State of the Market

[Dorkeaux]

Is there some kind of time wasting craze going on in recruitment that I'm unaware of?

Another opportunity pinged my way on LinkedIn, followed by an actual telephone call. All sounded very promising and the client moves quickly. 3 days later and sweet f**k all.

This is all that seems to happen these days. I vow not to be part of it again and to stay retired, work on my own stuff, and then it happens, another ping. So I look at the spec. and it's pretty close but it's been several months now since I worked with any of that tech., so off I go and start doing a refresher, then the 'opportunity' dissipates. AGAIN!

Rinse and repeat.

Agents have often viewed contractors as insentient commodities to be sold on at a profit.
I hasten to add that when we were in higher demand, many agents adjusted their approach. Asking about our kids, and so on.
But there is more automation now, professional human interaction is less common.

You've been doing this a while, I'm sure you agree.

I wouldn't take it personally. Numbers game, nothingburger, lack of corrolation between posting and actual role etc..

[oliverson]

Agents have often viewed contractors as insentient commodities to be sold on at a profit.
I hasten to add that when we were in higher demand, many agents adjusted their approach. Asking about our kids, and so on.
But there is more automation now, professional human interaction is less common.

You've been doing this a while, I'm sure you agree.

I wouldn't take it personally. Numbers game, nothingburger, lack of corrolation between posting and actual role etc..

The last time I was looking (2020/21) I don't recall this type of behaviour and I certainly don't recall it in the years prior, though all my contracts in the 5 years prior to that were through previous clients with no agency or searching involved.

I just find it very frustrating. At least this agent has responded promptly to LinkedIn messages, whereas most don't bother.

[avonleigh]

The last time I was looking (2020/21) I don't recall this type of behaviour and I certainly don't recall it in the years prior, though all my contracts in the 5 years prior to that were through previous clients with no agency or searching involved.

I just find it very frustrating. At least this agent has responded promptly to LinkedIn messages, whereas most don't bother.

You are right. It's a new thing. It's all changed the last couple of years. I do wonder if agents have just become so disheartened and disillusioned by it all that they can't be bothered anyymore.

[dsc]

You are right. It's a new thing. It's all changed the last couple of years. I do wonder if agents have just become so disheartened and disillusioned by it all that they can't be bothered anyymore.

It's pretty simple, pimps just want to fire away a few CVs and await feedback / see where things go. It seems that most of the time there's no feedback, the job doesn't exist, there's no budget etc. so they move on to a different ad and try to find CVs for that, absolutely not giving a tulip about those who submitted their CVs on the last one. In a market where 80% of ads don't go anywhere, there's absolutely no reward in updating everyone in the chain, hence the silence / ghosting.

[SchumiStars]

Is there some kind of time wasting craze going on in recruitment that I'm unaware of?

Another opportunity pinged my way on LinkedIn, followed by an actual telephone call. All sounded very promising and the client moves quickly. 3 days later and sweet f**k all.

This is all that seems to happen these days. I vow not to be part of it again and to stay retired, work on my own stuff, and then it happens, another ping. So I look at the spec. and it's pretty close but it's been several months now since I worked with any of that tech., so off I go and start doing a refresher, then the 'opportunity' dissipates. AGAIN!

Rinse and repeat.

Yep. And that's my biggest worry. That we will be getting rusty to existing skills and not exposed to any new tech. A downwind spiral.

The death of the dinosaur!

[Bluenose]

Many pimps lost their shirts during COVID and then lost their jobs after COVID, in the past 18 months many of my contacts have gone in house HR recruitment or quit entirely. There's not many left during pure play contracting these days.

[sadkingbilly]

Yep. And that's my biggest worry. That we will be getting rusty to existing skills and not exposed to any new tech. A downwind spiral.

The death of the dinosaur!

more like the Dodo. this dinosaur's still truckin'!

[Smartie]

Got a couple of speculative agent messages this week - first time in months.
Both a reasonable rate, outside IR35 and hybrid 2/3 days per week in London.
I'm busy until the end of the year, but perhaps things are picking up a bit.

[oliverson]

Got a couple of speculative agent messages this week - first time in months.
Both a reasonable rate, outside IR35 and hybrid 2/3 days per week in London.
I'm busy until the end of the year, but perhaps things are picking up a bit.

Perhaps it's the time of year, the 'decision makers are now back from holiday'.

I think we have a window now of September to December when IHMO it's the best chance of landing work (historically). Let's hope those of us looking get sorted and put this miserable year behind us.

[willendure]

I agree that it is most likely down to all the decent agents leaving the field - if contracting is getting hard for us, its certainly getting hard for them. If they tak 10% commission on a contract, they need to find 10 contracts to make the same as us - or more like 20 since they split that commission with their agency. So its not at all surprising that they have almost all had to move on to other things.

Also a generational thing - the younger generation dread making a phone call. They just want to automate it all through linked in and the like. They can spam a job ad to a vast network, gather hundreds of applications, filter them with AI, and just make 4 phone calls, one to each of the top 3 candidates (in the AIs opinion.. ), and one to the client to set up the interviews. Or worse, they are using the platform to fish for information, build "virtual" teams to try and win bigger consultancy gigs with or whatever mysterious purposes they have for doing so. Hell, could even be some direct marketing firm that knows IT workers like coffee, and just want you CV to add your name address to some list, and next thing you get a flyer through the door for some online coffee buyers club thing.

The best way for us is to avoid platforms like linked in. Or at least learn to use them in a different way that is more aligned to how they work and what they are good at.

For me, making a good initial telephone contact with an agent has always been an essential step towards finding a contract.