Searching the Contract Spy Database & Email Alerts.
Database Searching
Keywords
The search function is a simple cumulative keyword search which searches both the contract title & description for the presence of the keyword(s) entered, and returns a list of matching results. Queries will be performed with fuzziness in auto mode, allowing for near matches to the search term to be retrieved. Search results will be prioritised so that the most relevant matches will be returned at the top of the list.
So entering the term java will return all contracts containing the word java, java developer will return all contracts containing both java and developer (the and is implied). Similarly, searching for the term analyst will return all contracts containing the word analyst, and business intelligence analyst will return contracts containing all 3 terms. The use of quotes to specify an exact phrases (eg “Business Intelligence Developer”) is not supported, and neither are Boolean operators (eg And/Or/Not).
Location
Contracts have been coded with locations provided by Google wherever possible. When searching by location, contracts are returned that either match that location exactly, or are within a (default) 50 mile radius as defined by the software. The search radius can be narrowed or increased as required, using the drop-down filter options on the left-hand panel. So a search for contracts in say, Leeds, can be restricted to a 10 or 20 mile radius, or opened up to 100 or 200 miles as required. The radius search is not operative when searching for an area location such as Scotland, Wales etc, and all jobs will be returned that are in that particular area.
Filtering
A series of filters is provided to enable further refinement of search results. Results can be filtered by £ Rate Range, Contract Type (Duration), Country, State, and City. Whilst the majority of contracts on Contract Spy are defined as Day Rate Contracts with a duration in months, more flexible/short-term freelance opportunities are also listed as Freelance/Hourly contracts. Note that the filtering bands are discrete, so if looking for all contracts paying more than £600 a day for example, both bands £600-£700 and £700 and up need to be selected in separate filtering operations.
Contract Alerts
Email alerts can be easily set up to alert you of contracts matching your desired keywords and location, rate and duration preferences. With this system, you need never miss out on your ideal direct contract for as long as you are a Contract Spy member.
When setting up an email alert, first carry out a search on the site and then, when you are happy with the search results that you see, set up the alert. Clicking on the “email me contracts like this” will open a window for you to enter your registered email address and the frequency of the alert (daily/weekly/monthly). Note that alerts will contain contracts matching the keyword and location preferences entered, as well as any on-screen filtering (eg rate, duration) that is currently set for the session.
In this example, the subscriber is about to set up an alert for all Java contracts in Wales.
A subscriber can set up multiple alerts for their registered email address, however as the alerts are currently not named for identification, you may find a single alert easier to manage.
An alert can be cancelled at any time by clicking on the “cancel alert” link inside the alert email that you receive.
Updated 18th Sep 2020.