Ask the agent. The Good, the bad and the ugly

[oracleslave]

Does the platform go with you when you move companies ? </Just curious>

Boo

Probably not.

Foxtons_sues_ex-director_over_database_theft_claim ... - Estate Agent Today

Different kind of agent yes, but they're all the same right?

[Naaarwich]

Other interviews

I often get asked if I have other interviews in the pipeline. I realise that mostly this is to generate leads but for a genuine agent does the answer sway you in any way? Say I say that I have an interview lined up, would you be tempted not to submit my CV to your client in case I may accept the other offer and you dont want to use up your maximum 3 CV quota?

Or does having another interview mean that I am in demand?

[The Agents View]

Does the platform go with you when you move companies ? </Just curious>

Boo

The Client relationships don't really (some do, some are brand loyal) but the contractors already working do - you can't just port them across.

So essentially, you start from scratch.

[The Agents View]

I often get asked if I have other interviews in the pipeline. I realise that mostly this is to generate leads but for a genuine agent does the answer sway you in any way? Say I say that I have an interview lined up, would you be tempted not to submit my CV to your client in case I may accept the other offer and you dont want to use up your maximum 3 CV quota?

Or does having another interview mean that I am in demand?

It's a risk thing more than anything.

Yes, if you give out the client, contact, telephone number etc out, expect to have more competition for the role very quickly.

Otherwise, you have to consider how likely the contractor is to take your role if offered - We often ask the rates and how they compare - this is so that we know what we're up against - there can be millions of variable as to why we want to be aware of this - perhaps we can stretch budgets, perhaps we can push to match it, perhaps we can cut our margins, perhaps we can speed the process up and have you have to make a decision.

Ultimately, if you have 10 interviews lined up at £1000 per day, and I have a £400 per day role - I'm not likely to waste the time of myself or my client. I'll either find them someone else, or explain to them that they want the earth but aren't prepared to pay for it. If the roles I have stack up OK against the competition we can proceed without a problem.

[The Agents View]

The Client relationships don't really (some do, some are brand loyal) but the contractors already working do - you can't just port them across.

So essentially, you start from scratch.

To correct this to your question.

You DON'T Lose the client relationships - they're personal (although most agencies will have contractual obligations on movers not to make contact - but they're rarely upheld).

You DO lose all of the contractors placed - you can't just port them to your new agency.

You also lose any database or historical work records - so it can be difficult to remember what you've told whom, and how much of the sales funnel you have to go through next time you speak to them!!

[SimonMac]

CV Advice

I have always gone down the rule of a maximum two sides of A4 when it comes to my CV, briefly it works out P1 Personal Details, Personal Statements (6-7 bullet points of 1 -2 sentences) then Education/Qualifications/Training. P2 is then work history.

Now this is OK for permie work where I can list company, positions and role information, but now I am contracting I want to put my Ltd company as my employer and then under that list what I have done for clients without listing specific clients.

Is this the best way to structure a "contractor" CV, or if not could you give me any tips? Reading yours and others posts it seems that key word searches are still widely used but I don't want to overload the CV with buzz words.

Thanks in advance

Simon

[The Agents View]

CV Advice

I have always gone down the rule of a maximum two sides of A4 when it comes to my CV, briefly it works out P1 Personal Details, Personal Statements (6-7 bullet points of 1 -2 sentences) then Education/Qualifications/Training. P2 is then work history.

Now this is OK for permie work where I can list company, positions and role information, but now I am contracting I want to put my Ltd company as my employer and then under that list what I have done for clients without listing specific clients.

Is this the best way to structure a "contractor" CV, or if not could you give me any tips? Reading yours and others posts it seems that key word searches are still widely used but I don't want to overload the CV with buzz words.

Thanks in advance

Simon

Wow....OK - you've really opened a can of worms there.

I'll break it down.

Key words: Yes - but there's an age old trick to this. Take all your key words, type them out, repeating all of them over and over. Then, shrink the font to the smallest level you can, and colour the typing white. The job boards and search engines will pick this up, but you won't have to worry about your key words looking stupid in your CV - Think about this from the searchers perspective - eg: Project Manager, Project Manage, Project Managing, Project Delivery....and so on.

Length: Now I feel like an agony aunt..... "it's not the length, it's what you do with it". To be honest, it depends. I have different preferences to other people. A good agent will be able to tell you what a client prefers.

I personally like a more in-depth CV, as it gives me more opportunity to understand. Others like a high level CV, and you may find yourself having to write one for initial interest, and an in-depth one for interviews etc.

2-3 pages is a good intro - 4-5 is a good length of in-depth CV - 5-150 is overkill generally. Agqin, this is completely down to the reader though.

I don't know what you do - however, I would structure it as follows:

SimonMac Consulting Limited:
Managing Director
2010 -

Client: ABC
Requirement:
Method:
Result:

Client: DEF
Requirement:
Method:
Result:

and so on.

I'm afraid, with all the current competition, clients and agents will want to know who you've been working for - at the moment, we have so much choice as to who we put through, that very few will take the time to give you that feedback though.

Ultimately, your CV needs credibility - big client businesses will add that - SimonMac Consulting, simply won't.

I hope that helps - if anything doesn't make sense, please feel free to ask further questions! Welcome to CUK!