Grrr agencies will be the death of me!

[BearAssCheek]

Applied for a contract role (6 monther) some 40 miles away (commutable, just!).

AGENCY STUFF UP 1: The agency submitted me for the role without telling me who clientco was
AGENCY STUFF UP 2: Agency supplied 2 time slots, I couldnt make either (had other interview) and wouldnt budge on these so had to re-organise to some embarrassment
AGENCY STUFF UP 3: Agency refuses to tell me the rate - says the clientco won't reveal until they decide who is best for the job.

I give up - had to tell them to come back when they could sort 2 and 3.

Plus, agencies who have made very nice margins out of me for the last 4 years won't return my calls or requests to 'catch up'

Its nearly 2 months on the bench for me now, it's getting to me a bit - I know, I know, some of you are far ahead of me. Do you think things will improve for Autumn? Thats my only desperate hope now.

Off to open a bottle of 'white'.

[cojak]

You think 40 miles is only just commutable??

I'm doing a 140 mile round trip (Nottingham -Leeds) and would prepared to commute to London if I can get a contract there.

Or I could have just stayed on the bench and waited for an easy commute.

[BearAssCheek]

You think 40 miles is only just commutable??

In fairness, that 40 miles will prob work out at 1.5 hours each way due to traffic etc. Didnt mean the distance, mainly the commutable time sorry should have clarified.

[nomadd]

AGENCY STUFF UP 1: The agency submitted me for the role without telling me who clientco was
AGENCY STUFF UP 2: Agency supplied 2 time slots, I couldnt make either (had other interview) and wouldnt budge on these so had to re-organise to some embarrassment
AGENCY STUFF UP 3: Agency refuses to tell me the rate - says the clientco won't reveal until they decide who is best for the job.

I give up -

I think you should. It's your fault for not insisting on getting the above sorted out. I've never, ever allowed my cv to go forward for a role when I don't know who the client is or what the rate is. I think you need to look more at your way of doing business, rather than bitching about agencies... Sorry, but that's the situation. It's your own fault.

(Now he'll probably come back bitching at me... )

[nomadd]

You think 40 miles is only just commutable??

I'm doing a 140 mile round trip (Nottingham -Leeds) and would prepared to commute to London if I can get a contract there.

Or I could have just stayed on the bench and waited for an easy commute.

Yep, I debenched 3 years ago by accepting by a 140 / day round tripper. Murder in the Winter, but needs must.

[BearAssCheek]

I think you should. It's your fault for not insisting on getting the above sorted out. I've never, ever allowed my cv to go forward for a role when I don't know who the client is or what the rate is.

That you know of...... this has happened to me once or twice before, when agencies I knew and trusted scrambled for a job and my CV ended up x 2 with a previous employer without my knowledge. Granted I gave them a rocket for this, but it DOES happen annoying though it is.

(Now he'll probably come back bitching at me... )

Not at all, happy to consider all points of view. Usually agents do tend to call first to establish my availability - the first I heard was an email saying they had submitted me to the clientco.

I am usually very good at pre-qualifying opps, but this one went outta my hands - not bitching, just venting a little?

[northernladuk]

Applied for a contract role (6 monther) some 40 miles away (commutable, just!).

AGENCY STUFF UP 1: The agency submitted me for the role without telling me who clientco was
AGENCY STUFF UP 2: Agency supplied 2 time slots, I couldnt make either (had other interview) and wouldnt budge on these so had to re-organise to some embarrassment
AGENCY STUFF UP 3: Agency refuses to tell me the rate - says the clientco won't reveal until they decide who is best for the job.

I give up - had to tell them to come back when they could sort 2 and 3.

Plus, agencies who have made very nice margins out of me for the last 4 years won't return my calls or requests to 'catch up'

Its nearly 2 months on the bench for me now, it's getting to me a bit - I know, I know, some of you are far ahead of me. Do you think things will improve for Autumn? Thats my only desperate hope now.

Off to open a bottle of 'white'.

I think a bit of backbone is needed to be honest. If you think this is agencies stuffing up you are in for a few nasty shocks coming up.
Agencies not telling you the client is common place and isn't really a problem to you and so what if he tells you later. Your world isn't going to fall apart. You find the client, you find one of the other preferred suppliers and undercut the agent. Yeah sure he is going to be up for that.
The client gives the agent 2 time slots. You take them or lose them, the agent isn't going to piss his client off with minor details like this. This is why the client uses an agent so he doesn't have to go through this hassle.
Refusing to tell you rate is also pretty common place. If you can pay for a piece of work dependant on the skills of the people you get wouldn't you take that option. Why would a client pay top dollar when the guys he get might only be 80% fit? Scalable rate against differing skills. Pain in arse agreed but not inconceivable...

And an 40 mile commute.... let me find my violin for you.

[thunderlizard]

Agency refuses to tell me the rate - says the clientco won't reveal until they decide who is best for the job.

Nor should they. As the supplier, setting the rate is your job.

[nfoote]

I agree that agents quite often don't tell you the client name before they send the CV over to the ClientCo but they definitely should before locking in a phone or face interview, at the very least you're suppose to do some research so you know who you're going to be talking to and about what!?

Refusing to tell you rate is also pretty common place.

Really? At the very least they should be asking you what your rate is so the ClientCo can decide if they would even entertain you as an idea after reading your CV. Surely you'd need some idea of at least a rate range before you travel x miles for a first up face to face interview. No point in driving 140 miles to find out the rate is a joke.

140 / day round tripper

40 miles will prob work out at 1.5 hours each

Hearing things like this makes me glad I have no kids/family/mortgage/lease/dependencies-whatsoever and I can carry everything I own on my back, more than exactly 60 min door to door and I just move to the ClientCo.

[Wanderer]

Refusing to tell you rate is also pretty common place.

Yeah, but if they won't tell offer a rate then you have to offer them one. There is no way I'm going to an interview without having a ball park rate on the table. It would be like going to have a look at a used car without knowing how much the seller is asking for it.

Agent: "We don't have a rate for this job."
Contractor: OK, I'm looking to charge between X and Y per day, put that to the client along with my CV. If they aren't willing to pay in that range then let's not waste everyone's time. If we do the interview and the client are interested then we can negotiate something in that range. Don't presume that I will cave in and take an offer at the lower end of my range either - the rate I charge depends on the requirements of the position.