Honesty is the best policy

[NotAllThere]

Yeah go ahead and ban me if you like. I just could not be bothered with the discussion anymore, so deleted the original post.

Bit like this forum.

Doesn't work like that. Text recovered. Don't delete threads just because for some reason you've had a fit of pique. Oh, and northernladuk can't ban you.

[Paralytic]

Like some others, i see no great issue with this. It might be a bit off that they've shared someone else's CV, but you don't know if that person might have allowed that (given their circumstances of now going permanent).

I'd not have lied about experience at an interview (were you explicitly asked to do so, or were you just asked to think about this person's experience when answering interview questions?), but, you reading that CV would have given you great insight into the kind of person/experience the client was after, and you could have based your answers on that. ie. ensure you call out where your have shared experience with him. I see no issue with that and see it as similar to using a job spec on which to base interview responses.

You could have come ready with a story about not having recent experience with the OS, and talk to how you know all about it, how you're a fast learner, how you've used the time on the bench to get back up to speed with things etc.

I feel you just ruled yourself out of a potential role when you need not have. If the client truly need someone with recent experience with the OS, then your statement "And have to walk away from a role I could have done. Because of a dodgy agency." does not hold true - you would never have gotten the role anyway.

[krytonsheep]

but as I read it on here it's quite possible they were offering it as reference for you to tailor your CV.

Tailoring a CV to get an interview is good, but in this situation it's already passed that stage and an interview is booked.

"I base my answers in the interview with regards my experience on his CV"

I can only think of a few scenarios. The CV that got the interview isn't the CV the OP submitted, it's a made up CV by the agent based on a person that landed a role on the client (very naughty). Or the agent is trying to say "this persons work history got them in, see if you can pull out the buzz words and use them in the interview" ( fair enough).

[LondonManc]

If you believe that you can do the role, the agency is steering you towards what you might need to brush up on to help you get the gig.

"I've not used xxx since 2015 but I have kept up to date on it via xxx software forum as it's a tech that I've always been passionate about"

Agencies want you to get the gig because they can close their case and start earning. They generally have fewer morals than contractors because their job is to get sales and it's you that would be lying or simply stretching the truth. Totally agree, though, don't declare yourself a Dev Ops expert because you used TFS back in 2016. There's a massive difference between lying and selling yourself to a client and that's ultimately why agents exist - they're generally better at it than contractors.

[eek]

If you believe that you can do the role, the agency is steering you towards what you might need to brush up on to help you get the gig.

"I've not used xxx since 2015 but I have kept up to date on it via xxx software forum as it's a tech that I've always been passionate about"

Agencies want you to get the gig because they can close their case and start earning. They generally have fewer morals than contractors because their job is to get sales and it's you that would be lying or simply stretching the truth. Totally agree, though, don't declare yourself a Dev Ops expert because you used TFS back in 2016. There's a massive difference between lying and selling yourself to a client and that's ultimately why agents exist - they're generally better at it than contractors.

Agents are salesman, their job is to find problems (opportunities) they can try to fix by finding suitable candidates for the job.

And it's a thankless task which is why most of us don't do it and use agencies to find work.

[ladymuck]

There are ways of writing your CV that showcase your skills but gloss over the dates of when those skills were acquired.

A portfolio CV I believe it's called. It's a type that gets bandied about by CV writers but I've never had an agent or client accept it.

[northernladuk]

Tailoring a CV to get an interview is good, but in this situation it's already passed that stage and an interview is booked.



I can only think of a few scenarios. The CV that got the interview isn't the CV the OP submitted, it's a made up CV by the agent based on a person that landed a role on the client (very naughty). Or the agent is trying to say "this persons work history got them in, see if you can pull out the buzz words and use them in the interview" ( fair enough).

Yep. That's why I thought this was an interesting one as, it appears, the agent might have just been stepping in to the naughty area which we've not seen much of in the forums.

[LondonManc]

There are ways of writing your CV that showcase your skills but gloss over the dates of when those skills were acquired.

A portfolio CV I believe it's called. It's a type that gets bandied about by CV writers but I've never had an agent or client accept it.

Yes, no point it looking fluffy when the agent/clients wants to see something achievement-based. Can you do the role, does your cv demonstrate that? Very simple.

[lecyclist]

It used to be normal when applying for public sector positions, for agents to say :

"The client scores CVs based on a weighing of rate against skills keyworded in your CV for x, y, z.
I don't see x, y, z in your recent employment history. Could you update your keywords otherwise your application will go no further"

[LondonManc]

It used to be normal when applying for public sector positions, for agents to say :

"The client scores CVs based on a weighing of rate against skills keyworded in your CV for x, y, z.
I don't see x, y, z in your recent employment history. Could you update your keywords otherwise your application will go no further"

I think that was common across other sectors too a while ago. CV search tools may have improved.