread of market share of work. this equals less demand for contractors.
2) Companies who have invested in training and supporting permanent staff , where possible, dish the work out to their Permie guys and try to keep costs down. It will cost them roughly £275 -£300 a day, in real terms, to use one of their own SharePoint Developers (on £60k a year, many are not that lucky!) and around £700 a day to use a top end contractor. Work out the maths on a 90 day project and you will see why they try to rely on Permie Guys!.
Now don't get me wrong, there will ALWAYS be a demand for top end Contractors, especially in a niche skill such as SharePoint, but it will be those who are the most experienced and /or bring something new to the party, such as experience with the latest technologies / techniques etc. or they have no skills in the company.
This is not a dig at anyone, but what clients begrudge is paying £500 a day to a contractor when they know the quality of that person is not that good and less than their internal guys work. I don't blame them.
There is no doubting that there is a slight lull at the moment, but we have 2-3 projects on the go and anyone will tell you that happens every November / December, as clients put projects off until the new year. Credit Crunch or no Credit Crunch.
Contractors have seen 6 years of continuous growth, but in some ways need to see the potential downside to realise that like House Prices, demand can go down as well as up.
My advice would be to stick close to the good agents out there, keep in touch regularly and don't treat them as the bain of your life, which is easy in a busy market. They will always have work for you (or they will be out of work theirselves!) and look after you going forward if you do this. keep an eye on our website also
Monday, 17 November 2008
We are looking for a SharePoint Administrator.....
As you will know by now, Aardvark are a specilaist SharePoint Resourcing company.
Our client is a leading technology players in the UK Insurance market. Due to being let down at the last minute they are seeking an experienced SharePoint Administrator, ideally in place by their proposed roll out on December 9th.
You will be responsible for the administration and maintenance of an enterprise scale SharePoint and SQL Server estate and resolve 2nd/3rd Line support calls relating to the product. We would expect string experience of IIS 6 and knowledge of Windows Server 2003, Active Directory and Microsoft clustering and load balancing.
Please call me to discuss this further on 0208 123 1423 but please email your CV to lstevens@aardvarkresourcing.co.uk in the first instance.
Lee Stevens
Our client is a leading technology players in the UK Insurance market. Due to being let down at the last minute they are seeking an experienced SharePoint Administrator, ideally in place by their proposed roll out on December 9th.
You will be responsible for the administration and maintenance of an enterprise scale SharePoint and SQL Server estate and resolve 2nd/3rd Line support calls relating to the product. We would expect string experience of IIS 6 and knowledge of Windows Server 2003, Active Directory and Microsoft clustering and load balancing.
Please call me to discuss this further on 0208 123 1423 but please email your CV to lstevens@aardvarkresourcing.co.uk in the first instance.
Lee Stevens
Saturday, 18 October 2008
When SharePoint Developers attack!!
Its been a funny week this week at Aardvark Towers.
Whilst we are clearly are not being affected by the economic downturn as much as other industries, the IT Sector is still being affected.
The first thing that will obviouly go in a business will be the luxury of having contractors. When some are earming up to £750 a day, you can understand why. This essentially means that a lot of guys are now looking for contracts.
I would hope that most people would reliase this but obviously not.
As I regulary post any jobs I have on the SharePoint User Group, jobs section, I wasnt expecting the critisism I got from an angrw few that are obviously out of work and looking for someone to blame!
"WHEN YOU GUYS DONT HAVE ANY ROLES, ITS BEST YOU DON'T MUCK AROUND WASTING TIME OF ASPIRING CANDIDATES .WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU CAN BEAR THIS IN MIND, BEFORE YOU POST NEXT TIME" - John 2008
"this guy lee steven is just a big time waster and liar. He just a guy sitting at the back of his kitchen bullshiting good professional like us over the phone. He must be banned from this group!" - (Candidate X - Who has been deleted for legal reasons!)
Harsh words!
I didnt really want to get into a public slanging match, but had to defend
myself.
For Candidate X's, Information, It was actually my glorified garden shed I was working
from up until 3 weeks ago! As I only set up the business on a full time basis,
natrually I had to keep costs down!.
As many of the candidates who I have actually found work for will vouch, this had no affect on my ability to do my job!
Not sure what I actually did to offend Candidate X, however, I am assuming
this was because I was unable to source him a contract? (This could have been
the unrealistic rate he wanted, lack of desire to be flexible on location and
/or simply other candiates being more suitable? who knows?)
Either way, I would offered him the chance to discuss any grievences he may have directly rather than discuss this on the forum.
Recruitment agencies get a lot of stick, quite rightly so, however, Aardvark Resourcing are trying to go about our business in a professional and ethical manner. (Unlike many other agencies).
Candidates have to remember, we are only as good as the people we are
represnting and in the last 2-3 months, we have seen more SharePoint contractors
enter the market and less contracts come available. Do the maths and you will
work out what is happening. Clients now have more choice of Developers to choose
from and it is only going to get worse. Also, we can only pass on the feedback
and information that clients give us. Most of the time this is nothing!!
The contractors that will survive, will be the ones that realise it will be survival
of the fittest out there. Contractors will HAVE to be flexible on location and
rate in the coming months. Unless they do, they will be "sitting on the bench"
for a long while.
Whilst we are clearly are not being affected by the economic downturn as much as other industries, the IT Sector is still being affected.
The first thing that will obviouly go in a business will be the luxury of having contractors. When some are earming up to £750 a day, you can understand why. This essentially means that a lot of guys are now looking for contracts.
I would hope that most people would reliase this but obviously not.
As I regulary post any jobs I have on the SharePoint User Group, jobs section, I wasnt expecting the critisism I got from an angrw few that are obviously out of work and looking for someone to blame!
"WHEN YOU GUYS DONT HAVE ANY ROLES, ITS BEST YOU DON'T MUCK AROUND WASTING TIME OF ASPIRING CANDIDATES .WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU CAN BEAR THIS IN MIND, BEFORE YOU POST NEXT TIME" - John 2008
"this guy lee steven is just a big time waster and liar. He just a guy sitting at the back of his kitchen bullshiting good professional like us over the phone. He must be banned from this group!" - (Candidate X - Who has been deleted for legal reasons!)
Harsh words!
I didnt really want to get into a public slanging match, but had to defend
myself.
For Candidate X's, Information, It was actually my glorified garden shed I was working
from up until 3 weeks ago! As I only set up the business on a full time basis,
natrually I had to keep costs down!.
As many of the candidates who I have actually found work for will vouch, this had no affect on my ability to do my job!
Not sure what I actually did to offend Candidate X, however, I am assuming
this was because I was unable to source him a contract? (This could have been
the unrealistic rate he wanted, lack of desire to be flexible on location and
/or simply other candiates being more suitable? who knows?)
Either way, I would offered him the chance to discuss any grievences he may have directly rather than discuss this on the forum.
Recruitment agencies get a lot of stick, quite rightly so, however, Aardvark Resourcing are trying to go about our business in a professional and ethical manner. (Unlike many other agencies).
Candidates have to remember, we are only as good as the people we are
represnting and in the last 2-3 months, we have seen more SharePoint contractors
enter the market and less contracts come available. Do the maths and you will
work out what is happening. Clients now have more choice of Developers to choose
from and it is only going to get worse. Also, we can only pass on the feedback
and information that clients give us. Most of the time this is nothing!!
The contractors that will survive, will be the ones that realise it will be survival
of the fittest out there. Contractors will HAVE to be flexible on location and
rate in the coming months. Unless they do, they will be "sitting on the bench"
for a long while.
Friday, 17 October 2008
SharePoint Consultant - (NON-CODER) - up to £65k - London
Aardvark Resourcing, a specilaist SharePoint Resourcing agency, are pleased to confirm that our city based client, (Not West london) is one of the UK's leading managed service providers with over 200 staff in the UK and a further 150 Offshore Developers.
They are currently looking for a strong SharePoint Solutions Consultant with experience with a proven track record in designing a solution and preparing a bid. Whict you should have an appreciation of coding, this is CODING IS NOT A REQUIREMENT
You must be excellent at documentation including functional specs, vision scopes, business analysis, running workshops etc.
Please give me a call on 0208 123 1423 if you would like to know more
They are currently looking for a strong SharePoint Solutions Consultant with experience with a proven track record in designing a solution and preparing a bid. Whict you should have an appreciation of coding, this is CODING IS NOT A REQUIREMENT
You must be excellent at documentation including functional specs, vision scopes, business analysis, running workshops etc.
Please give me a call on 0208 123 1423 if you would like to know more
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