Ask the Agent

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

We all know of one agent that has come out of hiding and is prepared to address concerns and questions from contractors and I am sure there are others that lurk so I thought I 'd start a thread for a healthy discourse between recruiters and contractors. So who wants to go first then.............................................. .........

[BolshieBastard]

All the questions I'd ask, I already know the answer.

Like,

Q. Why do you phone me up on a phishing exercise?
A. We need to get leads

Q. Why arent you upfront and tell the contractor the daily budget the client has for a role instead of being underhand and telling the contractor the max is £xxx a day while keeping another hundred or so back for yourselves?
A. We have to make some mark up

Q. Why do you get a drone to phone me saying Im suitable for a role and take up 15 to 20 minutes of my time when all the drone will do is pass my cv over to an account manager (not the client) to make a decision?
A. Someone has to sift all the extra applicants out

Q. Why do you ask stupid questions like why is there a 3 month break in your cv and then dont accept the answer?
A. Because the client wants to know

Q. Why dont you treat contractors as proper businesses instead of temps?
A. What's a proper business?

There are more.

[northernladuk]

Lol... Ought to rename the thread Ask Bolshie!

[Justin Control]

.......

Q. Why dont you treat contractors as proper businesses instead of temps?
A. What's a proper business? .....

Actually the agent is right.

If you were running a proper business you wouldn't be dealing with him in the first place.

[AnonAgent]

All the questions I'd ask, I already know the answer.

Like,

Q. Why do you phone me up on a phishing exercise?
A. We need to get leads

Q. Why arent you upfront and tell the contractor the daily budget the client has for a role instead of being underhand and telling the contractor the max is £xxx a day while keeping another hundred or so back for yourselves?
A. We have to make some mark up

Q. Why do you get a drone to phone me saying Im suitable for a role and take up 15 to 20 minutes of my time when all the drone will do is pass my cv over to an account manager (not the client) to make a decision?
A. Someone has to sift all the extra applicants out

Q. Why do you ask stupid questions like why is there a 3 month break in your cv and then dont accept the answer?
A. Because the client wants to know

Q. Why dont you treat contractors as proper businesses instead of temps?
A. What's a proper business?

There are more.

Pretty much right.

Q. Why do you all complain about agents asking you for references/interviews. Surely it's the most sensible way of gaining market information

Q. How do you want to be treated when your I'm a contract by your agent? And unfortunately it's unlikely your agent has the power to give you more money

[chef]

Why do Agents act like they have had an injustice when after consistently paying a few days late they are charged a late payment fee? And then question "is a few days late really that late?"

[mos]

Why do Agents act like they have had an injustice when after consistently paying a few days late they are charged a late payment fee? And then question "is a few days late really that late?"

in this context, yes. if you are taking on a default risk of a company with no real assets, within industry known for dirty tricks designed to tulip up creditors, even a few days past due date is a big concern (I learnt that a very hard way).

[sunflower]

Some problem areas with agents:

Sending cv to clients without your permission.

Placing false adverts to acquire cvs and references.

Requesting information on any other applications to fish leads.

If agents are new to recruitment or to IT areas, they might tend to work on buzzwords rather than understanding what the client requires and what is on your cv. A full training program might help to make the matching process work better. Wastes less time on the part of the agent and the contractors.

Refinement of company databases so that contractors are not spammed with adverts for permanent roles.

[Andy Hallett]

Ask the Agent

Some problem areas with agents:

Sending cv to clients without your permission.

Placing false adverts to acquire cvs and references.

Requesting information on any other applications to fish leads.

If agents are new to recruitment or to IT areas, they might tend to work on buzzwords rather than understanding what the client requires and what is on your cv. A full training program might help to make the matching process work better. Wastes less time on the part of the agent and the contractors.

Refinement of company databases so that contractors are not spammed with adverts for permanent roles.

Some interesting points. 1&2 happen, but are breaches of the Employment Agencies Regs. If you experience it report to the company's trade body for a speedy resolution or BIS if they are not affiliated.

Point 3 is basic sales. Agents will want to know what the are up against from your signature, and try to sell you against that role or get other candidates there. It's your company information, don't leak it.

Point 4. After a while I worked out that its as much about the personality, track record and peer feedback of a contractor as opposed to how many times they could mention the latest and greatest technology. Matching technical bits is the easy bit, the skill is matching hiring manager to contractor.

Point 5. 100% agree, as it happens better and more relevant alerting to opportunities is a current project I am working on. With the amount of e-mail out there we need to make sure our content is relevant and interesting. It's a bit commercially sensitive right now but I'll be asking for your thoughts when we pilot / launch!

[Andy Hallett]

Ask the Agent

Why do Agents act like they have had an injustice when after consistently paying a few days late they are charged a late payment fee? And then question "is a few days late really that late?"

I've had one in the last year when we had been at fault. I paid it same day, not worth the hassle you would put us through for the sake of a nifty!

As a company, we ourselves reserve the right to invoice for LPF and interest but generally it is seen as commercial suicide to so. Our client would simply choose an agency that didn't bust their balls when payment was 'a few days late'.

The charging of late payment fees probably show how little contractors value the role of their agents. Technically, in this chain the agency is the customer and you are hitting your 'customer' with a LPF. So this means is that although contractors are technically suppliers, they feel like, and expect to be treated as customers - a point not lost on me.