Anyone work for GE as a contractor?

[TexasBushwhacker]

I got a call from a recruiter about a 10 month contract with GE. Given that it was contract only, I told him my rate, which he said was 20% too high. It would have been a long commute too. I would really like to get back to working full time though, but ultimately decided to pass. I'm wondering if I was too hasty though. Has anyone here had a contract job with GE turn into a permanent, full time job?

[democratisphere]

1. You made the right decision.

[TexasBushwhacker]

4. Thanks. I think so

Getting low balled by a multi-billion $$$ corporation just didn't sit right with me, especially when it was contract only.

[democratisphere]

6. GE used to be a great company that treated its employees, contractors

and vendors fairly and decently. I know first hand that is no longer true. The 20% discount on your services says it all. It used to be called the "GE Corporate Challenge"; your challenge was to survive on what they were willing to pay you!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. If you had taken 20% less than you are worth for contract, it would have been very difficult to make

that up if they had offered you FTE. They would have figured that the benefits package made up that amount, when you would have been looking for salary. Plus, you'd be locked into a long commute.

[TexasBushwhacker]

3. Well, if I got FTE, I'd move closer

I'm a renter right now, so when I find FTE I can move closer if the commute is too much of a burden. But I'm I'm hesitant to back down on my salary requirement. It isn't unreasonable for my experience level and I already took a hit in the last recession when I was laid off and before that when I took time off to care for my mom. My highest salary was in 2003! I'm just trying to get back to where I was.

[Roland99]

5. GE is hurting. Big time. Stock at all time lows

My Dad passed a little over three years ago. Sold his stock so my stepmother could buy a new house and setup a conservative investment vehicle for her.

Glad I did as it was near a multi year high then. Would have been enough to maybe buy a car instead of a house if we’d held it in GE stock

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. Thanks for the info. At least the low stock price hits TPTB in the pocketbook

They'll have to squeak by on their multi-million $$$ salaries.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

8. GE was a client of mine prior to retirement. As with most organizations it's possible to negotiate

your rate. The key is to not disclose your requirements too early in the process, which most people do screening themselves out before they have an opportunity to make their case.

Best of luck!

[TexasBushwhacker]

9. If the offer was straight from GE it would be negotiable.

Unfortunately, it was via a recruiter, which means they have to pay the recruiter too. Those invoices aren't cheap. As a bookkeeper, I've paid them. So, I imagine it was paying as much as I could ever hope for. If it was an ideal position I might have gone for it, but it wasn't. I'm not unemployed right now, just underemployed. I can afford to hold out for better.