Getting out of Recruitment Consultant Contract

[northernladuk]

The way I see it is my client had a budget of £400/day to employ me. £120 of that money is pigeon-holed for the recruitment consultant. I take home £280/day.

Given that my current contract is going to go on for a year, why should some university-drop-out recruitment consultant get £120/day for the next year. Profiting out of my skills, my intelligence, my hard earned work. All they did was read my CV and send it to my client, and they get £600/week for the next year for that?

They are parasites! They earn money by other people's hard work and watch the money roll in whilst I go out and work for it.

I'm doing the work, why don't I get the full £400?

Greed? No hard earned cash! Earned by my intelligence, my experience and my skills.

The price for reading a CV and sending it to my current client: £31,200/year

And the same recruitment consultant placed 5 contractors here: £156,000/year

Not bad for dropping out of uni and doing 10 minutes work reading and e-mailing a CV!

Some things money can't buy, for everything else, read a contractors CV £156,000 - priceless!

Seems you carried on in the same vein you did earlier then so will I. If the numbers you quoted are correct there is only one loser in the loop. Want to guess who it is? You have been taken for a complete mug if your agent is taking nearly half of what you do. Funniest thing is you took it and are now crying.

You can't go forcasting those numbers in to yearly numbers and then adding more contractors as the agent has fallen on his feet with you. If you read the forums normal percentages are between 12% up to 20% if I read the previous threads.... that is unless they get some sucker from who they can take a lot more.

You won't get any sympathy on this forum in your situation I am afraid. You accepted it, you shoulder it and you deal with it. If you don't like it.... leave.

why don't I get the full £400?

And if you can't work this one out for yourself there is no point us trying to explain.

Would you have a job right now if it wasn't for agents I would like to know?
When did you get your degree and how long have you been contracting I would also like to know?

I have been in situations where having negotiated with a client they do not wish to go direct and prefer to manage through one or two preferred suppliers. I have been asked to therefore sign up with an agency who then charges an addition fee percentage on top. Normally 10-15%.

In this situation then yes I agree MF is right but a) this isn't common and b) this isn't the situation that the OP is in. I would hazard a guess that most agents get a fixed sum to which they have to screw us as tight as they can to up their rate. Every so often one falls on his feet and takes on the OP and he is quids in. Agent gets the cash and pass a paltry sum on to the contractor. In this case OP gets a slice of the agents money.

[SueEllen]

The way I see it is my client had a budget of £400/day to employ me. £120 of that money is pigeon-holed for the recruitment consultant. I take home £280/day.

Given that my current contract is going to go on for a year, why should some university-drop-out recruitment consultant get £120/day for the next year. Profiting out of my skills, my intelligence, my hard earned work. All they did was read my CV and send it to my client, and they get £600/week for the next year for that?

Stop presuming your agent is a university drop out.

I know current and former agents with degrees including firsts. I have in my time come across agents who actually worked in IT but found they could earn more being an agent.

They are parasites! They earn money by other people's hard work and watch the money roll in whilst I go out and work for it.

Why don't you pick up the phone and do cold calls? Why don't you network? That way you can get your own roles and won't be allowing the agents to get their management fee.

There is nothing stopping you towards the end of your contract contacting all the previous clients you worked for.

There is nothing stopping you cold calling new clients or networking to find new ones.

I'm doing the work, why don't I get the full £400?

Because you haven't done the above. If you do then you get the full £400.

Greed? No hard earned cash! Earned by my intelligence, my experience and my skills.

If you are intelligent you would have worked out how agencies work.

The price for reading a CV and sending it to my current client: £31,200/year

And the same recruitment consultant placed 5 contractors here: £156,000/year

Not bad for dropping out of uni and doing 10 minutes work reading and e-mailing a CV!

Some things money can't buy, for everything else, read a contractors CV £156,000 - priceless!

You obviously intelligent but lack emotional intelligence otherwise:
1. You would be able to network and market yourself so you are hired direct, OR
2. Negotiate a better rate from the agency.

[northernladuk]

If you are intelligent you would have worked out how agencies work.

Ouch!!! SueEllen! tut.. you run out of coffee in the office today? Not like you

You obviously intelligent but lack emotional intelligence otherwise:
1. You would be able to network and market yourself so you are hired direct, OR
2. Negotiate a better rate from the agency.
3. You would put a more reasoned post together rather than crying.

FTFY

Not bad for dropping out of uni and doing 10 minutes work reading and e-mailing a CV!

Some things money can't buy, for everything else, read a contractors CV £156,000 - priceless!

How are we supposed to have a reasoned discussion with you when you write this poop. Your lack of understanding is staggering. Let me give you a clue... The agent does not make £156,000.... can you work the actual situation out yet? Don't expect any sympathy when you can't even put a fair argument together and are just banding numbers about in a woe is me attitude.

[reach4thelasers]

Look I totally get that agents do work and need to get paid for it. Its the indefinite nature of my current contract that makes it a hard pill to swallow.

How much does an estate agent get if they sell a house? A fixed percentage. They don't 'own you' for as long as you live there.

Pay them a grand or two and tell them to **** off. If they want bigbucks go to uni work hard and earn it through skill. not from siphoning off other people's pay.

[malvolio]

Look I totally get that agents do work and need to get paid for it. Its the indefinite nature of my current contract that makes it a hard pill to swallow.

How much does an estate agent get if they sell a house? A fixed percentage. They don't 'own you' for as long as you live there.

Pay them a grand or two and tell them to **** off. If they want bigbucks go to uni work hard and earn it through skill. not from siphoning off other people's pay.

We're wasting our time here, but there is a basic difference between selling an item like a house or a permie and supplying an ongoing service like car insurance or a contractor. If you haven't grapsed that then I suggest you go away and have a think. While you're there see if you can find out what ROIs and Cost of Sales and Conversion Rates are and what is a good number for the last one.

Other than that, what the regulars have been saying is right and what you've been saying is wrong.

BTW "Computer Science" only means you understand the theory of IT, it dopesn't mean you understand the business of IT nor much of anything else. I don't have a degree myself but have been working at a fairly senior and well paid level for the last thirty years or so. Nobody has ever accused me of being unintelligent. So clearly having a degree does not equate to the holder having intelligence. Rule 1 of contracting - Nobody Loves a Smartarse.

HTH...

[BolshieBastard]

Look I totally get that agents do work and need to get paid for it. Its the indefinite nature of my current contract that makes it a hard pill to swallow.

How much does an estate agent get if they sell a house? A fixed percentage. They don't 'own you' for as long as you live there.

Pay them a grand or two and tell them to **** off. If they want bigbucks go to uni work hard and earn it through skill. not from siphoning off other people's pay.

Reads like a sock puppet's rant!

[northernladuk]

Reads like a sock puppet's rant!

Sounds more like a just got out of university with a degree in Computer Science and a complete fail in real life and think the world owes you a living. Typical new graduate approach. I am sure there are many people on here without degree's living a much more confortable life than many people with them. A degree shows you digest and regurgitate information, not that you can cut it in the real world. Your real education starts now. Start learning... quick.

[jmo21]

Then do your own hard work. Make your own cold calls. Get all of your clients direct.

Cut out the agent by doing their work yourself.

Simples.

I agree, in principle, anyway.
However, I don't know how many of you out there have tried to deal with large Blue-Chip companies directly and had any success?? They have a well oiled faceless HR dept who have a company auditable procedure to deal with recruitment with certain preferred agencies. They will not entertain anything outside of that. The pile of CV's on their desks via this method mean they don't have to.

With SME's it may very well be different. Unfortunately in my line of work its 99% large companies that I have to deal with so trying to secure a direct deal is impossible (and yes I have tried.....)

In this climate you can't be too choosy. You are fortunate to have a long term contract and its too late to do anything now. Let me know how you get on at renewal time.....

That was Cojaks point......

[Wanderer]

Ask your client if they'll let you go direct (and probably pay the agency to let you), ask the agent for more money, get a new contract elsewhere paying more money if you think you can...

I think Jaws has the only practical advice here.

[dynamicsaxcontractor]

I'm doing the work, why don't I get the full £400?

If you were going direct the client would probably not pay you £400, more likely £350.....

Also, if this annoy you that much do as the other posters have told you - find your own contracts. I am as pi$$ed off as you with agents, but guess what.... I have gone direct for my last contracts. But just so you know, you have to put in a lot of extra work to secure direct ones, the contracts won't come knocking on your door.