Dodgy Agency Practices

[ratewhore]

Ah yes Fleet, as are all agents. Only, all agents don't spend some of it back on you do they?

[dork]

The outcome...

When the agents call, I am only too aware that they are all trying to find out information about possible contacts.. So far I have been "helping" them out by being honest, but they don't seem to be returning the favour and have been generally wasting my time!

So, in future, I'm going to tell them I can give them all the contacts they want when they get me an interview!

[Jaybee from his castle]

Hi all, first time on this site!!! Good to see so many IT brethren in one place discussing working conditions, seemed like all we do on the net sometimes is swap workarounds!!

This is a subject close to my heart as I thought I'd given the agents the slip when I left sales in the early 90's - and found to my horror in the late 90's that the IT recruitment market was dominated by them and their sharp practices.

Good telltales signs to help you sniff out lead-canvassers from genuine matchmakers;

1) They'll ask for work references before the first PHYSICAL interview with a client, often spinning you a tale of a sky-high rate. Personally, I have NEVER gotten a job or contract when the agent asked for these up-front, and have a policy of only giving them AFTER the first physical interview.

2) Will ask for detailed descriptions of the structure of your current company, so as to lead smoothly into subtly-timed, innocuous seeming questions about "oh, where are they then?". My answer? "Oh, they have several branches throughout the UK, I used to flit from site to site". That way, they cannot track via Directory Enquiries the precise office to canvass.

3) Will use Email as little as possible - if you're serious about a candidate, you'll follow up the initial phone call with an email containing a job spec.

4) Lack of Job/Contract spec when asked - because the position doesn't exist.

I'll post more as I think of them.
THE GOOD NEWS...

The Department of Trade and Industry takes a dim view of all this. I'll add the relevant link for complaints to be made shortly.

Good luck all...glad to be here.


Jaybee

[threaded]

Why does is matter if The Department of Trade and Industry takes a dim view? Are they really going to do anything about it? If the government weren't falling over themselves to take backhanders of some of the usual suspects those problems would not exist...

[The Lone Gunman]

The DTI have given them a great excuse to do this!!!!

It says in the Conduct of agencies act that the agent must check you are who you say you are and that you have the experience you say you have.
They must do this BEFORE putting you forward as a suitable candidate.
They can legitimately use the above as an excuse for asking for references.

It is difficult to get around. I just plain refuse and if the contract goes bye bye then I have to wear it.

[mcquiggd]

I agree with the Lone Gunman.


If an agent wants to see my passport, fine, if they want references up front, no way.... the poor guys who act as my referees would be bombarded with calls from a hundred different agencies and would disown me. Ill wait and deal with an agent who knows from talking to me that I know my stuff....

Oh, was that hell freezing over...?

[DodgyAgent]

legislation

Whilst I agree with the criticism of the practice by agencies of conning contractors to submit names of potential clients in the way that is described, I am surprised that some of you seem to think that the DTI can provide the answer to the problem through legislation. Apart from the rather pathetic abscence of the ability to think anything through, and the bewildering memory loss with regards to what happened when the govt previously involved itself in our industry, legislation is not the answer.

I would like to see mailman use his brain and explain how such legislation should work. To make legislation work one would have to make it illegal to tell lies, which would backfire more on some of the saddos on this site than it would affect recruitment agents (ever heard of the laws of unintended consequences?)

There seems to be a growing aggression on this site towards agencies, which can be attributed to maybe two factors:

1. Agents are becoming dodgier (seems to be coinciding with some recent legislation to control them/us if my memory serves me right)
2. Agencies have worked out that the type of people who spend vast amounts of their time on this site are unproductive and therefore not worthy of work. So as ever the messengers are being shot.

The answer is simple; just dont give the agencies the information in the first place and write to ATSCO naming and shaming. You should be big enough and ugly enough to deal with this agency practice without needing to go blubbing to the government.

[Jabberwocky]

Well DA I have written to Atsco to complain ... and what did it achieve ? Precisely nothing. I misunderstood what the agent was saying apparently. Difficult to see how I did that given they were going through a list of companies asking for contacts details.

Do you feel proud to be part of this profession DA ? Come judgement day all you will find is Chico at the pearly gates with a meat cleaver.

[DodgyAgent]

Well DA I have written to Atsco to complain ... and what did it achieve ? Precisely nothing. I misunderstood what the agent was saying apparently. Difficult to see how I did that given they were going through a list of companies asking for contacts details.

Do you feel proud to be part of this profession DA ? Come judgement day all you will find is Chico at the pearly gates with a meat cleaver.

If enough of you write to Atsco then maybe something will be done, otherwise live with it, and take the view that you have benefitted from the experience. As far how I feel about my profession then:

1. I am honoured that you describe it as a profession
2. I dont regard myself as important enough to identify myself with the "profession"
3. If the "profession" is dodgy then this surely presents more opportunities than problems.
and
4. It is a bit like asking Doctors how they feel about being in the same profession as Howard Shipman

[Jabberwocky]

When I say profession DA, I use it in the sense of a professional pimp. Interesting though how you equate the antics of some of your fellow professionals with the most infamous serial killer in history. A bit over the top perhaps ... unless you know better of course.