What are the best agents?

[SueEllen]

You may keep your suggestions for yourself. People come to forums to ask questions or help others by answering their questions in a constructive way. If you have a patronising behaviour problem, I suggest you consult the appropriate specialists that might eventually treat you...

Chill - people on this board are often impolite and it's best to ignore it when they are.

When I first went contracting again after a stint as a permie I got my first contract direct through an advert on Monster. When I applied through jobserve or on agencies sites not one agent was interested in me then suddenly when I was in a contract they wouldn't leave me alone. Part of it was they were fishing for leads but I had an agreement with the client to send everyone to HR.

The reason why the direct contract was available was due to the skills list and the lack of on-site parking. I found out at interview the skills list was mainly a wish list as some of the skills listed I only had academic experience of them and they weren't actually needed.

After that I've got contracts from:
1. Applying on jobserve
2. Personal contacts i.e. friends, acquaintances
3. Networking i.e. making sure everyone I have ever dealt with whether agency or direct client knew I was available. (That's why it's a good idea to have an email account with a large mail box.)
4. Having my CV uploaded on a job board and being contacted.

I know people who only do 3 and 4 and manage to stay in work through they are very experienced in their field.

As suggested if you aren't getting any replies you need to change your CV. I have a CV that is formatted so it's easy to remove, change or add words quickly to match adverts.

Very few agents understand the skills of the contractors they are marketing. So don't be worried if your CV runs to 3 or 4 pages just make sure you have a minimum of 90% of the words on the advert mentioned on your CV.

Direct clients are more likely to understand your CV, and depending on your skill set are aware that you should be able to learn some skills very quickly on your own and put it to use.

[SneakySimon]

Applying

All of my contracts have either from me applying on Jobserve or an agency seeing my CV on jobserve.

My technique? As per DaveB says, regularly refresh your CV on your site.

Every day, search the jobs.

The roles you really want, update your CV to be focused towards that role - re-write bits so that they mirror the job spec. This takes some time but roles like that don't come along everyday.

I then apply for the jobs I am not so interested in but could do (maybe not a 100% fit or location not quite right). As my warchest dwindles, this number gets larger that I apply for!

Good luck!

[petergriffin]

Agents I would happily recommend:

[darrenb]

Agents I would happily recommend:

You forgot:









.

[darrenb]

And what are the best toilets by the way?

[craig1]

As a serious point though, the only agency that I've worked with that I'd wholeheartedly recommend is DGH Recruitment. Absolutely no messing around with contracts, no fake "references" requests, good comms, excellent invoicing/payment, simple timesheets and a decent client list. The only thing that I don't like about them is that they charge a couple of % points of margin above the average but then, when it comes down to it, I'm happy to put up with that for the increased levels of service I get from them over the other agencies.

There have been other agencies I've worked with over the years that I'd say are good but have always had at least one material weakness that means I'd not recommend them.

[nomadd]

Which agents' websites are serious...

TechMahindra.

Just had another call from them. They asked me "Was I looking?". I asked them "Are you still paying 70% less than the market rate?" At that point we decided to stop wasting each other's time.

Still, they were "serious" (which is what makes them so disturbing...)

[moder8or]

oh! heres the boss forget about x factor and BB look as though your working

I have just had a e-mail exchange with an agent about a "job" on one of the job boards -

me - (after having had zero response) Did this vacancy actually exist or were you just trawling for CVs ?

Agent -
The vacancy does exist in that we have been advised by our client to look for people with Peoplesoft skills.

The client is *****– they are already recruiting on a large scale for Oracle people across the EBS from analyst to programme manager level and all in between - this includes PS.

We are waiting for the new specs involving PS and have been assured that they will be with us in the next week.

For your information, I have included an Oracle spec which is similar to what we expect the PS role to look like.

Have you ever applied to *******?

Happy to discuss over the phone if you can suggest a good time?



WTF do these people actually muck about at - have they got a flippin gig for me or not? - clearly not in this case so why waste everyone's time. Surely they could make more cash by only advertising roles they have and then talking to people who can do them.

I am baffled by the time wasting calls, I think these recruiters, consultants, any old bod, have a number ready to call when the boss walks in the office
The staff turnover must be huge in the likes of Suxley, Processive, Mayes etc.
Jsite Jserve, have roles which are made up, never had any follow up from them
Used to be call tuesday, interview friday, start monday
nowadays its a faltering, maybe a jobspec, been out of work long?, how do you manage?, can I have your life history? Ahh well I'LL keep you in mind if any hing comes up
Oh by the way who was your boss at your last job fish phish?
I've typed this twice as my pc keeps locking up, any solutions? other than the obvious, ive tried most

[lukemg]

Good agents ? The one who has the job. On the way in I want to know how much, where and what am I doing. All I want when I am in is paying on time and sort a renewal or not. I don't need or want any other contact.