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Find out which recruiters are most trusted...

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    Find out which recruiters are most trusted...

    I'm a lifelong city contractor and I've spent the last year and a half building a tool to allow contractors to keep their trusted recruiters up-to-date with their requirements.

    As contractors don't you wish you had a tool that let you manage your recruiters more efficiently?

    If you're unavailable update recruiters without becoming searchable, or giving access to your contact details.

    Privacy and trust controls are built-in to protect your details. Contractors choose the recruiters they trust allowing us to league tables of recruiter trust to members.

    It's called Secret Status

    We've pushed contractors requirements discretely to a number of recruiters now.

    I'd love feedback, I answer all questions personally

    Thanks
    Ben Ritchie
    Founder
    28
    It's perfect!
    10.71%
    3
    Needs a recruiter directory
    21.43%
    6
    Needs email/pass login as well as social
    14.29%
    4
    I don't trust it to not spam me
    25.00%
    7
    I don't want to update recruiters online
    28.57%
    8
    Last edited by benjiman; 1 August 2013, 21:37.

    #2
    There's absolutely no way I would consider using a social login for something like this. I don't know who you are, I have no idea what your history is, I have no idea that you will do what you say you will with my data.

    But you expect me to share my Google / LinkedIn / Facebook login with you?

    Given that your privacy policy is just standard boilerplate text that you haven't even bothered to replace with your own details, and the website doesn't include any information about the company (like the bits that you are required to include by law), there's no way I'd be signing up.

    And I really don't understand what it's meant to be used for - if an agent can find me work, and I'm looking, then I'll deal with them. If an agent contacts me and I'm not looking, I tell them to call me in three months (or whenever I will be looking). If I'm looking and agents aren't calling me, then I call the ones that I want to talk to, and rely on applying for roles for the rest of them.

    So for those reasons, I'm out.
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    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by TheFaQQer View Post
      There's absolutely no way I would consider using a social login for something like this. I don't know who you are, I have no idea what your history is, I have no idea that you will do what you say you will with my data.

      But you expect me to share my Google / LinkedIn / Facebook login with you?

      Given that your privacy policy is just standard boilerplate text that you haven't even bothered to replace with your own details, and the website doesn't include any information about the company (like the bits that you are required to include by law), there's no way I'd be signing up.

      And I really don't understand what it's meant to be used for - if an agent can find me work, and I'm looking, then I'll deal with them. If an agent contacts me and I'm not looking, I tell them to call me in three months (or whenever I will be looking). If I'm looking and agents aren't calling me, then I call the ones that I want to talk to, and rely on applying for roles for the rest of them.

      So for those reasons, I'm out.
      +1. Count this as a vote for the missing 'I'd rather trust AndyW's mum's pimp's sociopathic drug dealing brother with my details' option.

      Comment


        #4
        I'll chip in here and say that I happen to know Ben and he is genuine. We were on the same team for a couple of years in Canary Wharf. He's told me about his project before so I recognised it immediately, I know he's been working hard on it for some time.

        @Ben - I agree with both the TheFaQQer's points. I don't like social sign-ins for fear my personal data is being shared and you do need to put all your company contact details on the site by law. e.g. some info here : Is you website legal?. I'll play around with it later and email you my thoughts.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by benjiman View Post
          Ive spent the last year and a half building a tool to allow contractors to keep their trusted recruiters up-to-date with their requirements.
          My trusted recruiters?

          Were I have to have found a single recruiter that I trusted in the last thirty years then I would simply E-mail them if I thought that they could give a monkey's toss about my requirements. But I haven't and they couldn't.

          Comment


            #6
            Keep it coming guys!

            Appreciate your considered feedback TheFaQQer, and to Lewis for vouching for my authenticity.

            if an agent can find me work, and I'm looking, then I'll deal with them. If an agent contacts me and I'm not looking, I tell them to call me in three months (or whenever I will be looking). If I'm looking and agents aren't calling me, then I call the ones that I want to talk to, and rely on applying for roles for the rest of them.
            Surely there is room for improvement on the existing model you outline? It seems awfully inefficient to continue ask recruiters to do catch-up calls all day, when we could just open up to offers when we are ready.

            Im willing to accept that we didn't get it right, but not that the current system is working.

            I see that as the old way of doing it, hope that they call you if you happen to be looking. Do we really think in five years we'll still be doing this?

            Why not just engage the 10-20 recruiter individuals you trust, tell the others you're not available, and then shut it all down neatly and quickly at the end?

            Recruiters will race to help you when they know that your requirements have also been delivered to other recruiters at the same time via us.

            you expect me to share my Google / LinkedIn / Facebook login with you?
            We don't get access to your login username or password, it's an OAuth request for your first and last names, photo and email. Perhaps we can better explain this on the site.. Does that change anything?

            I'm working on an 'old fashioned' username and password login right now, simple stuff really..

            your privacy policy is just standard boilerplate text
            That's lazy of us I admit. I am trying to get some legal counsel on the exact wording, it's not cheap, and I figured I would start talking to people about the product anyway. I'll get it finalised asap, and report back.

            Keep the feedback coming guys, we've seen it work for people, so we believe in it, I hope I can gain a deeper understanding of what's holding some people back.

            Comment


              #7
              We can't help those who don't use recruiters!

              Originally posted by flipFlop View Post
              My trusted recruiters?

              Were I have to have found a single recruiter that I trusted in the last thirty years then I would simply E-mail them if I thought that they could give a monkey's toss about my requirements. But I haven't and they couldn't.
              We are thinking about allowing candidates to find and add direct hiring managers in future, to help you reach out to a wider network, including ex-bosses when you come back on the market. Does that sound like it would help you see the use of our product?

              Comment


                #8
                I have a text file containing about a dozen or so email addresses of agents who I trust (have worked for or I feell have made an effort in the past), and when I need a new contract, I attach my cv, paste the email addresses into the bcc box, enter a message explaining when and where and what I am looking for and press Send.

                Obviously this is backed up by Jobserve, TECHNO-JOBS , CW Jobs etc but this gets the ball rolling and informs my trusted agents that I am looking.

                Update Linked-In status too, etc..
                Never has a man been heard to say on his death bed that he wishes he'd spent more time in the office.

                Comment


                  #9
                  And love the idea of a public poll.

                  Rather indicative of the discretion to be expected, I think.
                  "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
                  - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by benjiman View Post
                    Surely there is room for improvement on the existing model you outline? It seems awfully inefficient to continue ask recruiters to do catch-up calls all day, when we could just open up to offers when we are ready.
                    I don't care whether it's inefficient for the recruiter or not - they are the ones making the decision to call / email me. Maybe you need to sell this to recruiters so that they then only accept information from your site, so they don't have to make the calls, but I can't see that happening.

                    Originally posted by benjiman View Post
                    I see that as the old way of doing it, hope that they call you if you happen to be looking. Do we really think in five years we'll still be doing this?
                    Who can say what will happen in five years time? By then, the contracting market could well have been destroyed by successive governments allowing cheap on-shore resources so that your only choice is to go permie with Wipro etc.

                    Most agents that I have regular contact with call me, update their system to show when I'm available and then either (a) call me with a role when I'm available; (b) call me with a role when I'm unavailable because it sounds good; (c) don't call me because they don't have a role.

                    When the market is slow, do they really have time to check emails from you to say that I'm available? Unless there is an interface into their systems (whatever they may be) to show when someone is available or not, then I don't see you adding value to their business model.

                    Originally posted by benjiman View Post
                    Why not just engage the 10-20 recruiter individuals you trust, tell the others you're not available, and then shut it all down neatly and quickly at the end?
                    Because not all recruiters who I've worked with cover all the roles out there? There are recruiters I've never emailed or spoken to before who get in touch with new roles - if I'm not interested, then I tell them that. I don't spend a great deal of time fretting about people contacting me, particularly if I'm looking for a new project. Anything which limits the chances of me finding a new project isn't good business as far as I can see.

                    Originally posted by benjiman View Post
                    Recruiters will race to help you when they know that your requirements have also been delivered to other recruiters at the same time via us.
                    I think that's naive.

                    Originally posted by benjiman View Post
                    We don't get access to your login username or password, it's an OAuth request for your first and last names, photo and email. Perhaps we can better explain this on the site.. Does that change anything?
                    Not really. There will always be a perception that you could access data, email addresses etc from any of those sources. Whether that is an accurate perception or not, it's something that will put people off.
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