Originally posted by DodgyAgent
Taken from UKRecruit Website on R2R. Two forum members having a gossip on their industry.
have had similar experiences - rec2rec agencies that I have dealt with seem to start out well enough, taking requirements, asking for commission structures/salaries etc but totally ignore our prerequest for candidates to have a knowledge of our niche markets.
So this a remarkable industry. It is absolutely possible to hire a recruiter to work in an EB without ascertaining whether they have any idea of what their niche markets are or know anything about the candidates field of expertise.
It's a bit like hiring a chef who can't cook, a musician to can't play an instrument, an IT contractor who can't use a computer.
Tell me something DA, how does a recruiter manage to ascertain the value of a candidate contractor CV based on a skillset they know so little about or the roles they are sourcing for? How do they place the best candidates when they can't recognise who they are?
This can only happen in recruitment.
I'm absolutely convinced that the recruitment industry is not so much about attracting and sourcing the best candidates for the roles, it's about cynical clients using ignorant recruiters to have a guesswork stab at sourcing candidates who may do the job reasonably well enough (based on vague guesswork from recruiters who can't tell their arse from their elbow for fielding CVs) when things are going well, but the client can conveniently scapegoat and blamed for any problems if the clients screws up. That's why EB contracts are risk free and all the risk is dumped on the contractor. Contractors are a useful handholding service for the client - that's their real purpose - and some recruiters probably realise this and are advised by their clever lawyers that the contracts need to reflect that as they will inevitably be blamed and scapegoated for sourcing poor quality candidates - something the EB then wants to pass onto the contract (hence their insistence that we are limited cos with the right insurances in place).
The recruitment model is perfect for this scenario. It sure as hell doesn't fit the model conducive to hiring the cream of the crop who are so good that the client hasn't a cat in hells chance of dumping blame on the contractor for mistakes with their instant get out termination clauses and so on.
Face it, DA, you are part of a cynical meatmarket and are doing no one any favours by your fairytale efforts to sell your industry to contractors as being remotely respectable.
I suppose you are going to ask why I use EBs.
I don't have a choice - it's not because I am no good. However, I have been terminated once or twice in my seven years of contracting for some very odd reasons which I believe have more to do with me being too good at what I do, too ethical (I have outlined these examples in previous posts) and seeing through the bulltulip clients than being too bad at my job resulting in justifiable earlier termination. I have also not been put forward for some roles I am amply qualified for (according to the jobads) and, even though the rate was good enough, I believe it is my experience that was too high, too good for what the client is looking for but which the EB recruiter said 'was too junior' for me as if I was looking for an employed permie job. Again, displaying their ignorance of contracting still further.
What's all of the above got to do with getting the cream of the crop in? Luckily some clients do look for a quick and convenient resourcing service and want the best out there - and I tend to pick up these roles easily and stay in them - but unfortunately there are far to many clients who are not and, boy, don't the EBs know this and plan accordingly. The cynical hiring manager will revert to HR to source the candidate through an EB account manager who will have nothing to do with the candidate and uses a resourcer (usually some kid just out of school) to contact us - as if we are the great untouchables not worthy enough to speak directly to the mighty King's trusted aides. This has nothing to do with giving a good service, and everything to do with scapegoating and averting the whole point of what your recruitment industry officially claims is what recruitment is really about - sourcing the right/best candidate for the right role.
The EB industry depends and thrives on second rate people sourcing second rate contractors for second rate client hiring managers who are too incompetent and insecure to take responsibility for their own mistakes and actions.
Sorry if that sounds insulting to some of you who use EBs. I expect most of you are good enough at what you do and, if not, just inexperienced rather than incompetent. However, I am equally sure that best of you reading this are intelligent to know that I am right but are maybe willing to play the game, when you need to use EBs, to keep the money rolling in rather than actually being genuinely second rate at your jobs. Perhaps circumstances force you to do this, I don't know.
Unfortunately, I am incapable and unwilling to offer a second rate service just to keep the bills paid, whilst screwing the client by underperforming so as not to pose a threat if I actually showed him/her where they are going wrong. There again, I don't have any dependents so it is easier for me to set these standards for myself - and it isn't easy, believe me.
It's just that I'm really not into playing games and putting on Oscar winning performances at being 'average' at what I do when I know I can do better and never will be.
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