interview with agency, via google hangout

[northernladuk]

no harm in it, I'm asking the question as it's not an approach i'm familiar with and just checking in case countless others have done similar (and if it was worthwhile or not)!

It does happen from time to time, ive attended two of these but turned down quite a few more. If by worthwhile you mean landing a gig then I'd say no but if it's worthwhile to potentially build your network up then possibly.

Give it a shot and and see what you think. Drop us a note to tell us how it's went.

[jmo21]

5 questions eh?

1) What are your previous 5 managers names?

2) What are their phone numbers?

3) What is the lowest rate you would take for a role?

4) Would you consider permie?

5) What are your previous 5 managers names?

[moneymoney]

5 questions eh?

1) What are your previous 5 managers names?

2) What are their phone numbers?

3) What is the lowest rate you would take for a role?

4) Would you consider permie?

5) What are your previous 5 managers names?

haha I'll be telling them to jog on at the first sniff of that line of questioning

[LondonManc]

I've had technical pre-screening questions before now - if the agent is new to the area, they'll need something to distinguish between good and bad candidates. It might also be part of agent training that we're not aware of, where they are being trained how to screen candidates and learn how to drop questions into conversations with ever-increasing subtlety

[WTFH]

Cynical mode:
Is it definitely an agency and not someone (contractor or end client) trying to get specific answers to their problems?

[MrMarkyMark]

FTFY

if the agent is new to the area, they'll need something to pick up some useful keywords, so it sounds like he actually knows something about the subject, when he speaks to, future, potential clients

[LondonManc]

Cynical mode:
Is it definitely an agency and not someone (contractor or end client) trying to get specific answers to their problems?

I've heard of that before. I'd wait and see what the five questions are first - overly specific and I'd smell a rat. It could be that they want a specific subset of skills, though, for a particular problem.

[moneymoney]

I've heard of that before. I'd wait and see what the five questions are first - overly specific and I'd smell a rat. It could be that they want a specific subset of skills, though, for a particular problem.

the contact came through linkedin, so he's a legitimate recruiter (as much as they can be) or if not, he's gone to a lot of effort building up a profile, contacts and history

he has sent on a spec and told me about the client it is for, which all adds up, so it might be legit......i'll go ahead with it and update tomorrow with the questions

[MrMarkyMark]

he has sent on a spec and told me about the client it is for, which all adds up, so it might be legit......i'll go ahead with it and update tomorrow with the questions

If that's the case, I would go for it, then

[LondonManc]

the contact came through linkedin, so he's a legitimate recruiter (as much as they can be) or if not, he's gone to a lot of effort building up a profile, contacts and history

he has sent on a spec and told me about the client it is for, which all adds up, so it might be legit......i'll go ahead with it and update tomorrow with the questions

If you've got a specific role and client then great. Could be that LinkedIn is a new way of operating for some of them (could mean that they don't have to share leads on corporate systems).