Agency Lies

[minestrone]

I have no idea what HSBC are doing out in Stirling, they request strong financial knowledge and experience as well so they are always going to struggle to fill roles as a lot of people will just not travel from Glasgow or Edinburgh.

I suspect I may be heading there next year though, rates can be pretty decent.

[Torran]

rates can be pretty decent.

Exactly. I have had a few calls recently about HSBC, above market rates for contracts and perm. TBH its only a 40 minute commute from Edinburgh (by train). Against the flow of traffic by car too.

I cant be arsed working outside of Edinburgh these days. Plenty of opps here to keep me going.

[aussielong]

Are you sure about that.

Are you really, really, really sure about that.

Why when I read your statement above did I immediately think "I thought you were intelligent until you opened your mouth"?

I am pretty sure. Do you know otherwise?


Goldmans prop desk wind down:
Goldman winds down proprietary trading arm - FT.com

Black swan wiping out a hedge fund, read section on L.T.C.M.:
Black Swans: expecting the unexpected | Resilience Science


Why do people insult others randomly on here? I mean, I can understand a targeted retort but a random insult I find bizarre. I bet you wouldn't say boo to a goose in real life.

[d000hg]

Excellent beer with a lift back to the airport, and I don't think I put my hand in my pocket the whole evening.

Lovely lads.

But you were expected to put your hands in their pockets?

[minestrone]

Excellent beer with a lift back to the airport, and I don't think I put my hand in my pocket the whole evening.

Lovely lads.

It's not often I get to wear my best kilt.

[MaryPoppins]

Here are some rules of thumb that I've discovered over the years, and found to be huge time savers:

Be female. I know you chaps wont have much choice in the matter, but trust me, when you go to an interview where you're up against half a dozen blokes that look as if they'll be wearing Death Metal t-shirts every day in the office, half of whom can't hold a conversation with anything that doesn't have a keyboard, it pays to have nice dress sense, long blonde hair, be presentable, and have the ability to communicate. You obviously need to be able to do the technical stuff too, but, all other things being equal, I'd be lying if I said that those other factors don't play a big and positive part. That's why I've landed some great gigs when I've been up against stiff competition. Nobody said life was fair, etc.

.

Crikey. I dunno if I agree with that. Give yourself more credit, chuck. Your post made me wonder if I have any advice, but I'm not a techy; and therefore suspect it's very different when I apply and interview for roles.

[Old Hack]

Here are some rules of thumb that I've discovered over the years, and found to be huge time savers:

1. Never apply to contract for banks. Unless you like working in bureaucratic environments, alongside bobs that exhibit a piss poor attitude and try to undermine everything you do because your actually getting stuff done makes them look bad.
   
   Nonsense
   
   
2. Never pitch for work on price. Yes, we're in a recession. Yes, there's more competition now (most of it of a low quality), but there's always somebody cheaper. You've got to focus on being better, and have the ability to prove it.
   
   Nonsense, the money gets sorted out before the interview. If you're too high, you don't get the CV sent. Too low and you look tulip.
   
   
3. Be female. I know you chaps wont have much choice in the matter, but trust me, when you go to an interview where you're up against half a dozen blokes that look as if they'll be wearing Death Metal t-shirts every day in the office, half of whom can't hold a conversation with anything that doesn't have a keyboard, it pays to have nice dress sense, long blonde hair, be presentable, and have the ability to communicate. You obviously need to be able to do the technical stuff too, but, all other things being equal, I'd be lying if I said that those other factors don't play a big and positive part. That's why I've landed some great gigs when I've been up against stiff competition. Nobody said life was fair, etc.
   
   Look love, from what I see, you're mid forties, and don't have blond hair, you have an older womans blond hair touched up. Btw way, men do notice these things, an it doesn't look all that good to be trying that hard, looks a bit desperate. I find that mostly, being presentable, having a demonstrably great CV and being able to convey your skills helps. I'd really stop this attempt at bigging yourself up, as we can see from the photo, you aren't all that. We notice women hinking too much of themselves too, and we really don't like a woman who'd lick herself if she were ice cream.
   
   
4. Be nice, but don't let anyone walk all over you. I judge agents on one criteria only: their ability or lack thereof to get me into an interview room with clients that are not deadbeats or tyre-kickers. If they can do that, I can forgive most other sins. Truth be told, some of the most effective ones I've dealt with have been people I wouldn't choose to go for a drink with personally, and conversely some of the ones that have been crap as agents have been nice as human beings. Fair / life / nice guys last, etc.
   
   It's a business - You get gigs through them, they get money through you. It's financial symbiosis; we don't like them, they don't like us. we're just necessary for each others survival at best.
   
   
5. Your friends aren't your customers, and your customers aren't your friends (which shouldn't stop you dealing with them fairly). I've been asked to do paying work for friends before, and I've always turned it down, or done what I've been asked to do for free if I had the time and I felt like doing it. It can ruin a friendship to do work that you don't get paid for. Similarly, being too pally with clients can make it difficult to maintain the professional distance that's necessary for a business relationship to work. Concentrate on being value for money for clients rather than their pal, and you'll be doing both yourself and them a favour.

You run a business. Period.

I'm sure there's more perceived wisdom out there, and loads more I've forgotten. But those are the core lessons I've learned from a mixture of contracting and working in permie roles over the past 12 years.

Some of mine.

Kisses

[Mich the Tester]

Here are some rules of thumb that I've discovered over the years, and found to be huge time savers:
[*]Be female. I know you chaps wont have much choice in the matter, but trust me, when you go to an interview where you're up against half a dozen blokes that look as if they'll be wearing Death Metal t-shirts every day in the office, half of whom can't hold a conversation with anything that doesn't have a keyboard, it pays to have nice dress sense, long blonde hair, be presentable, and have the ability to communicate. You obviously need to be able to do the technical stuff too, but, all other things being equal, I'd be lying if I said that those other factors don't play a big and positive part. That's why I've landed some great gigs when I've been up against stiff competition. Nobody said life was fair, etc.

Bollocks; I can wear a smart skirt, blonde wig and stuff some socks in a bra and most of the wierdos you describe are so desperate they'd probably fancy me too.

[MaryPoppins]

Bollocks; I can wear a smart skirt, blonde wig and stuff some socks in a bra and most of the wierdos you describe are so desperate they'd probably fancy me too.

[Spacecadet]

Are you a socks user or a wierdo?