Hello guys,

Its been a while i am working in IT (14 months). I saw that working full time is better than contingent working at least for stability. I really want to get stable and stay in one state. I hate this drifter's life now. So, to get a full time job, can i apply full time jobs myself posted in indeed, dice and so on? Or do i have to get contract to hire job first? the reason i'm asking is because of the bloated resume and all the lies it carry. All the full timers, please share me your experience. My status is GC btw. Thanks in advance! :-)

First of all, Full time in US, specially in IT industry, is not a stable job though it looks like a permanent position or stable position. Yes it's better than short term contract position but it's surely not a permanent position like those government jobs in Nepal. I have seen many people in full time getting fired/laid off/left the jobs because of number of different reasons. So just don't think that you will be FTE=Permanent position.

Back to your question, You can apply for FTE jobs in number of different ways
#1 Best way is contract to hire. That way you can negotiate your salary very well as you would have already proven yourself and you would have already known the hiring manager.
#2 Referral thought friends. In Nepal it's called "Source force lagaune" and in US it has fancy name called "Referral"(What a f**king BS). If your referral is good then you are almost hired unless you do terribly bad during interview.
#3 Apply through company website job opening. Most FTE jobs are posted in company website. So apply through there. But your chances to getting selected is very low as there are 100s of other candidates, some with referral or contract to hire, will be there to compete with you
#4 Apply through dice, indeed, linkedin etc. These sites are mostly for contract positions but sometime they do post the FTE jobs
#5 Contact the staffing companies like Roberthalf, cybercoder etc. They do look FTE position for companies. But it's very hard to negotiate with them and I do not like their attitude.

Lastly, for me there is not much of a difference between FTE and Contract position but it's just personal choice. I want all the money handed over to me with Cash but not those BS bonuses, benefits etc and really don't want to kiss my boss's a$$ just to get yearly bonus and promotion. If you don't want to move state by state but want to do contracting jobs then move to hot market like North Carolina, california, washington etc. Since you are just working in IT field only for 14 months which I consider very beginner in IT industry, you should know that once you become FTE they will ask more work from you. Just throw over time compensation expectation from your window. You probably have to work 8-12 hours depending upon your company/hiring manager/team.

As you have GC, Sky is the limit. Good luck!

completely agree with sajhamitra. If you are very strong on your field, move to those it-hubs cities like sajhamitra said. If you are weak or okay or NOT VERY STRONG, and your problem is the contract terminating every 7-8 months, then try cities that have low movement in IT like missouri, mississippi , michigan ( all Ms lol) . People do not prefer to go to these cities, so your job will be long term there due to lack of resources.

I'd like to add a point here. You said you have been working for some 14 months now. That is a very little experience, bro. Please reconsider not taking full-time opportunity for now. As a contractor, of course, you will have to face the hassle to travel statewide. But, at the same time, you will be learning new things and will get more maturity working on different projects and with different people. I have seen a couple of folks who took FTE within a year of their IT experience. Didn't mean to generalize it, no offense, but since most of us come to IT after quitting a limited-paying jobs, what the company offers to work full-time is found as a very enticing offer. Then we settle for a lower annual salary, get stuck at an organization and will regret later. Like I said, I have seen a couple of people did that and are regretting their decisions now.

If I were you, I would try to work as a contractor (or sub-contractor), would move to those cities where IT projects are more and resource supply is less like Sajhamitra and the farting guy said. Good luck!!

If he chooses "contract to hire" option to be FTE, will his "bloated resume and all the lies it carry" affects ?

Can anyone answer to 'tyo din's question?

Tyo din,
Yes all the experiences stated in the resume will be re-evaluated and cross- checked before the transition from "contract to hire" to FTE.
I experienced This. I was cross-checked and all the companies were contacted.

Tyo din,
it depends but as you have already shown your skills/performance to them, you should be good. I have seen some people who have just 2 years real time experience who joined as contractor with 8+ years experience, proven his skills and joined full time for Senior role.
So, As long as your manager is fine, HR is just for formality.

If he chooses "contract to hire" option to be FTE, will his "bloated resume and all the lies it carry" affects ?

--> It all depends upon companies and how badly they want you. If you have proven your skills and in the good book of your manager, converting to full time shouldn't be any issue. I came as a contractor as well and got converted to FTE. I was concerned about those stuff but they didn't even discuss about my resume or any such. I don't even think they did my work experience verification from my prior companies that was listed on my resume. I had to negotiate the salary and they extended me job offer. But again it all depends upon each companies policy.

PS: With 14 month of experience you may land up an entry level position and trust me as an entry level you will be learning and earning very less. So either stick to the same company and try to be converted to full time or like other said move to one of those states where you can find plenty of contract jobs and don't have to relocate from state to state.

This thread looks very informative for people seeking FTE.

My current situation: I have 6+ years of genuine experience as a developer. From last 3 years I have been working as FT Employee at a stable organization. Form past 2 months, I feel that I am not treated equally in comparison to my colleagues and my salary is not so great for the skill-sets I have. So, I am looking for another FT job in hot market IT hubs like Raleigh, Charlotte or Dallas. I am looking for Direct client if possible. I am looking job sites like indeed, dice, LinkedIn etc and also going through the company's direct website( whatever client I know) but no luck. I did contact vendors like Vaco, Apex, Signature etc for FTE but they told that they have only CTH position. I do not want to go through CTH to have FTE position as I will lose my health insurance and other benefits and I am not confident enough that they will hire me after certain time.

Are there any other reliable means (that I am missing) to get direct full time with client?

@ Ramaelo : If you are USC or GC holder and want to go for Indian implementing companies like infosys, tcs, wipro etc, getting full time is very easy. They are implementing partners but not direct client. I do not know much about these companies but I heard that salary and benefits are at least as good as direct client.