Sloppy interview process

[nomadd]

..have to do a face to face which lasts 2 hours, involves a coding test and a design test as well as discussion on the role and their CV.

Cost all of us candidates at least a half day to a day's contract rate plus travel costs to have our time completely wasted.

More fool you.

Still, thanks for designing and coding our new system for us. For free. We might get back in touch with you for a second set of 'tests' if our Bob's gets stuck in supporting it.

[Gun4Hire]

Dodgy agents, now many dodgy clients

Big deal, that kind of nonsense is happening all of the time nowadays.

A lot of clients don't have any budget, many of them just continually test the market.

They are usually the 'gigs' that are advertised every day for months on end where the agency changes every three to four weeks. They either have no budget or actually want contractors to take up permanent positions. There is one well known media client who did this advertising every day for months on end, the agent changed every few weeks, the one I spoke to sent 20 of us to the last stage of a three stage process, they said that six of the 20, including me, were too strong.

The funny thing is that now agents get to feel what is like when their time is wasted. My advice, work in Europe, emigrate further afield, start your own business or go permanent, contracting in the UK is now dodgier than operating in a banana republic. Maybe it will improve but unless you can hold your breath for at least a couple of years I wouldn't bother.

[nomadd]

My advice, work in Europe, emigrate further afield, start your own business or go permanent, contracting in the UK is now dodgier than operating in a banana republic. Maybe it will improve but unless you can hold your breath for at least a couple of years I wouldn't bother.

My advice is to be clear with agencies and clients before you attend an "interview". Always insist on a telephone interview first. Push the client hard in it, just to make sure they aren't time-wasters. Ditto, I've always refused point-blank to do any form of "coding test" or "design test" for any client - unless they are prepared to pay a day's pay beforehand. Made that charging structure clear to both my previous clients, who then decided to skip the tests but still offered me the roles.

There's still very good money to be made contracting in the UK. You've just got to be careful and look after number one. And, as many posts on here testify, plenty of "foreign" contracts end up going pear-shaped and become a very expensive undertaking. So the grass isn't always greener on the other side...

[escapeUK]

Interviewer may well have had his own agenda.

Perhaps he had a friend he wanted to get in there instead.

Could be, or maybe his boss wanted him to do something and his had palmed him off by saying he was too busy. The last thing he wants is a skilled contractor showing him up.

[d000hg]

More fool you.

Still, thanks for designing and coding our new system for us. For free. We might get back in touch with you for a second set of 'tests' if our Bob's gets stuck in supporting it.

How dare they want to test the competency of someone charging 2X as much as their highest paid people, This Is An Outrage.

Yeah, its their job to show they are interested. Not to show up like they just got out of bed.

Sure. If you're applying for a permie role.

Could be, or maybe his boss wanted him to do something and his had palmed him off by saying he was too busy. The last thing he wants is a skilled contractor showing him up.

Maybe he just wanted to be doing some real work

[nomadd]

How dare they want to test the competency of someone charging 2X as much as their highest paid people, This Is An Outrage.

Spoken just like an Agent. Or a permie. Just love these fictitious 2X figures. I always though it was 4X?

You assess competency by a proper interview process, not some contrived tests, which only a complete pillock would agree to do at their own time and expense. Still, not for me to tell you how to run your own business... You carry on doing these 'tests', as you seem to think it's the clients right. I'll just keep winning contracts the old-fashioned way, with persuasive, intelligent discussion - which I'm sure you consider An Outrage!

[d000hg]

That's a load of balls. It's easy to blag skills with a technology without ever having used it. You can do a code test verbally or during the interview but if you're not asking detailed questions you're not testing anything.

There's no difference asking someone to show they can do the job as a permie/contractor - if anything you want to be more stringent with a contractor since they cost more and are expected to get up to speed faster.

If you'd engage a company with no proof of competence more fool you. In other areas you'd ask people to show a portfolio, but this is rarely possible as a developer/architect.

You sound like the kind who give contractors a bad name. Polished answers to make yourself sound great, then just sit about billing and get out onto the next gig.

[nomadd]

That's a load of balls. It's easy to blag skills with a technology without ever having used it. You can do a code test verbally or during the interview but if you're not asking detailed questions you're not testing anything.

There's no difference asking someone to show they can do the job as a permie/contractor - if anything you want to be more stringent with a contractor since they cost more and are expected to get up to speed faster.

If you'd engage a company with no proof of competence more fool you. In other areas you'd ask people to show a portfolio, but this is rarely possible as a developer/architect.

You sound like the kind who give contractors a bad name. Polished answers to make yourself sound great, then just sit about billing and get out onto the next gig.

Ah, d000hg, you never fail to impress me with the utter childishness of your responses. Such a shame we have to suffer so many of them...

I'm sorry, but if you don't have the skills to interview someone correctly, then that's simply down to your lack of talent and knowledge. I've been interviewing and recruiting both contract and permanent staff on behalf of my clients for almost all the 22 years I've been contracting: I've never made a mistake in my selection yet. That's all without the need to resort to contrived tests in the hope that they'll make up for a lack of interviewing skills...

Please, for your own sake, in future don't make such a fool of yourself with replies of: "You sound like the kind who give contractors a bad name." Come on, if you want to have a childish rant on the Internet because you've lost an argument, at least come up with something, anything more original. Oh, and try to at least get the English right.

See you at your next interview. Or maybe I'll make an exception in your case and give you a test? I know you'd throw a tantrum if it was missing...

Cheers for the laugh.

[d000hg]

When was the last time you interviewed yourself? It's not about MY ability to interview people, but the ability of the people interviewing candidates. If they ask detailed searching questions to interviewees, they ARE doing a technical test, you chump. If they ask you to sketch out verbally how they might approach a problem, the same.

Quite aside from the fact you haven't addressed why it makes sense to technically test permies but not contractors, I remind you of my assertion that it's easy to blag a technology you have no experience with.

Or would actually talking facts stretch you too far from your comfort zone of insulting people? Your post attacks points irrelevant to the initial issue in an attempt to pamper your ego at (in your mind) crushing your opponent.

Speaking of childish, insulting the other person in order to make them look silly so that you can evade the actual question by saying "clearly you're so stupid I see no point discussing with you" is the lowest form of debating tactic.

Alternatively we'll let it rest. You continue thinking you're great because you can trick companies into hiring you based on your 'honest word' that you're great. I'll continue waiting for your work to show up on TheDailyWTF, if it didn't already.

[d000hg]

Missed this gem...

I've been interviewing and recruiting both contract and permanent staff on behalf of my clients for almost all the 22 years I've been contracting: I've never made a mistake in my selection yet.
...
See you at your next interview. Or maybe I'll make an exception in your case and give you a test? I know you'd throw a tantrum if it was missing...

Sorry, anyone who seriously believes they never made a mistake is absolutely deluded and almost certainly an arrogant toss-pot of a man. Oh, wait - that absolutely ties in with the rest of your condescending, belittling tone. Is that how you treat people you have authority over too? In which case, I'd rather work for AtW. Maybe you mean you interview people based on their ability to brown-nose you and make you feel big and important. In which case perhaps you really have hired the right people all those years.

Anyway I'll let you think up your petulant outburst witty yet fact-based response. I can hardly wait.