Agency thoughts

[itjobs]

This is something I have been considering for a while. Not sure when it and if it would materialize.

Here are the things I thought (I am a contractor and have my www domain ready www.itcontractordirect.com , i know you can find out my name and address from this)

1. Contractors are being ripped off by agents - So, I can have a fixed commission not greater than 2%-5%
2. Agencies impose minimum exclusion period from the client - So, I can have zero obligation.
3. Agencies pretend to filter out potential candidates using their "knowledge" - I can have some basic questions ready (only on the tech side, i can even use their stackoverflow score)
4. Agencies do marketing (i.e bluff) - I cannot do that
5. Agencies may indirectly pay (is it called bribe? or "I will look after your interests") to recruiting managers - I cannot do that.

Would you go with it. You can post your known openings and get a monthly recurring commission from it (it might help contractors get out of IR35 because they have multiple activities in the company - consulting and recruiting?)

It is doable but how many in this forum would go with you or me ?

[Lance]

This is something I have been considering for a while. Not sure when it and if it would materialize.

Here are the things I thought (I am a contractor and have my www domain ready www.itcontractordirect.com , i know you can find out my name and address from this)

1. Contractors are being ripped off by agents - So, I can have a fixed commission not greater than 2%-5%
2. Agencies impose minimum exclusion period from the client - So, I can have zero obligation.
3. Agencies pretend to filter out potential candidates using their "knowledge" - I can have some basic questions ready (only on the tech side, i can even use their stackoverflow score)
4. Agencies do marketing (i.e bluff) - I cannot do that
5. Agencies may indirectly pay (is it called bribe?) to recruiting managers - I cannot do that.

It is doable but how many in this forum would go with you or me?

What exactly are you offering for me?

I have no problem using you if you can find me a role but how are you going to do that if you are just keeping 2 to 5%?
Finding contractors is the easy bit IMO. Finding roles isn't and I can't see what you are planning to do.

[itjobs]

What exactly are you offering for me?

I have no problem using you if you can find me a role but how are you going to do that if you are just keeping 2 to 5%?
Finding contractors is the easy bit IMO. Finding roles isn't and I can't see what you are planning to do.

It is about having a site where contractors like you and me are making ourselves available and enable companies to get our services instead of going through agents.

Think about the role of what agents do? There are preferred suppliers to many companies because companies are scared (or happy) with that list. But if there is a provision (that is going to cost them a bit less), and if it is qualified (e.g. tests, score etc) then they might do.

The objective here is to provide an alternative. And being contractors we can do it very well.

Besides, its not going to happen overnight but consistency will surely make it happen. Is linkedin a perfect example?

[northernladuk]

There was one like this called Contractor Club. It is no more.

[Lance]

It is about having a site where contractors like you and me are making ourselves available and enable companies to get our services instead of going through agents.

Like Jobsite/Jobserve etc? Bear in mind the commercial model that they use is based on the recruiter paying them a subscription, and per advert. So your model is different I grant you.
Say someone finds me through your site how do you stop me going direct and pocketing the 2-5%?
And how would you find out what I was doing?

And if it ever got successful all the agencies would become customers and then poach your contractors.

Think about the role of what agents do? There are preferred suppliers to many companies because companies are scared (or happy) of going outside that list. But if there is a provision, they might do.

You sure it's not because they just cannot find the skills they need?

[MrMarkyMark]

It is about having a site where contractors like you and me are making ourselves available and enable companies to get our services instead of going through agents.

Think about the role of what agents do? There are preferred suppliers to many companies because companies are scared (or happy) with that list. But if there is a provision (that is going to cost them a bit less), and if it is qualified (e.g. tests, score etc) then they might do.

The objective here is to provide an alternative. And being contractors we can do it very well.

How about factoring the money, to client co, for 3 months or so?

[Lance]

as for the 2 to 5%

That's just not workable. Even when an agency has a deal with a client, where the client finds the people and puts them through the agency they still get more like 7%. You just cannot replace an agency for such a small fee. The invoice factoring alone will cost 2%.

[MrMarkyMark]

as for the 2 to 5%

That's just not workable. Even when an agency has a deal with a client, where the client finds the people and puts them through the agency they still get more like 7%. You just cannot replace an agency for such a small fee. The invoice factoring alone will cost 2%.

At least, I have seen it up to 5%.

[northernladuk]

It is about having a site where contractors like you and me are making ourselves available and enable companies to get our services instead of going through agents.

Think about the role of what agents do? There are preferred suppliers to many companies because companies are scared (or happy) with that list. But if there is a provision (that is going to cost them a bit less), and if it is qualified (e.g. tests, score etc) then they might do.

The objective here is to provide an alternative. And being contractors we can do it very well.

Besides, its not going to happen overnight but consistency will surely make it happen. Is linkedin a perfect example?

I can remember this suggestion being put forward a number of times but I'll be buggered if I can find them. This is the only thread I could find but I know there is more.

http://forums.contractoruk.com/busin...s-clients.html

There have also been a number of threads, and one particularly long one that went into a lot of detail, about becoming a recruitment agency and I can't find that either :|

[itjobs]

Things are not workable only when profit is the motive. Ask yourself, how did linux or mysql (or neo4j) became major players. Models have changed a lot. Days are gone where some one will have to represent our skills (even when he/she doesn't have necessary skills).

Our motive is not profit. Our motive is making the world known that we are contractors and are available for work. Agents have no entry here. Its run by contractors and by contractors. As long as we can get enough revenue to run the site then we are in the game (big companies cannot afford this model). Running a website cost about very very less than we pay to agencies per day (best hosting solutions cost less than $100 USD per month that I can afford to personally). Jobserve charges £170 per ad ( I guess its per week). But ours is going to be an exclusive social network of contractors not agents. But we should allow direct companies to advertise their available openings.