Dodgy Agents - Time to fight back?

[Stan.goodvibes]

It matters a lot...

PZZ

Why do you always put PZZ at the end of your posts?

[Not So Wise]

What does that matter? client co have told me that hays were never consulted over the gig and would not have been allowed to submit CVs for the role. The agent found out who the client was and advertised on jobserve so he could attempt to jump in at the last minute but was told to bolt by the client therefore my CV gets thrown in the bin where it would have got me an interview if I went with the real agency.

If you think that is fair game you are clearly talking out of your arse.

Standard practice, especially with all the big agencies and reason they do it is it sometimes rarely works (and the contractor and agency benefit) but complaining will get you no where.

Only reasonable and appropriate response is just add time wasting and/or rip off agencies to your personal "black list" and ignore everything from them from that point on

Though will warn you, after a few years you will end up with a black list like mine, which has pretty much every major agency out there on it

If more contractors did that, instead of acting like beggars being thankful for slops and a kick up the arse most of these barrow boy agencies would have gone tits up long ago, instead of growing to be the biggest of the lot.

Not agencies fault for acting like twats, it's contractors fault for not only allowing them for it but actually rewarding them for acting like that

[expat]

.....
If more contractors did that, instead of acting like beggars being thankful for slops and a kick up the arse most of these barrow boy agencies would have gone tits up long ago, instead of growing to be the biggest of the lot.

Not agencies fault for acting like twats, it's contractors fault for not only allowing them for it but actually rewarding them for acting like that

My OH lambasted all of us contractors the other night, for being such spineless wimps as to allow ignorant parasites of agents to muck us about so much. I think she's right.

[original PM]

and yet how many contractors do nothing more than surf the job boards and bitch about agencies on here?

those who see themselves as LTD companies need to start thinking like companies and get some sales done

[expat]

and yet how many contractors do nothing more than surf the job boards and bitch about agencies on here?

those who see themselves as LTD companies need to start thinking like companies and get some sales done

As I keep saying on here, I personally see myself as neither an employee nor a "real business", but rather as an independent knowledge worker. This is a status that is widely recognised in other countries: the 2-way pigeon-holing of employee-or-business in the UK is IMHO a consequence of the tax authorities' unfortunate difference in take take between the two categories. That gives them an incentive to claim that if you are not a "real business" then you must be an employee.

I am disappointed to see contractors falling for it. I don't have to do cold calls in order not to be an employee.

[original PM]

expat - where do your contracts come from?

[expat]

expat - where do your contracts come from?

will you deduce from the answer to that question whether I am a real business or an employee?

They come from wherever I can get them from: agents who call me, agents whom I call, jobserve ads, opportunites forwarded from colleagues/contacts, PMs whom I contact, recalls to projects or companies where I have worked before or where I am known for one reason or another .....

[original PM]

No I was just wondering what you did to get them -

looks like you (sensibly) get business from wherever you can -

whether you like it or not you are acting as a company in that you offer services, people know about your services and contact you when they reuqire them or alternatively you see work which requires your (your companies) skill set and apply. I do agree with your point about being a knowledge worker but all that kind of points to is a consultancy type business as opposed to a coding type business.

The point I was trying to make was about the other people who have not done any networking, do not get repeate business and simply jump from one agency job to another whilst bitching about using agencies on here.

[NotAllThere]

An agent from Hays took my CV 2 weeks ago and promised me he was sending it to a client then after a week he ignored my follow up mail.

...

I found out that Hays never sent my CV in and were never being used in the first place.

Now why would I use someone that pissed down my back and told me it is raining ever again?

I'm looking forward to sending him an email when I start in the place. Hays are now definetly on the 'never use again list' and I will tell any agent that calls me from Hays exactly why and mention the agents name, his peers can have a go at him.

How do you know he was from Hays?

[Beefy198]

Presumably he sent it to a Hays email account?