Why don't the agents reply? I mean come on ... !

[The Agents View]

TAV,
Now that is more like it. You've shifted from "the only thing I can do" and "I simply do not have time" to something more businesslike: that it's a decision you make freely in order to earn maximum profit with minimum effort. I've got no argument with that.

I would say that minimum effort is the wrong term - it's more about where to direct maximum effort, than minimising effort totally. Kind of like betting on one horse with all of your wager, rather than spreading across the whole field. Does that make sense?

[Ignis Fatuus]

Thanks for the sp.

You can turn your tone down slightly - my understanding of my market sectors personally is extremely high (I love the sector I work within, as well as having it as my job).

Sorry, I know it is but the Forum-Posting auto-sarky routine kicked in. Just the same, surely you can do better than a program?

FYI I had an application for this role, which I happened to look at on a whim - I knew it hadn't hit the initial , very high level criteria of having project or programme in the CV. The persons work history? Boots - Sales Assistant. Burger King Franchise - Customer Assistant. Small IT technical business - Cable puller. Now seriously, I ask you, for a £350 per day role, why would I even speak to this person - it's just wasting my time!!

They could become an agent, have you checked most of their CV histories on LinkedIn?

</sarky>

[The Agents View]

Sorry, I know it is but the Forum-Posting auto-sarky routine kicked in. Just the same, surely you can do better than a program?

They could become an agent, have you checked most of their CV histories on LinkedIn?

</sarky>

Of course I can, in theory, do a better job of reading between the lines - but this industry has become more and more about the black and white, driven by the clients out there at the moment being able to pick and choose.

Given that I am likely to come up with the same result in 95% of cases, you have to say that the 5% sacrifice is worth it, if it means I have double the amount of bandwidth.

[vjmac108]

TAV, in the time you've spent commenting on this subject (and many others) you could have reviewed CVs. Amazing you have the time to post nonsense on this board but not to screen candidates.

[neebz]

Can anyone tell me if there is so much competition and agents are getting woohoo 200 applications for an advert then why do they even post fake ads ? Why do they need to maintain a database and keep track of resumes when they get people with 10+ years of experience guys in a blip ? Do agents really really worry about their reputation? Will they be ok to earn less for a candidate if they are sure about his quality compared to a newbie?

[SueEllen]

Can anyone tell me if there is so much competition and agents are getting woohoo 200 applications for an advert then why do they even post fake ads ?

Because CVs normally have the list of companies and locations that someone has worked at.

The agent can then phone you up and ask for references.

They will then phone these references up and ask them if they need people this is what is commonly called cold calling.

Depending on how they go about cold calling they can hassle the reference a lot and even lie to them. (Agencies self-regulate so even if you catch them lying there is nothing you can do.)

However some do leave you on the database and then contact you 5 or 10 years later stating they have a job for you. Unfortunately the job is not likely to match your skills.

[Wanderer]

why do they even post fake ads ?

I suspect that sometimes they aren't willing to let on too many details of the job onto jobserve etc for fear that all the other vultures will cop on to where the job is at and try and get their own people in. I've seen job vacancies come up and get filled and I can't find anything resembling the job description on any board (and I've seen the job spec which was quite specific about a couple of niche skills too).

Hands up who's ever sent in their CV then had a call "that job's gone but there is another one you might be interested in". Search the boards and there's no mention of this job, but it is real.

Or is it just me that has this cloak and dagger experience?

[The Agents View]

TAV, in the time you've spent commenting on this subject (and many others) you could have reviewed CVs. Amazing you have the time to post nonsense on this board but not to screen candidates.

I take your point. But this is called time management - if I wasn't able to use an initial sifting filter, I'd not have time to make such a valuable, insightful contribution to this forum.

In addition, I see improving relations and understanding in the contractor world as part of my job, hence I set myself a little time aside during the day to repond to questions - given the intensity of what I do, sometimes it's actually light relief to look through this and respond

[SizeZero]

Although it's diverting the theme away from 'kick the agent', I know a number of Bobs who are starting to complain about the lack of .NET opportunities - guys with double your years of experience. It's not my area - but perhaps this is just too saturated a market at this moment in time?

[neebz]

Because CVs normally have the list of companies and locations that someone has worked at.

The agent can then phone you up and ask for references.

They will then phone these references up and ask them if they need people this is what is commonly called cold calling.

Depending on how they go about cold calling they can hassle the reference a lot and even lie to them. (Agencies self-regulate so even if you catch them lying there is nothing you can do.)

However some do leave you on the database and then contact you 5 or 10 years later stating they have a job for you. Unfortunately the job is not likely to match your skills.

Ok, this all makes sense.

Thanks guys.Even though some of you were mean but it helped.

It means the bottom line is that just keep on trying, be nice to agents and hope for the best.