Contracting rather than being directly employed by a business is not for everyone. It comes with its own pitfalls and hurdles, but the truth is that it comes with plenty of rewards and benefits too.

Many startup companies prefer to hire contractors to work with them over the standard employee approach. This is because it means that they are not hiring someone directly and having to worry about the regulations that go with that, but that they are still ensuring that they have someone who will get the work done to a high standard. 

If you are looking to work as a contractor for a startup, you will want to know a little more about the process and what you can expect. So, to help you, we have put together some of our top tips on how to get a job in a startup as a contractor in the UK. 

Learn as much as you can about the business

Once you have been told that you have been invited to an interview, you need to make sure that you learn as much as you can about the business you want to work for. Find out where they came from, where they started and whether you can see how far they have come. 

Let them know that you are not only interested in what they can do right now but also want to help push them forward to the future, too (as well as how you are best placed to help them do it). 

Think about your day-rate

When you apply for a standard job whereby you are employed, you will be told how much you will earn per year. However, as a contractor, you must set your salary as a part of your contract (although the startup may give you a ballpark figure on their budget). 

For the most part, a contractor’s salary will be higher than a standard salary because it doesn’t include the same perks, and you must work out your own tax etc. If you are not sure, then speak to other contractors providing the same service and see what they charge. 

Read through the documentation

If you are lucky enough to be selected to work with the startup as a contractor, there will be some paperwork and documentation that you will need to go through. Whilst it is tempting to whizz through and not give it too much thought, you need to ensure that you pay full attention to what you are signing up for. 

This is also the time when you may want to put forward working hours as this will be something that forms a part of your contract and might be challenging to change as time goes by.

Find the startups where they are

Many startup companies do not have the same advertising budgets as corporates so they might be using alternative/free job boards as a start and you can find them on incubation/acceleration centres websites, second-tier hiring platforms or their own webpages. There are specific hiring platforms built for startups without any recruiters as an intermediary such as workinstartups.com and many others.

Whilst you may start working with a company as a contractor, it might not always stay that way. As they grow and expand, so might their need for employees, which means that you will be at the forefront of their minds regarding full-time employment.