Chasing agents

[Fifer72]

Hi

Pretty sure I know the answer to this but given I'm a newbie thought I'd ask some wise old heads.

Looking for a new contract - and I'm probalby fretting a bit too much as I have 7 weeks to go before my current one ends - had a couple of agents contact me out of the blue with the offer of fantasitic roles I would be ideal for (yeah right) so I send off my CV and then zilch nada not a titter !!
So my gut tells me forget it - if they want you they'll come to you - but I'm I being to cynical should I be chasing them for feedback (I THINK my CV looks ok so don't think that is an issue) or just focus on finding something and not worry about could have beens ?

Hope that makes sense

Fifer

[TheFaQQer]

Looking for a new contract - and I'm probalby fretting a bit too much as I have 7 weeks to go before my current one ends - had a couple of agents contact me out of the blue with the offer of fantasitic roles I would be ideal for (yeah right) so I send off my CV and then zilch nada not a titter !!

Seven weeks is still quite a long way out to be looking - few clients will wait that long. You might be better off at this stage seeing if there is going to be an extension where you are, and if not, start looking at around the four week mark.

Agents not talking once they have the CV is the norm, pretty much.

So my gut tells me forget it - if they want you they'll come to you - but I'm I being to cynical should I be chasing them for feedback (I THINK my CV looks ok so don't think that is an issue) or just focus on finding something and not worry about could have beens ?

I wouldn't worry about chasing them - and as I said, I wouldn't be looking too hard at the moment.

If you're concerned about your CV, then could you ask an agent to have a look and give you feedback? Some will (I've asked a good guy at Provanis in the past to have a glance over mine when I was struggling to find work), some won't. Are you working with other contractors? If so, see if one of them will do it - a few projects ago, three of us sat down and reviewed each other's CVs and made constructive criticism / suggestions. Failing that, there are a few people around here who have done it for others, so strip out the identifying features and see if someone will do that for you. It helps if someone is in your kind of skillset, though - I wouldn't really know what a financial services BA should have on their CV, for example

Assuming you're through an agency now, update the CV and see whether your contact there will have a look and tell you what (s)he thinks of it. Make it clear you would welcome feedback, so they don't just say "yeah, it's fine" and not bother looking.

Good luck.

[northernladuk]

Might be better if you posted in the right forum. Many clients want a fairly quick start so 7 weeks is no good. Try starting to look 3 weeks or less before the end. You've got a healthy war chest built up so a couple of weeks out of work won't be an issue...... Will it?

[rl4engc]

Sounds like they're CV harvesting, you have to remember that they get commission to get people like us into contracts so it's very much their role to track the right candidate down. Remind them of this when they infer otherwise with lines like "Your CV should impress me if you want to be put forward for a role.."

If you're a techie, your CV only needs to mention key skills, most recent first, bullet pointed. I still get agents contacting me because I have some skills listed from my Uni days that come up in their file searches (need to update it at some point).

May be a bit different if your a manager type as it's more about what you've achieved and what you can bring to the client etc.

[CorporalJones]

Seven weeks is still quite a long way out to be looking - few clients will wait that long. You might be better off at this stage seeing if there is going to be an extension where you are, and if not, start looking at around the four week mark.

Agents not talking once they have the CV is the norm, pretty much.



I wouldn't worry about chasing them - and as I said, I wouldn't be looking too hard at the moment.

If you're concerned about your CV, then could you ask an agent to have a look and give you feedback? Some will (I've asked a good guy at Provanis in the past to have a glance over mine when I was struggling to find work), some won't. Are you working with other contractors? If so, see if one of them will do it - a few projects ago, three of us sat down and reviewed each other's CVs and made constructive criticism / suggestions. Failing that, there are a few people around here who have done it for others, so strip out the identifying features and see if someone will do that for you. It helps if someone is in your kind of skillset, though - I wouldn't really know what a financial services BA should have on their CV, for example

Assuming you're through an agency now, update the CV and see whether your contact there will have a look and tell you what (s)he thinks of it. Make it clear you would welcome feedback, so they don't just say "yeah, it's fine" and not bother looking.

Good luck.

I think Suity was our resident CV expert

[ZARDOZ]

Hi

Pretty sure I know the answer to this but given I'm a newbie thought I'd ask some wise old heads.

Looking for a new contract - and I'm probalby fretting a bit too much as I have 7 weeks to go before my current one ends - had a couple of agents contact me out of the blue with the offer of fantasitic roles I would be ideal for (yeah right) so I send off my CV and then zilch nada not a titter !!
So my gut tells me forget it - if they want you they'll come to you - but I'm I being to cynical should I be chasing them for feedback (I THINK my CV looks ok so don't think that is an issue) or just focus on finding something and not worry about could have beens ?

Hope that makes sense

Fifer

If you haven't heard anything within a few days then;

1/ client not interested or
2/ agent found someone they can rip off more and has held back your CV

You can ask for feedback but it may not be the truth.

[TheFaQQer]

I think Suity was our resident CV expert

It's a shame you can't remember his password, then.

[psychocandy]

3 weeks before is max IMHO. Possibly still a bit too early.

Always said, agent will crawl 50 miles over broken glass to knock on your front door if they cant get hold of you and theres money in it for them.