Rate ranges

[JRCT]

Why do agencies advertise roles with a range of rates?

Almost all roles are advertised as paying between X and Y per day, but surely no-one accepts X?

Surely this never happens:

"Hi, this role is paying between £400 and 500 per day"
"My usual rate is £400 a day, so I'll just take that"

Or this:

"We'd like to make you an offer of £400 a day"
"But, the role was advertised as between £400 and 500 per day"
"Yes. But we're only going to give you £400 per day"
"Ok. That's fine"

[eek]

Why do agencies advertise roles with a range of rates?

Almost all roles are advertised as paying between X and Y per day, but surely no-one accepts X?

Surely this never happens:

"Hi, this role is paying between £400 and 500 per day"
"My usual rate is £400 a day, so I'll just take that"

Or this:

"We'd like to make you an offer of £400 a day"
"But, the role was advertised as between £400 and 500 per day"
"Yes. But we're only going to give you £400 per day"
"Ok. That's fine"

I've lost roles for being more expensive than someone with less experience who could just about do the job... I've never lost a role for being too cheap....

[BlasterBates]

Yup it's poker, you make an offer. If you have no offers, interviews and no-one is telephoning you then you need to go in low, if you have 10 interviews lined up you go in high.

Obviously if you go in low the agency will probably put you forward, you go in high you go to the back of the queue, i.e. the agency will push the low rates first and then the higher rates if they're not good enough.

[BolshieBastard]

In the past, I had a couple of interviews where the interviewer asked what rate I had asked for and been submitted by the agent.

I had no problem telling them but asked why they asked. They said it was so they make sure the agent was not taking too big a commission.

When working on a couple of other roles, its been mentioned that I 'cost a fortune.' I just said 'that's what you pay the agent not me'!

[vwdan]

I went in low-ish on this piece of work, as I really wanted to start the year earning money. I got the role and the agent promptly negotiated an extra £50p/d for me.

[vetran]

call me a cynic.
Its so that they get those who are want the top end and they will offer the bottom end once interviewed.

You apply thinking £500 pd I can handle that and its close by so expenses are low. You pass that on to the agent.

You get the job and the agent says sorry they are only paying £300 a day.

[JRCT]

The one time I accepted a cut lower than the top end of the rate offered it was only £15 a day and I spent 6 months, every day winding myself up that I've been working here for X days and X * £15 is......

I vowed to never sell myself short again.

I've not yet been in the position where I've been benched for too long and I'm sure I'll have times when I have to rethink, but I think if you go for a role that's offering £400 - £500, then you go for £500. If you're willing to drop to £400, for what ever reason, then go in for roles that are offering £300 - £400. That's where the sacrifice is, isn't it?

[jmo21]

The client wants to pay the lower end, and the agency needs to try and attract those that are looking for more than that in the hope they can get them to accept close to the lower end.

One of agents most irritating questions is "what is the lowest you would accept?"

[NotAllThere]

call me a cynic.
Its so that they get those who are want the top end and they will offer the bottom end once interviewed.

You apply thinking £500 pd I can handle that and its close by so expenses are low. You pass that on to the agent.

You get the job and the agent says sorry they are only paying £300 a day.

Go the other way. Go in at the low end... and then when the contract is offered, and you've got the contact details of everyone in the clientco, tell the agent you want the higher rate - you can make up some story about having had a better offer if you like.

[jmo21]

Go the other way. Go in at the low end... and then when the contract is offered, and you've got the contact details of everyone in the clientco, tell the agent you want the higher rate - you can make up some story about having had a better offer if you like.

Quick way to mark yourself as a greedy contractor, piss off a client and an agent, and lose yourself an offer!