This is probably showing my naivety but...

[northernladuk]

I disagree about the 24 hours and it wasn't a gig. If they get 10+ CVs straight off the bat they are done and contractors could be sitting at desks 2 days later. The market is pretty quiet so plenty of people sitting on the bench watching jobserve all day. Onyx 6 years ago the agents were getting upwards of 100 CVs in the first few hours. Surely if they were harvesting CVS it would be up for longer??? I don't think it's as clear cut as some make out.

[Cirrus]

calling up companies randomly from business directories would yield better results than calling random contractors.

Generally speaking, companies don't hire contractors. It's managers.

If you have the name of a company, how would you find out who is thinking about contractors? You might get to some sort of HR or Purchasing function who know about live contract vacancies but they've already sent them out to their PSL.

I've shared a desk group with a hiring manager in the past. The phone just keeps ringing all day long. "Hi Casper, it's Giles from Custard - we're a new agency in Epping - wondered if you are looking for some Oracle DBAs today?"

It's tough being an agent. Not the work of course. That's trivial. It's the relentless battle of the Free Market -others trying to camp on your patch - and the exploitation of capitalism - your boss constantly reminding you you either grow the business or you're out.

Once upon a time I met my mate's wife's sister's boyfriend. He was an agent at a big name agency. At that time he ran about 17 contractors. Now if you think 17 times 10% - you can see why they keep fighting, and you can see why they drive around in BMWs.

[Cirrus]

I disagree about the 24 hours and it wasn't a gig.

I agree. The name of the game is to read through CVs until you've got 2-3 spot-on candidates who can you email over as quickly as possible because the hiring manager is getting 2-3 from each of two other agencies and he's not going to wait for all of them if he sees 2-3 spot on CVs. So you want to get in first. Neither the agent or the manager wants the best person (well some people will, but not a lot). They want someone who is just what they wanted and with 400 CVs crashing in like a tsunami that gets ticked fairly quickly.

That said, I do see jobs that look like 500 CV-ers but they are strangely generic and they reappear for a week or so. I don't know what that could be all about.

Apart from shortage skills (Big Data, angular.js, Security, Mullti Digital etc) I can't see why you would harvest CVs. When any real job appears, you can just punt it out onto Jobserve. It's quicker than searching your database and you don't have to ring people up to find out if they are available.

(I can see permanent candidates because it is much more difficult to get them, but contractors: they're ten-a-penny)

[SueEllen]

Apart from shortage skills (Big Data, angular.js, Security, Mullti Digital etc) I can't see why you would harvest CVs. When any real job appears, you can just punt it out onto Jobserve. It's quicker than searching your database and you don't have to ring people up to find out if they are available.

If you punt an advert out on jobserve other agencies will see it, work out who the client is and then phone them up. Or in the case of some agencies just put a similar ad up.

[SueEllen]

Generally speaking, companies don't hire contractors. It's managers.

If you have the name of a company, how would you find out who is thinking about contractors? You might get to some sort of HR or Purchasing function who know about live contract vacancies but they've already sent them out to their PSL.

They try their luck.

I've been at many a client were an agent will ring a phone and ask for some random person then start a speel about wanting to talk to someone who does hiring. In the rare cases I've answered them I've managed to get them off the phone quickly. However if it's a permie they let them talk before the wise ones tell them they can't help them.

[meridian]

They try their luck.

I've been at many a client were an agent will ring a phone and ask for some random person then start a speel about wanting to talk to someone who does hiring. In the rare cases I've answered them I've managed to get them off the phone quickly. However if it's a permie they let them talk before the wise ones tell them they can't help them.

I get a few of these a month. I have "manager" in my LinkedIn profile plus the client's name so they ring through and try their luck. A simple "are you on the PSL" usually shuts them up.

The annoying ones are the ones that have worked out clientco's email address format and spam me every bloody day with details of their candidates, where their candidates have no relevance at all to any requirements we might have. I'm looking at you, Senitor. Straight into junk mail.

[Cirrus]

If you punt an advert out on jobserve other agencies will see it, work out who the client is and then phone them up. Or in the case of some agencies just put a similar ad up.

What good would that do them? If they're not on the PSL, they can't do anything with the CVs they have collected. In my experience companies only go off piste if the PSL can't provide any suitable candidates.

[sociopath]

In circumstances like this agents/clients have a candidate already lined up so an advert is just a formality

So true. Sometimes its not what you know its who you know. It's important to build your reputation and professional network as this can lead to many opportunities.

Its also useful to understand your end clients internal processes and requirements as always an opportunity to get Your Co on their approved suppliers list. Yes you might need to fill some more paperwork and have additional things in place but its another path to get work coming in.

[SueEllen]

What good would that do them? If they're not on the PSL, they can't do anything with the CVs they have collected. In my experience companies only go off piste if the PSL can't provide any suitable candidates.

They are trying their luck.

The same way agencies ring me and start talking about permanent jobs on less than the salary I had when I was last permie about 10 years ago.

[expat]

What good would that do them? If they're not on the PSL, they can't do anything with the CVs they have collected. In my experience companies only go off piste if the PSL can't provide any suitable candidates.

They can then offer "their" candidate to the Tier 1 agency.

I have even had imaginative agents "offer" me to other agents without even contacting me first. I suppose if they got a taker they would then contact me with "their" exciting opportunity - and I've got a parasite on my back.