Agencies changing CVs?

[Mordac]

Anyone got any experience of agencies changing their CVs? I've seen two now -- one copy/pasted text only and removed all the formatting. The other wanted to change the style and layout at the top of the first page.

Whose CV is it?! Mine or theirs?

Any thoughts?

Are you really a contractor or out on day release? Agencies will ALWAYS remove your contact details and replace them with their own logo and contact details. (Please tell me you knew this really, and you're just having us all on).
Most (certainly the bigger ones) will have document management software which will extract the text from your CV and place it in their database. So they can search through their extensive candidate list and find jobs for you. The same software then mails out the CV, so if you have any fancy formatting you will probably lose it.
If you have trouble grasping all that, I hear Tescos are on the lookout for more shelf stackers.

And I wouldn't recommend sending pdf's to agencies, most resourcers wouldn't know what to do with it.

[Denny]

Do you automatically go into confrontation mode whenever you speak to an agent Denny?

I tend to find that the better contractors rarely get hung about agencies simply because they tend to land most of the jobs that they get put up for. In these cases where the contractor impresses ther is little an agency can do to make life difficult.

If a contractor is good an agency will not be able to afford to ignore him/her.

Iget the feeling Denny that maybe the problems that you have had to make you so bitter and twisted are more to do with you than any agency or hiring manager.

Roughly translated your answer says:

I hate your arguments Denny because you really hit a nerve and I don't want other contractors cottoning on to the fact you make good and very valid and well through points and stands up to intellectual scrutiny.

Therefore, I have to work hard to try and convince contractors that Denny is mentally subnormal to maintain the status quo within our industry. Plainly Denny is a subversive and needs shutting up and this is my best way of going about it.

Just to turn this around a bit DA - perhaps YOU are so bitter and twisted and scared as tulip because you are coming onto contractor sites to promote agency interests. Why don't you just post on recruiter sites to do that? Why do you expect to speak against the interests of candidates by knocking what their experiences are when you clearly don't expect contractors to work against the interests of agents by knocking them - AND you expect that to happen on a contractor site.

God, you must be scared as tulip.

[IT contract agent]

spot on mordac!

Dodgy - please let me know if there are spelling mistakes in this.

What is the point of sending a CDF and if we don't accept it say do one to your agent? Send me a CDF and refuse to send me a work doc and I’ll tell you to do one!

Don't have the time or inclination to change the content of a CV - if the content needs to be more focused I’d always ask the candidate to do it!

Re putting company branding on it - what difference does it make to you guys??

[IT contract agent]

Always take your interviewers direct contact details too on the basis that you might have further questions to ask after the interview (provided you thought it went well). Most will do that. In fact the reason for asking for these is to double check with the client if the role is 'put on hold' by the agent or some other phoney excuse given that doesn't ring true and to check that the agent didn't tell him that you are no longer available.

.

Think about what you're saying!!!! why would an agent tell a client you are no longer available? How do you think we make money - have a think about it. Clueless!

[malvolio]

Re putting company branding on it - what difference does it make to you guys??

A hell of a lot, actually. I run a business, and I rather like to see my branding on the documentation, not someone else's. The client knows you're the agent, and they know I'm a freelance, not some junior member of your staff, so why pretend otherwise. It's not like they're going to phone me up (or email me or look at my website) and offer me the job direct once you've done the introduction - we're all professional grown-ups, after all.

And personally, I seriously dislike seeing my beautifully crafted CV cropped into Times New Roman 10-point and de-formatted. It is my sales tool, not yours, and I quite like it the way it is.

So reverse the question - why do agencies insist on re-branding me?

[Cowboy Bob]

spot on mordac!

Dodgy - please let me know if there are spelling mistakes in this.

What is the point of sending a CDF and if we don't accept it say do one to your agent? Send me a CDF and refuse to send me a work doc and I’ll tell you to do one!

Don't have the time or inclination to change the content of a CV - if the content needs to be more focused I’d always ask the candidate to do it!

Re putting company branding on it - what difference does it make to you guys??

1) I genuinely don't have a copy of Word so cannot produce a Word document, would you like to donate a copy? Word costs a good few hundred quid and I have no use for it, why would I buy a copy just to make you happy? And no, I don't run dodgy software on my computer so that's not an option.

2) I've only ever encountered a couple of agents who wouldn't take a PDF document, and they were from the large agencies who I wouldn't touch with yours anyway.

I've found that if you've got a decent CV (which I have ) then an agent doesn't care what format it's in since they want to make money from me as much as I want the job.

[IT contract agent]

go read a marketing book - sure a pretty basic one will explain why company branding is added!

re your other point -

Ever thought that your CV may not sell you as well as you think? Agents are working with you to get you a job - we're on the same side!!!!!!

We get you a job - we make money

[IT contract agent]

Cowboy - For me it would depend on the client as to whether I'd take a PDF. I'd happily take a PDF with no details on but not a locked PDF with your details on. If its a new client CVs get sent with no details on.

re word - you can happily come into one of our offices and use a computer with word on it - I wouldn't even charge you!

[malvolio]

go read a marketing book - sure a pretty basic one will explain why company branding is added!

re your other point -

Ever thought that your CV may not sell you as well as you think? Agents are working with you to get you a job - we're on the same side!!!!!!

We get you a job - we make money

Yes they do. The point you miss is that I've got market branding of my own, and you then bin that and add your own. And my CV follows accepted practice for layout - key, skills, key acheivements, contract summaries, three pages long, no waffle, clear contact details, no typos - and I seem to get work off it so it must be doing something right (although these days, people come to me, not the other way round - I haven't had to apply for the last five roles I've done )

And I've never said agencies don't earn their money - you may be parastical bastards but you're very valuable parastical bastards and you do the one thing I'm not very good at - but it would be nice, once in a while, for someone in the agency to recognise that the skills and the 35 years experience for sale are mine, not theirs...

[Cowboy Bob]

Cowboy - For me it would depend on the client as to whether I'd take a PDF. I'd happily take a PDF with no details on but not a locked PDF with your details on. If its a new client CVs get sent with no details on.

re word - you can happily come into one of our offices and use a computer with word on it - I wouldn't even charge you!

For me it would depend on who the agent is as to whether they even receive a copy of my CV in the first place

In all the client meetings (interviews to you) I've had, I'd say that 99% of the time the client had a copy of my CV with my contact details still present at the top. The other 1% of the time they have had a bulleted list of my key skills (and I have no idea whether the client produced that themselves or not) to discuss.

I agree 100% with Malvolio, we're all professionals (or at least should be) and I'm not prepared to be treated like some 16 year old pimply kid straight out of school who doesn't know what they're doing or to be treated like some kind of used car salesman who's out to rip people off.

You don't like that attitude, you don't get my business. It's as simple as that.