Bad Agents/Agencies

[WTFH]

I don't know who you are.
I don't know what you want.
If you are looking for commission, I can tell you I don't give away money.
But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career.
Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.
If you let my contract go now, that'll be the end of it.
I will not look for you, I will not pursue you.
But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will post about you on CUK. [ /Liam Neeson Voice]

[stek]

I don't know who you are.
I don't know what you want.
If you are looking for commission, I can tell you I don't give away money.
But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career.
Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.
If you let my contract go now, that'll be the end of it.
I will not look for you, I will not pursue you.
But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will post about you on CUK. [ /Liam Neeson Voice]

Good luck (in Albanian accent, Kukës County dialect, probably a native of Tropojë).

[Lancer2016]

I used to get chased by an agency called Marc Loucas who are into the payments industry recruitment

They call and chase you and those days when I was naive I believed them when they said we have interivew slots lined up and will give you one and then they go cold and never call back,if I chased them its the usual 'he is away','at a meeting' or 'i'm just literally about to call the client right now and will get back asap and never do'

I one day told them to take me off their database as I dont want such calls and he got all worked and said he is going to share my details with his peers in the industry and none of them will ever call me ,but poor fellow didnt know that within a short while from his threat I got my biggest paying contract ever

There was a guy and a woman who used the above tactics but she then left to another agency

[quackhandle]

Snnnniiiiffffffff.

You should 'ave done 'im son for 'avin a right liberty, the cheeky twunt.

Was the pimp the Tweacle Of All Tweacles?

qh

[LondonManc]

Burning bridges and all that. That's why I don't like to leave any "bad blood" and yes the wheel does go around. If someone really stepped on my toes of course I will remember them and the agency and will never do business with them again.

This means that possible candidates will miss out because of a tulip agent. Circle of life. I can tell you for a fact this is the case, just recently someone I know were assigned as a CV filter before it got to the hiring manager. They were not the hiring manager just going through CVs and filtering them before they got to the decision maker.

There was a song a while ago sure you can find it on youtube, "you don't F me I don't F you, if you F with me I F with you"

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, all I am saying is that most people do hold a grudge and will remember when done wrong, human nature. Best to avoid that.

P.S. The agent showing on my doorstep was for a perm role.

You think they're special? If you're building a team, it's natural (and indeed prudent) to see if any of the team mates would recommend/reject any of the new applicants based on ability. It's normal.

Agents will put the best candidates forward, irrespective of history so long as it's not too serious. Best candidates for them are the ones with a track record of extensions.

[Drei]

Funny thing is that sometimes you actually are that good at your job and finish the work in the contracted time, or only get a one month extension to finish stuff off. Does that make you a bad candidate in their books?

I hate dragging work just to stay in, saw plenty of contractors do that and even got asked why don't I drag stuff along

[ShandyDrinker]

Funny thing is that sometimes you actually are that good at your job and finish the work in the contracted time, or only get a one month extension to finish stuff off. Does that make you a bad candidate in their books?

I hate dragging work just to stay in, saw plenty of contractors do that and even got asked why don't I drag stuff along

Unfortunately I think this is precisely the case. After having a few short (by which I mean 3-6 months) term contracts over the last couple of years I've been told by a number of people it's hurting my chances right now. Very frustrating indeed.

My advice to any newbies out there considering contracting - apart from reading up on the obvious stuff make sure you go for longevity in contracts as it seems to be precisely what clients are looking for, more so than agents.

[WTFH]

I've been told by a number of people it's hurting my chances right now.

You've been told that by agents, not clients.


Clients care more about your ability to deliver on time than how long you are on a site for. Do a good job, deliver on time, build up good relationships with clients, then you can bypass the agents.

[Cirrus]

Follow the Money

Gonna get straight to the point, is there a post where we can find Agents/Agencies to avoid and ones that are actually decent?

Agents are your customers. Without them you don't have any business.

I know there are pubs where the landlord bans some customers. At an up market pub in the next village the landlady discourages riff-raff. The sheer snobbery of the place attracts me.

However in most lines of business you don't turn away customers. You can judge whether they may buy or are time wasters You can judge whether they are going to be demanding or troublesome but don't get into the mindset of 'are they good?' like you might rate a waiter, a burrito or a hairdresser.

An agent who talks to you is better than any that doesn't. An agent who puts you forward is ten times 'better' again. An agent who bumps up your price when the client chooses you is manna from heaven.

All the rest of the bulltulip is not them being a good agent but you being a good candidate.

[SlipTheJab]

Agents are your customers. Without them you don't have any business.

I know there are pubs where the landlord bans some customers. At an up market pub in the next village the landlady discourages riff-raff. The sheer snobbery of the place attracts me.

However in most lines of business you don't turn away customers. You can judge whether they may buy or are time wasters You can judge whether they are going to be demanding or troublesome but don't get into the mindset of 'are they good?' like you might rate a waiter, a burrito or a hairdresser.

An agent who talks to you is better than any that doesn't. An agent who puts you forward is ten times 'better' again. An agent who bumps up your price when the client chooses you is manna from heaven.

All the rest of the bulltulip is not them being a good agent but you being a good candidate.

Having not used one for 4 years now I beg to disagree...