> I get told a lot that I do good work and I'm a good communicator. But they never follow-up to give me future contract work. > Like I have been told I do grea

> I get told a lot that I do good work and I'm a good communicator. But they never follow-up to give me future contract work. > Like I have been told I do great work but they never want to re-engage for more work. Not in six months, not in two or four years. That is strong signal of some problem to me. Either your niche is screwed or you have some issue they don't want to tell you about. Did you ask them enough feedback about your performance during your work time? Maybe you need to be more proactive? Be proactive with pay and role. Foremost it is unusual to get any pay rise or promotion as contractor, you should explicitly ask for it before renewal, but you need to also have confidence you have grounds to do it. Be proactive with discovering the company and people there. During your work term if you smell the project dries out you should proactively seek what else you can work on there - this is often easiest way to jump into a new competence. Be proactive with asking guys from past companies how is the stuff going and that you are available to help them with it if there is any need. You are remote, right, but can you arrange frequent on-site visits to show up and gain human trust which you can later turn into Slack chit-chat? > I already have built several personal projects online, as a result of the boredom of unemployment. So that's already an ongoing process. Be proactive! Certifications, trainings. Don't become unemployment victim, say you run planned self-development time now. > I started going to meetups more, though not always easy to go to the downtown ones due to parking and time constraints. But I'm going to a few of the ones I can. Be proactive! Give presentation, share some knowledge, experience, how-to. Politely tell on your contact slide that you are currently available for hire. Be proactive with job channels too. Improve your LinkedIn profile, buy month of Pro package for exposure. Reach out to local recruiters and agencies - they have vast networks for sure. They will tell you how to improve your CV and pitch to get foot into the door. And finally if your niche doesn't serve you, find a new one.