Something new for contractors...

[PortSalutBoss]

Sadly whenever someone comes up with this claptrap I can't help myself pointing out what they would think if they went in a restaurant and the maître d' said "Excuse me, before you sit down can I just check you out on Trip Advisor"?

It's the arrogance.

"How do I choose an agent?"

They choose you!

Cirrus, thanks for your response. I believe the opposite, these companies are technically your employer in some circumstances, do you really want just anyone in charge of your money just because they give you the juiciest role?

Have you had a range of interactions with agents? Have they been good? if so, what was it that won you over?

[sal]

Sorry, I call BS, of course you can choose who to work with, especially in my field.
It's called building relationships, I have worked a lot with 2 particular guys over the years.

Consider yourself lucky then, as this is certainly not the norm.

One of the problems with the OP's idea is as stated by Cirrus that in most cases people are willing to ignore the agency "quality" as long as they like the role, or more often than not as long as they even get a role. The other one is that it's about agents not agencies and there are a lot of bad apples out there... So having website like that is a bit pointless even if you miraculously manage to get people to volunteer reviews in the first place.

[PortSalutBoss]

Happy for you to waste your time, but I don't want to waste mine, for that reason I'm out

and just like that he's pulled back in! Why do you think its a waste of time? bad experiences? Bad agents? Or do you have a different approach to choosing a recruiter?

[PortSalutBoss]

Consider yourself lucky then, as this is certainly not the norm.

One of the problems with the OP's idea is as stated by Cirrus that in most cases people are willing to ignore the agency "quality" as long as they like the role, or more often than not as long as they even get a role. The other one is that it's about agents not agencies and there are a lot of bad apples out there... So having website like that is a bit pointless even if you miraculously manage to get people to volunteer reviews in the first place.

Thanks for your response! I'm trying to develop an idea and I can't do that without bouncing ideas off like minded people. Do you think this idea is doomed? Or could it be tweaked to be something useful to you? Help me turn the industry on its head

[PortSalutBoss]

Yes, like the proverbial unsinkable, unmashable, unflushable turd we've all done even women.

Turd is also fertilizer... this turd could help to grown something else? What's a change you'd like to see in our industry? I genuinely would love to hear your opinion

[MrMarkyMark]

and just like that he's pulled back in! Why do you think its a waste of time? bad experiences? Bad agents? Or do you have a different approach to choosing a recruiter?

Go more direct these days, so often don't need to worry.

@sal, yeh I just lucked out , even luckier as I believe they are the biggest agency in London.

Certainly not the norm, but more common if you are a true product specialist like me.

[PortSalutBoss]

Keith,

Have you found the plethora of other posts regarding this?

I've not MarkyMark. I'd love to see them though... For now I'd rather concentrate on this thread and use the opportunity to pick all of your brains.

You've clearly read through them... Whats the common factor that makes this idea terrible? What are we all missing? I believe if anyone can crack this it is this group of contractors on this thread today! When my website is the talk of the town I'll make sure you receive shares haha

[GillsMan]

I can kinda see the merit in the idea, and there's something similar for the housing market here: https://www.allagents.co.uk/

However, just like with houses, you generally don't get to choose the agent. So it comes down to whether you care enough about someone else's opinion to go for a gig.

But I'll answer OP's question: whenever I contract, the only thing I care about is getting paid on time and having a reasonable contract. I probably wouldn't even go for a gig if I knew they had inflexible IR35-unfriendly contracts.

But I'd be worried about the review site being full of negative reviews from needy folk who complain because the agent didn't let them know they hadn't got the gig, or because the agent didn't meet them for a coffee in the middle of the contract. Some people care about that crap. I don't.

[MrMarkyMark]

I've not MarkyMark. I'd love to see them though... For now I'd rather concentrate on this thread and use the opportunity to pick all of your brains.

You've clearly read through them... Whats the common factor that makes this idea terrible? What are we all missing? I believe if anyone can crack this it is this group of contractors on this thread today! When my website is the talk of the town I'll make sure you receive shares haha

We've not missed anything, you have, as discussed...


LIBEL.

Just like giving a bad personal job reference...

[PortSalutBoss]

I can kinda see the merit in the idea, and there's something similar for the housing market here: https://www.allagents.co.uk/

However, just like with houses, you generally don't get to choose the agent. So it comes down to whether you care enough about someone else's opinion to go for a gig.

But I'll answer OP's question: whenever I contract, the only thing I care about is getting paid on time and having a reasonable contract. I probably wouldn't even go for a gig if I knew they had inflexible IR35-unfriendly contracts.

But I'd be worried about the review site being full of negative reviews from needy folk who complain because the agent didn't let them know they hadn't got the gig, or because the agent didn't meet them for a coffee in the middle of the contract. Some people care about that crap. I don't.

Great responses - Thanks a lot! I know the main difficulty is the key board warriors who throw their toys out of the pram at the first issue. This is why I am trying to focus on the positives... Not that I have had many, maybe the fact is that there are not a lot of positives? Or maybe we don't have a platform that focus' on the positives?

I'd love to hear more of what you think