So what agencies CAN you trust...?

[MojoDog]

We all treat agencies with healthy dose of suspicion, but they can't all be bad...can they?

Here's a couple I've had good experiences with:

Harvey Nash (Edinburgh)

Sanderson (Bristol)

By good experiences I mean that individuals I dealt with seemed straight down the line and did what they said they would do.

I suppose the next question will be, which agencies should be avoided at all costs, but I'm not sure of the legalities of dissing a company on a public forum

All I will say is that I worked for one agency (rhymes with pappitta) that regularly need lessons on anatomical geography, firstly to help them differentiate between their @rse and their elbow, and then to help them locate their @rse with both hands.

Over to you...

[TheFaQQer]

So much is down to the individual that you deal with. For example, the guy I used to deal with at Square One was pretty good - but now that he works for OracleContractors.com there is little chance I'd have anything to do with him (after Rory Dwyer's spectacular marketing scheme on here).

I've been lucky, I guess, in that the agents that I've dealt with who have found me roles have all been pretty good - that includes people at Parity, Steria, Provanis, Square One, Ntrinsic and others.

The one poor agent I dealt with was with Ajilon, but I'd avoid the person rather than the agency.

[kevpuk]

Recent decent Agents I have worked with are Clearwater, Stott & May and Harvey Nash.......

[northernladuk]

Don't get sucked in by all this agent bashing and the reams of people on here that don't understand the way the transaction works. They are a necessary evil and it's a two way negotiation. You think everything contractors say to agents is the truth and that all CV's are based on 100% reality?

Blanket moaning constantly about agents is just dumb. Understand how they work, understand their tricks and just play them at their own game. Certain individuals will let the whole industry down but for every disgraceful agent there are many more disgraceful contractors.

Take each contact with agencies on it's own merits, strike up a relationship, don't look like an easy touch he can screw over and do business with them. In many cases agents have screwed a contractor over because he/she has allowed them to. Treat them like pillocks and you will get the same back.

Don't get suckered in by the hate.

[MyUserName]

Don't get suckered in by the hate.

Unless it is for people who have not used the search function before asking a question.

[Eirikur]

You can't trust any. Some individual agents you can trust, more or less
But the more aggressive agencies you can't trust at all. Worst experience with progressive

[northernladuk]

You can't trust any. Some individual agents you can trust, more or less
But the more aggressive agencies you can't trust at all. Worst experience with progressive

That is the type of utter crap advice I was talking about.

[Eirikur]

That is the type of utter crap advice I was talking about.

I suppose they have never spammed you? 6 times a day even when on holiday abroad and even after I told them to f - off

[Ticktock]

I have any agency that don't spam me, who have found me the last 4 gigs now, who I respect and trust (in that I trust them to do the best for their clients), and who have actively promoted me to clients.

So, no, it is not true that you can't trust any.

The fact that you seem to be unable to build a professional relationship with any agency doesn't mean the rest of us are.

[northernladuk]

I suppose they have never spammed you? 6 times a day even when on holiday abroad and even after I told them to f - off

What does that have to with trust? They are salesmen. Getting some spam for gigs isn't exactly going to kill you is it and one day that spam might result in you getting a gig. I would rather be spammed than completely passed over for a gig.

And as I pointed out, it's not the attitude of the agents that are wrong, it's the poor attitude of the contractors as this example clearly shows. Moronic attitude.