Inspired Recruitment - experiences

[The Agents View]

Lets cut to the chase and rephrase this

- she sounds nice on the phone
- you wanted to know if she was maybe fit?
- you probably angled at some stage for a leg over?
- if you play the helpful guy and she is fit - you never know

Noone in there right mind will and would pay 22%. You are not worth that.

This looks like a good game.

Point one: Correct.

Point two: Given that I am not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of physical ability, I would suggest that comment is fairly throwaway.

Point three: Give me credit - OK I'm very good at what I do, but I'm an agent at the end of the day - in the workplace my mind doesn't often stray much further than the reflected $$ signs in my monitor.

Point four: Actually - no - the way I work is that if I play the helpful guy, the contractor comes to me, and only me when they need additional resources.

As for the final comment - nobody in their right mind would £32million for Robinho to play football for them - it would appear there are alot of people who are out of their mind out there though.......

TAV

P.S. If you're going to stick with the 5% agencies, make sure you get yourself a sanding block reasonably sharpish - the bench is very well worn at the moment, and I wouldn't want to think of you with splinters in your arse

[The Agents View]

Yeah, Clients gonna been amazed when you tell him she's got a dog called Rover

Sounds like more agent bull. Poor lass, If she was so good she would not need your helping hand.

Working through an agent per chance Turion?

She's very good - at what she does - I'm very good at what I do - She is NOT very good at what I do - which is why the CLIENT pays me to work on her behalf.......

Do you need the big letters and pretty pictures version Turion?? Or maybe just a pillow to break the fall when you jump from your soap box?

[smiff]

I on the other hand, do this all day every day - I should be good at it by now!!

Give me credit - OK I'm very good at what I do

I'm very good at what I do

All from your last three posts.

You dull, tiresome blowhard.

[Sausage Surprise]

Who's taking your earning potential? Often the cost of having me engaged on a role is absorbed by the recruitment budget, not the project budget (that's not always the case obviously). I take the margin I take because I am good at what I do - don't get me wrong, I get offered all sorts in terms of margins, but I work with the ones who understand the effort that goes in to finding them the right person.

I also work with contractors as I would want to be worked with -Ie. If I work with you, you are my sole focus for a set period (obviously there has to be lines drawn, if I slog a dead horse for a month and it's the only thing I've done, my boss is going to want to know why!).

Personally I hope that this market gets ridiculously competitive, because I genuinely believe that the difference I make is tangiable - its the "bums on seats" type organisations who will struggle IMO.

Lets face it, contractors are generally useless at promoting themselves. I on the other hand, do this all day every day - I should be good at it by now!! Of course if you can get gigs on your own, you will - that's what you SHOULD be doing - when you can't get them, use someone who will bust a gut for you in order to get you a role - 78% of a day rate is still better than 100% of nothing. If you can't get yourself a gig, and no agency is prepared to bust a gut to get you a role, then maybe you're actually not a contractor anyway.

TAV

P.S. as for the education comment - this is an anonymous sign in name. You feel free to assume that I don't have a degree (first) and an MBA for as long as you wish - you'll only make yourself look like a pillock.

P.P.S. Education means nothing if you've no contract in which to apply it.

Dullard...

[The Agents View]

All from your last three posts.

You dull, tiresome blowhard.

Would you prefer I told you I was rubbish and that agents had no place in this world?

The reality is that most of you would be bankrupt right now if it wasn't for agencies..... so pipe down and get on with your contract - unless you're on the bench - in which case I can lend you some varnish if you wish......

[smiff]

Would you prefer I told you I was rubbish and that agents had no place in this world?

The reality is that most of you would be bankrupt right now if it wasn't for agencies..... so pipe down and get on with your contract - unless you're on the bench - in which case I can lend you some varnish if you wish......

I, for one, am not interested in your blatant self-promotion so far on this board. I would also hazard a guess no-one else GAF either, tbh.

HTH.

EDIT: Thanks for the interest in my situation. My current gig is fine thanks. It's a pleasure dealing with the agency too, helpful, friendly, unassuming staff. People you can talk to. It's great.

[The Agents View]

Feel free to scan back through my posts.

I will not be revealing my identity to anyone. The purpose of self promotion would be to gain business. I have not, and will not be doing that. You will notice that I have not revealed my name, my company name, or any other information which could identify me. Sadly I come here to promote what I believe to be best practice, and provide a non "company line" view when people have questions about under-hand tactics.

There's a difference between educating contractors on the lengths they should be expecting their agencies to go to for their "cut" and trying to promote myself. If anything, I'm doing myself a dis-service by giving other lurking agents ideas of how to successfully manage a recruitment process.

A little less hatred, and a bit more of a considered response would be appreciated - Remember, our paths may cross one day, and I'm more likely to know who you are, than you are me.......

TAV

[conned tractor]

You are of course right that contractors need the likes of you. By my own admission my sales and marketing skills are terrible. I just find it annoying that you should think such a large percentage of a persons income is justified and you do not pick up the phone for less than 'x' amount - alhtough I do not fully know your operating costs it is seemingly extortion - please feel free to explain if you wish. It seems from my perspective that you earn a net of multiple times that of an average contractor.

Anyway we might soon be stacking the same shelves over the next few years.

[The Agents View]

So how much do you think we earn!?!?

If I give you a typical example.

10 contractors running at an average of about £500 per week margin means £5000 margin per week. Multiplied by 4 = average billings of about £20,000 per month.

Typically commission scales are a sliding scale arrangement - mine works out at about 12% of my billings goes into my pocket on average.

Salary average of about £20-25k - lets for the sake of argument say that the consultant sits at the 25k mark.

so - £2083 - Salary
£2400 - Commission

Total take home is about £53k minus Tax, NI, Student Loans etc etc.

I have approximately 6 years of specific market knowledge and network - and the above does figures do not directly apply to me.

I work a niche market model which is not high demand - therefore attracts higher margins when needs come up.

Now ask yourself - how many of you, with 6 years of hard earned experience, would get up for that kind of money? - How many of you are available on your phone 24/7 for work? how many of you work at the weekends if that's what it takes to find your contractor a role?

As for taking your income - You're either looking at it wrong, or you're being stitched up! - I make an agreement with you on the rate YOU want - I then add my margin, and that is the charge rate to the client. If people are taking 20% off of your rate as "agency margin", then you are being stitched up royally, because they're also adding their margin to the clients bill!!

I would like to point out that the above is a theoretical outline of an average consultants earnings - it is not representative of my earnings (that information is personal) but it should give you the understanding that actually, the deal is the most important thing - if you're making £10 per day less, actually that equates to a lousy £3-4 per month in your pocket - I personally would rather make the placement than haggle over that!!

As for the other money - bear in mind the costs that we bear. They include:

* Support staff (sales people are SHOCKING at paperwork)
* Payrolling costs (can be in house, or outsourced - depends on the business model)
* Underperforming staff (not everyone delivers instantly - there is often cost to bear on this until success, or ultimate failure)
* Premesis
* Phone bills etc
* Transport
* Entertaining clients to make these things possible for you
* Marketing
* Database software (££££!!)
* Job board subscriptions (again ££!)
* IT costs

Ultimately, when you take out the money that it costs to actually make this possible for you guys, the business doesn't actually make that much money for a good few years. Consider that next time someone has really pushed the envelope to get you a role......

I hope that gives you all a bit of an insight to our world. If you want more details, I'll answer PM's if it breeds understanding (but I'll not be telling anyone who I am or who I work for )


TAV

[conned tractor]

So if you saw the opportunity to make 50% or more on top of a contract ... would you take it?

What about 100% markup?


Greedy agent in the past has lost me a role and I am bitter about it unfortunately. He was after around 100% and client thought I was too expensive whereas I had actually reduced rate to about two thirds of what rate is now as I wanted the role.