Tips on being one step ahead of agencies

[malvolio]

I think it's because I work in very niche markets with agents that spend most, if not all, of their time in that market. It's also very much reputation based, it's a rare company that I go to that I don't have at least a couple of second degree LinkedIn contacts either working with or for me. If you're a known-good contractor then the agencies love you as you're an easy sell.

...and it helps to work in a small corner. I know a few people with fairly niche skills (obscure languages, complex areas of derivatives trading, proper capacity management and planning, whatever), and they are always the ones who never have a problem getting work, pick and choose their agents, always have people on the phone asking them if they're free, can dictate rates and terms and locations and can afford to turn work away if they don't fancy it all that much. Oddly enough they're the same ones that can't understand that 98% of contractors don't have that freedom.