The Next Agent That Asks Me .......

[dack]

Try not to beat them up for basically doing their job.

They're trying to extract info from me so they can send along contractors to compete with me for the roles I've applied for - not something I take kindly to.

[Wanderer]

They're trying to extract info from me so they can send along contractors to compete with me for the roles I've applied for - not something I take kindly to.

I'm suspicious that a lot of them are cold callers whose only purpose is to make phishing calls and waste our time, I don't like that either.

[The Agents View]

I'm suspicious that a lot of them are cold callers whose only purpose is to make phishing calls and waste our time, I don't like that either.

Yes, in the worst recession since the war, we have lots and lots of people employed on salaries you could live on, to purely call you up, and waste your time. We don't need people to be out there making money at all.......

See original post for deluded contractors quote......

[pmeswani]

Yes, in the worst recession since the war, we have lots and lots of people employed on salaries you could live on, to purely call you up, and waste your time. We don't need people to be out there making money at all.......

See original post for deluded contractors quote......

I had an agent contact me yesterday about a role that didn't exist (I say this as he promised to send me a job description that never appeared after the phone call). All he was interested in was my rate, what opportunities I was working on and what contact details I could pass onto him.

Sorry to say this, but I am not interested in finding jobs for other contractors instead of me. If I can get my foot in the door with a client, I may consider contacting my trusted agents and helping them out.

(Trusted in the sense of them placing me in the past).

[The Agents View]

I had an agent contact me yesterday about a role that didn't exist (I say this as he promised to send me a job description that never appeared after the phone call). All he was interested in was my rate, what opportunities I was working on and what contact details I could pass onto him.

Sorry to say this, but I am not interested in finding jobs for other contractors instead of me. If I can get my foot in the door with a client, I may consider contacting my trusted agents and helping them out.

(Trusted in the sense of them placing me in the past).

And where do you think the roles which are right for you come from??

In this job, knowledge and relationships are everything. I don't phish...well, not that you'd notice anyway, but I do network information and piece it together to get a bigger picture, however, this is time consuming, so I do sometimes think that doing things the sneaky way would be easier.

You've got to realise, that the roles which are right for you, have likely come as a result of an agent extracting information from another contractor.

Whether or not it's right or wrong to get stroppy when an agent goes phishing is up to you - but you should at least be aware that without anyone giving out this kind of information, you'd find getting a contract a whole heap more awkward.

TAV

[jmo21]

And where do you think the roles which are right for you come from??

In this job, knowledge and relationships are everything. I don't phish...well, not that you'd notice anyway, but I do network information and piece it together to get a bigger picture, however, this is time consuming, so I do sometimes think that doing things the sneaky way would be easier.

You've got to realise, that the roles which are right for you, have likely come as a result of an agent extracting information from another contractor.

Whether or not it's right or wrong to get stroppy when an agent goes phishing is up to you - but you should at least be aware that without anyone giving out this kind of information, you'd find getting a contract a whole heap more awkward.

TAV

So what you are saying is that end-clients would never advertise roles if it wasn't for you cold calling them trying to get their business?

[The Agents View]

So what you are saying is that end-clients would never advertise roles if it wasn't for you cold calling them trying to get their business?

What I'm saying is that to a contractor, the mark of a good recruiter, is someone who comes up with roles for them regularly. In order to do this, they HAVE to be pro-active - you can't just wait for the opportunities to come to you, you have to go out and find them - the only way you're going to do that, is to pro-actively collect information, and use it to build a picture of what is going on, where.

Recruiting is not a transactional game (well, it shouldn't be anyway) and the background work which has to go in, is labourious, and to be honest, dull. The people who phish hard, are the ones who can't be bothered with focusing in on a particular market sector, or niche within the industry.

Maybe "without us" companies would advertise direct, but at that point, the advertising media would realise their value, and start charging in a similar fashion to a recruiter. Ultimately, someone who is very good at extracting information about who's recruiting, is someone you should be close to, not pushing away - they are the most likely people, to come up with the opportunity which secures you your next contract.

[The Agents View]

So what you are saying is that end-clients would never advertise roles if it wasn't for you cold calling them trying to get their business?

Also, if you have good, inside information, then you don't need to cold call - the call is warm, because you can adjust your pitch before you even pick up the telephone...... Knowledge is power

[jmo21]

What I'm saying is that to a contractor, the mark of a good recruiter, is someone who comes up with roles for them regularly. In order to do this, they HAVE to be pro-active - you can't just wait for the opportunities to come to you, you have to go out and find them - the only way you're going to do that, is to pro-actively collect information, and use it to build a picture of what is going on, where.

Recruiting is not a transactional game (well, it shouldn't be anyway) and the background work which has to go in, is labourious, and to be honest, dull. The people who phish hard, are the ones who can't be bothered with focusing in on a particular market sector, or niche within the industry.

Maybe "without us" companies would advertise direct, but at that point, the advertising media would realise their value, and start charging in a similar fashion to a recruiter. Ultimately, someone who is very good at extracting information about who's recruiting, is someone you should be close to, not pushing away - they are the most likely people, to come up with the opportunity which secures you your next contract.

I understand the premise, it's the subterfuge I do not like. If you don't have a role and only want info, let me decide whether I classify it as a time waste or not.

[The Agents View]

I understand the premise, it's the subterfuge I do not like. If you don't have a role and only want info, let me decide whether I classify it as a time waste or not.

From my perspective, I do this - but I know many who don't. Occassionally I'll suggest that I'm new into the industry, and really need some help to get my knowledge up to speed - but thats the extent of any deception - I generally ask new contractors to me, to help me to help them, and discuss my niche - I give some info, they give some - Quid pro Quo! Unfortunately, there are some particuarly aggressive businesses out there who don't give their consultants the chance to build knowledge before demanding billings - hence you lot get calls looking for information in a quite underhand way.