Agent bullying techniques

[ChristyP]

What approach do you take when you have certain recruiters make you feel tulip about your current situation and try to bully you into taking a contract at a lower rate?

I've been out of work a few months now but I'd prefer to hold on until I find a contract relevant to my skills and experience. I had an agent recently telling me that I should take a role paying 200 less than what I usually charge as who knows when I will next be in work, very pushy - almost felt cornered! Then they proceeded to pester me about one of my previous contracts and give them my managers phone number so he could put in a pitch and get me back on site. When I declined he said that could be a missed opportunity! I don't know about you but this isn't good practice and I don't think anyones manager would be too pleased with you giving out their details to recruiters. Isn't that their job to get us into a role?

Maybe a slow day in the office but seemed desparate for a lead or any info at all!

Thoughts?

[NotAllThere]

What approach do you take when you have certain recruiters make you feel tulip about your current situation and try to bully you into taking a contract at a lower rate?

I've been out of work a few months now but I'd prefer to hold on until I find a contract relevant to my skills and experience. I had an agent recently telling me that I should take a role paying 200 less than what I usually charge as who knows when I will next be in work, very pushy - almost felt cornered! Then they proceeded to pester me about one of my previous contracts and give them my managers phone number so he could put in a pitch and get me back on site. When I declined he said that could be a missed opportunity! I don't know about you but this isn't good practice and I don't think anyones manager would be too pleased with you giving out their details to recruiters. Isn't that their job to get us into a role?

Maybe a slow day in the office but seemed desparate for a lead or any info at all!

Thoughts?

I developed a thick skin.

If you think a former manager might be interested in re-hiring you, you can talk to him directly. Why have an agency approach him? Makes no sense.

[northernladuk]

Are you sure they aren't being pushy rather than bullying?

If you can't deal with pushy agents then you really need to get out of contracting I'm afraid. It's part and parcel of the game.
Not often thankfully but you will bump in to them time to time. Gotta grow some and just get on with it.

[psychocandy]

Are you sure they aren't being pushy rather than bullying?

If you can't deal with pushy agents then you really need to get out of contracting I'm afraid. It's part and parcel of the game.
Not often thankfully but you will bump in to them time to time. Gotta grow some and just get on with it.

NLUK - Actually spot on for 2nd time ever ever ever....

[DeludedKitten]

What approach do you take when you have certain recruiters make you feel tulip about your current situation and try to bully you into taking a contract at a lower rate?

Either take the new rate or don't, that's business not bullying.

Of course they may know the market better than you do (some might, you never know!) and be right to take the money now rather than have no money for a longer stint.

[GhostofTarbera]

Sounds like a good salesman to me

Grow some


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[uk contractor]

What approach do you take when you have certain recruiters make you feel tulip about your current situation and try to bully you into taking a contract at a lower rate?

I've been out of work a few months now but I'd prefer to hold on until I find a contract relevant to my skills and experience. I had an agent recently telling me that I should take a role paying 200 less than what I usually charge as who knows when I will next be in work, very pushy - almost felt cornered! Then they proceeded to pester me about one of my previous contracts and give them my managers phone number so he could put in a pitch and get me back on site. When I declined he said that could be a missed opportunity! I don't know about you but this isn't good practice and I don't think anyones manager would be too pleased with you giving out their details to recruiters. Isn't that their job to get us into a role?

Maybe a slow day in the office but seemed desparate for a lead or any info at all!

Thoughts?

Read this from most recent post go back a few pages and see how uncommon this actually is!
https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...ences-119.html

[man]

What approach do you take when you have certain recruiters make you feel tulip about your current situation and try to bully you into taking a contract at a lower rate?

I've been out of work a few months now but I'd prefer to hold on until I find a contract relevant to my skills and experience. I had an agent recently telling me that I should take a role paying 200 less than what I usually charge as who knows when I will next be in work, very pushy - almost felt cornered! Then they proceeded to pester me about one of my previous contracts and give them my managers phone number so he could put in a pitch and get me back on site. When I declined he said that could be a missed opportunity! I don't know about you but this isn't good practice and I don't think anyones manager would be too pleased with you giving out their details to recruiters. Isn't that their job to get us into a role?

Maybe a slow day in the office but seemed desparate for a lead or any info at all!

Thoughts?

Their job, in their mind at least, is to get a bum (any bum) onto a client's seat. If the client wants a purple unicorn with a yellow stick for cheap, they want you to be a purple unicorn with a yellow stick for super cheap (so they can pocket the difference). Most of them couldn't give a monkeys if you're happy or even content as long as the client is happy to take you on and you turn up. This is B2B so there are next to no protections against poor treatment and pushy / bullying behaviours apart from their conscience and whatever boundaries you enforce with them. Add to this that some of them are genuinely desperate as they work in harsh KPI driven sales environments and will be out on their ear if they don't 'sell'. I speak to a lot so I've had a good handful try to 'neg' me (sounds like your guy), and I generally find it's the ones without an actual contract or a real crap contract that tend to do it - maybe because they know they're on the back foot?

I will just point out that there's some real diamonds in the rough, and those are guys I keep in my pocket and contact with (I'm very thankful when I encounter the good guys as there's too many jokers).

My approach is to argue my case, point out I can wait, and never back down to the outrageous. It may or may not be effective but I like to educate when I can (maybe every so often one of them listens to me), and while I'm on the bench I've got time.

You're quite right, don't provide manager's names and numbers as you will merely be inviting a pushy sales call on that person and potentially your name getting dropped too.

And lastly, good luck.