Am I been taking for a ride

[Angrybunny]

I had one 15 minutes phone interview (non-technical) with a guy at TCS (Indian company) then a week later I was verbally offered the role, via the agency silverlink technologies. This is working for an investment bank in London.

The whole thing feels a little fishy, but the rate is good and it's my first contract offer in London.

I have asked for the contract and silverlink initially told me they couldn't provide it until I knew my company registration number (at that point it wasn't yet formed)
They are now saying until they get an official start date from the client they can't provide it until sometime next week (all seems very vague now)

They've also arranged a conference call on Monday with two guys from TCS (Apparently this is not another interview). Again this seems odd, why offer me the role then arrange this...

I have read about ICT's (intra-company transfers) and wonder if this is related .

Is it usual for agencies to hold back a contract after the role has been offered? (seems very odd, I'm sure they could just provide a draft)

[stek]

Haha, Silverlink!! Are you mad???

[BrilloPad]

You are best to keep looking round.

Never except a contract verbally. Always say - I agree dependent on getting a written offer.

[Angrybunny]

You are best to keep looking round.

Never except a contract verbally. Always say - I agree dependent on getting a written offer.

On Friday they asked me to go to Liverpool (the job is in London) to see someone from TCS. I said 'well I had actually seen the contract I might but as I don't work for the company as yet I don't want to go all that way'

That's when they arranged the phone call on Monday.

I'll keep looking!

[BrilloPad]

On Friday they asked me to go to Liverpool (the job is in London) to see someone from TCS. I said 'well I had actually seen the contract I might but as I don't work for the company as yet I don't want to go all that way'

That's when they arranged the phone call on Monday.

I'll keep looking!

It is very annoying. Sometimes you are the statue and and sometimes the pigeon. Good luck.

[kingcook]

It is very annoying. Sometimes you are the statue and and sometimes the pigeon. Good luck.

[BlasterBates]

I mean it's not like it's a con job, no-one is asking you to transfer some money. Agents don't run you around for a "joke", it also takes up their time. Obviously there seems to be quite a few parties involved and especially in banks the approval and so on can take a while.

[Dominic Connor]

Body shops are like this

Like Blasterbates I don't see this as some sort of fraud, just the sort of issue you have been dealing with body shops.

What you have in effect is two layers of agent, so both need to know that the client is going to take you on.
More moving parts = more delay + more things to go wrong.

I defer to others on whether Silverlink is good or bad.

In effect the other conference call is an interview, from my experience both as a pimp and as a contractor this will probably be with the sales/account manager for that bank and the project manager.

The idea of body shops is that they "add value" by managing you and since their margins are a *lot* higher than the agency will want to make sure you are unlikely to piss in their pool.

The "value add" of BS's is highly variable, but typically it means there is something like a team and they will watch out for you a little bit, so once you've got through the crud of actually getting the contract on average it will be a better gig for a first timer. There will be more bureaucracy, when I was in a body shop deal once I had three sets of time sheets to do, one for the agency, one for the body shop and one for the client, each of which was on a different basis, ie hours for the agency, days for the BS, and half hours for the client each associated with a project code.

There will probably be a bit more politics.

As a straight contractor you mostly turn up, fight the system and go home.

In a BS, they will be trying to get in on new projects, trying to make the screwups look like someone else's fault and the permies will often see you as an outsider more than if you were hired straight.

Contracts are Boolean, you have on or you do not. If you have a contract then you are obliged to make the best of it, if they have not sent you one then neither party is under any obligation at all, so you should keep your ears open to offers.

[Angrybunny]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Dominic.

I'll keep my optimistic hat on.

[vetran]

I have seen and have used (inadvertently) vendors for free consultancy, until they send you a signed contract they aren't agreeing to pay you anything. That is Key, luckily you have avoided expending any money so far. Look for other contracts as well, they may change their mind.

Now this may be a personal experience but I don't have a lot of time for TCS, many of the guys there are really nice but they were happy to work people for expertise first time I met them and many of their guys though intelligent had little experience.

On Monday if they start asking you how to solve explicit technical problems be a little cagey, by all means name all the seven dwarves but don't tell them to kiss Snow white. Wait until you have a contract in your hand so you can be sure about the problem and you can show them, you wouldn't waste their time with duff gen.