Initial question about daily rate

[Avalonia]

400 do I hear 400,
400 400 400
400 thank you sir
450 450 450 450 450 450
thank you
500 500 500 500 500 500
500 thank you
600 600 600

...

A million

[vadhert]

Take what you can, give nothing back

[AnotherGuy]

he asks me about the rate I'm looking for and I gave him a top-end bracket, let's say 550 to 600 per day. Then the guy sends me a job spec that says 650.

Something similar happened to me. I said X and the agent sent me for X+50.

Is this a clue that the agency works on a % basis instead of a cut basis?

[SpontaneousOrder]

Agents often tell me what they willing to pay up to, and then ask me what I'd like to set my rate at when they put me forward.

That implies, to me, that there is an opportunity to choose how competitive I want to be. Today I set my rate at £100 a day less than the agent said the offer rate was - because it was an environment I'd quite like to work in, for a particular reason. I made sure the agent understood that too.

For me if the role is good (as much as its possible to tell before you actually turn up) and I think i can save some hassle by being competitive then it's worth it to save the hassle of hunting around too much.

I'm like the Malibu man - seriously easy goin'. I'd rather just walk straight from one gig into another with as few interviews as possible.

[fidot]

Agents often tell me what they willing to pay up to, and then ask me what I'd like to set my rate at when they put me forward.

That implies, to me, that there is an opportunity to choose how competitive I want to be. Today I set my rate at £100 a day less than the agent said the offer rate was - because it was an environment I'd quite like to work in, for a particular reason. I made sure the agent understood that too.

It implies to me that the agency can make a bigger margin

[SlipTheJab]

It implies to me that the agency can make a bigger margin

True, I'm betting the client isn't getting you any cheaper, that £100 a day will be going into the agents porsche fund:-)

[jmo21]

This is the game.

You want as much as you can get.

The agent wants to pay as little as he can.

Whether you get the interview will depend on what other candidates are available, at what rate, and by some deadline the agent gives himself to submit to client.

[SpontaneousOrder]

It implies to me that the agency can make a bigger margin

They only get a bigger margin if I land the contract. And if I land it then I couldn't care less how much the agent is making.

Some are on fixed margins - but of course I don't always know that. Some I've worked with before I do.