25 September 2026
I have been offered permanent roles more than once. I have always declined. Here is why the contractor life — with all its uncertainty — suits me down to the ground.
I have been offered permanent roles more than once. Good ones, too — proper titles, proper salaries, the kind of thing you're supposed to want. I have always declined.
This isn't a complicated decision for me, but it surprises people more than you'd expect. So here's the honest version.
Contracting suits the way I work. I am at my best when I walk into a situation that needs fixing, take ownership of it completely, and see it through. The early days of an engagement — understanding the landscape, reading the stakeholders, building trust quickly, bringing order to something that's been unclear — that's where I operate best. Permanent roles, by their nature, ask you to sustain that energy indefinitely. Contracting asks you to bring it to the places that need it most, and then move on.
There's also something about accountability that contracting gets right. As a contractor, you are only ever as good as your last engagement. There's no hierarchy to shelter behind, no long-term relationship with an employer to coast on. The work speaks. That suits me too.
The uncertainty doesn't bother me in the way people assume it should. Fifteen years in, you develop a feel for the market, for when to move, for what a good engagement looks like before you take it. I've worked across the public sector, financial services, technology, higher education and facilities management. That breadth isn't a gap on a CV — it's a library of context. When I walk into a new organisation I've usually seen something like it before.
What I've never done is sit in a role wondering what the point of it was. Every contract has had a clear problem to solve. That clarity is its own reward.
I should say: contracting isn't for everyone. The lack of a safety net, the gaps between engagements, the administrative weight of running a limited company — these are real. If the idea of any of that keeps you up at night, a permanent role might genuinely be the right choice. But if you're someone who thrives on challenge, who does their best work when the stakes are clear and the ownership is yours, it's worth taking seriously.
I started John Maxwell Ltd in 2011. I have not looked back once.
Want to continue the conversation?
I'm always happy to talk project management.