The “consultant without project” phase is something lots of consultants go through. You sometimes experience periods without projects or job offers. Sometimes it is seasonal (Companies usually don’t start up a new project during Christmas and Summer Holiday season), and sometimes it’s simply because no one is hiring. It happens. In 2015 I went through several months of no-projects-for-me, and since I was quite new to the consultant business, I had to learn how to tackle those periods – the hard way. It’s my hope that others in this situation can use these experiences, for inspiration, or at least for knowing that you are not alone.

Stage 1: Slept in. Then, despaired.

The first days were great! It was like finishing university again. I slept in, updated my CV, read all the things I had wanted to read for some time.. I was sure there was going to be a gig for me in a very near future. But after the first days of sleeping in, I started getting restless. I’d like to mention that I like to do stuff. I get involved in loads of things. I should also mention that at this point in time I just came from a tester position in a company that underwent major changes, and as a result, testing was increasingly ignored. So I was already pretty tired of showing up for work, staring at my screen, just waiting for the day to end. I was eager to get my hands dirty in some proper testing projects. And here I was, in a new awesome company, and I couldn’t really do anything or contribute with anything. Bummer. Despair started creeping up behind me.