Agents not sending email despite saying so

[zazou]

For the past few weeks when looking for a new contract I have been going through the same experience over and over and over again.
Agent calls (related to an application or not), we have a pleasant chat which ends in 'I'll send you the job spec ' and then nothing happens. Even if it's just a general chat (them putting me into the system) and I ask them to email me their contact information nothing happens. I'd say half of the clerks are genuine, not phishing.

Earlier this year I would usually be receiving promised emails.
Now I cannot identify anything that has changed apart from me maybe being a bit on the bold side when stating my day rate (nothing silly though, I'm recovering from injuries so I am not in a great rush).

I'm not here to bash the agents but I've gotten really curious why 95% of the calls I receive tend to go this way.
Should I consider having a bath, changing my socks or just lower my price.

[Sausage Surprise]

Common occurrence... been contracting for long?

[I just need to test it]

One that used to perplex me was along the lines of :

Agent: "We have an urgent requirement for X".
Me: "Sorry. I'm not available".
Agent (sounding disappointed): "Do you know anyone else who might be available and interested?".
Me: "Sure. Give Y a call on this number".
Agent (sounding elated, relieved): "Thank you SO much. I will call him now".

A few days later I'll find out the agent never called him.

Nowadays, other than being guarded about what I divulge, I have ceased worrying about agents' actions. They are like Greek gods looking down on the world I inhabit, moving us about like chess pieces. I just do my best to avoid getting sacrificed.

[jmo21]

maybe being a bit on the bold side when stating my day rate (nothing silly though, I'm recovering from injuries so I am not in a great rush).

Probably this.

As soon as they know you aren't going to get the role (either because your rate is too high and they won't submit you, or because the client rejects your CV or after interview) you are dead to them.

[glippiglop]

Yep, had the same issue yesterday. After a few minutes chat, agent told me (in plenty of detail) about a contract at XYZ and that he would email it through. No email. I checked the XYZ job database and no matching job either. This problem is common if the agency isn't doing enough to keep their internal database of jobs up to date -- but what really irks me is not getting a polite apology to say that the contract isn't available any more.

I keep a black book of all contact with specific recruiters, agencies and employers in order to mitigate these problems. This helps you build up a picture of who's reliable and who isn't. Comes in handy the next time you're looking for work and need to remind yourself of the best communicators in the market.

[stek]

Had a similar one too, Global IT Technology, think it's a Bob agency as I was contacted by Sundip and then his colleague Pooja or something, suspiciously high rates for skill set below my elevated level in various nice euro-locations, long term all that crap.

Instant replies to emails when took the carrot, one day after that, silence. Nowt, Nado, Nichts, Nichego.......

Shame, I fancied Prague on a stonker rate for the summer.....

[Wanderer]

For the past few weeks when looking for a new contract I have been going through the same experience over and over and over again.
Agent calls (related to an application or not), we have a pleasant chat which ends in 'I'll send you the job spec ' and then nothing happens. Even if it's just a general chat (them putting me into the system) and I ask them to email me their contact information nothing happens. I'd say half of the clerks are genuine, not phishing.

Sometimes agents are genuinely cautious about giving details for fear of other agents trying to muscle in on the job, other times it's just a fishing trip for the two references.

Stick to it and good luck