Top 15 Recruitment Agency tricks...!!

[Drei]

Jesus wept.

I see you are just as busy as I am today. thank God we get pay daily rates

[Rabotnik]

I've been looking for a new contract for the last month and the latest trick I've encountered is they will try make the role sound authentic like, "it's a retailer near Liverpool Street" but when you ask them the client name they will claim they can't tell you due to their contract with the client. Then they will throw in a casual "So did you work with John Smith at your last client?" since they are hoping you've now let your guard down since you can smell a new contract, and they want to get through to John Smith at the switchboard.

I always tell them I don't give names to recruiters, and then they will say that's OK they will send me the spec by email, and surprise surprise, not a single spec is seen.

Now I just open up the conversation with this trick when they ask me how the market is so they don't bother trying to pull it on me. One of the agents even confirmed that clients don't give a **** if agencies tell candidates who they are, so if any agent tells me this he's lying (shocker! ).

[northernladuk]

I've been looking for a new contract for the last month and the latest trick I've encountered is they will try make the role sound authentic like, "it's a retailer near Liverpool Street" but when you ask them the client name they will claim they can't tell you due to their contract with the client. Then they will throw in a casual "So did you work with John Smith at your last client?" since they are hoping you've now let your guard down since you can smell a new contract, and they want to get through to John Smith at the switchboard.

I always tell them I don't give names to recruiters, and then they will say that's OK they will send me the spec by email, and surprise surprise, not a single spec is seen.

Now I just open up the conversation with this trick when they ask me how the market is so they don't bother trying to pull it on me. One of the agents even confirmed that clients don't give a **** if agencies tell candidates who they are, so if any agent tells me this he's lying (shocker! ).

There is a couple of parts to this but let's clear one of them up. It's very common for agents not to give clients names until at least the CV is submitted. It's to stop you going direct and oddly enough (but makes sense if you think about it) to stop other agents getting information on gigs and going in themselves. So the opening comments and last paragraph are wrong.

And you appear to be calling agents liars and cheats yet in the last paragraph you are confirming they are lying by taking the work of an agent..

The whole post is a bit of a for me sorry.

[Rabotnik]

There is a couple of parts to this but let's clear one of them up. It's very common for agents not to give clients names until at least the CV is submitted. It's to stop you going direct and oddly enough (but makes sense if you think about it) to stop other agents getting information on gigs and going in themselves. So the opening comments and last paragraph are wrong.

And you appear to be calling agents liars and cheats yet in the last paragraph you are confirming they are lying by taking the work of an agent..

The whole post is a bit of a for me sorry.

I didn't need the pimp to confirm it, it already happened enough for me to spot the pattern. I initially also naively assumed they didn't want me to go to the client direct, or they were afraid I was also an agent trying to get leads, but I don't believe that's the case at all.

The agents with real roles come straight out and tell me who it's with.

Funnily enough today a pimp just got me a phone interview for a company I worked at 4 years ago. So much for LinkedIn...

[northernladuk]

The agents with real roles come straight out and tell me who it's with.

Not always.

It's the fact your posts are full of hard definites is what makes me question it. Nearly everything you said has different responses dependant on different situations. You can't deal with agents in a binary fashion. To say only agents that give you the client actually have a gig is very poor advice and shows a level of naivety about the whole process. Sometimes a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. It stops you seeing each situation on it's own merits and dealing with the ambiguities of each situation.

[imightbewrong]

Sometimes agents keep the client's name secret (or it's a made up job and there is no client) but in the main I find I am given the client name at the end of the first phone call, and then sent the job specs which have the client name all over them, along with their description of themselves etc

[Drei]

P.S. Never heard back from the agent I mentioned in my last post however today I got the 15th:
15. Agency “face to face Interviews”. Agency conducts screening interviews before client interview, just to get reference form filled.

Please bring with you :
* Your passport and/or relevant visas
* Proof of address (i.e. a recent utility bill, tenancy agreement or bank statement)
* Proof of your national insurance number (any correspondence from the Inland Revenue or your N.I. card)
* Any relevant certificates of qualifications / CRB checks
* Limited company details
* Reference details (Names and contact numbers) for your last 3 years of employment

Since they ask for all this information surely it means that any contractor working for them is opting IN and not OUT

As a contractor I have no idea why they need half the stuff on that list.

Most of my contracts are around 4 to 8 months max 1 year. 3 years is a lot of references not to mention that some of the managers were also contractors and no longer with those companies.

[LondonManc]

P.S. Never heard back from the agent I mentioned in my last post however today I got the 15th:
15. Agency “face to face Interviews”. Agency conducts screening interviews before client interview, just to get reference form filled.



Since they ask for all this information surely it means that any contractor working for them is opting IN and not OUT

As a contractor I have no idea why they need half the stuff on that list.

Most of my contracts are around 4 to 8 months max 1 year. 3 years is a lot of references not to mention that some of the managers were also contractors and no longer with those companies.

I left the reference section blank, telling them that it depended upon the role and I was happy to provide them at the appropriate stage.

[bigbluebox]

I wish I came across this thread a few weeks ago - I've learnt a lot of these tricks the hard way! I feel pretty naive

I have a new found respect for contractors for dealing with spectacularly horrible agencies.

[LondonManc]

I wish I came across this thread a few weeks ago - I've learnt a lot of these tricks the hard way! I feel pretty naive

I have a new found respect for contractors for dealing with spectacularly horrible agencies.

What have those nasty agents done to you?