Getting one over on a recruitment agent.

[kal]

Here's a little story to cheer you up. A few months ago I got contacted by a recruitment agent out of the blue for a development role that fitted me like a glove, technology wise as well as softer skills (Agile etc). Agent sounded very keen. So I bang off my CV and hear nothing for a week. After chasing up the agent finally comes back to me with 'We are not continuing your application to Company XXX as the list of previous companies you have on your CV don't match what they are looking for'! The agent was a bit of a rookie in my books as she let slip the name of the company in that mail... so I sent my CV direct to the companies HR department. One technical test, phone interview and face to face and they offer me the role. Best part is that I am getting 15% more than the top rate the agent was offering as no one is taking a cut of my daily rate.

Anyone else managed to get one over em?

[NotAllThere]

Agent - what's your rate
Me - £80 an hour
Agent - what's that daily
Me - £640
Agent - oh, that's too high... could you do it for £620?
Me- OK.

Turned out to be a seven hour day... and my contract was hourly based, so that was £88.50 an hour. And I was able to work an 8 hour days if I chose to - £708 a day... First (and only) time I've had my rate negotiated up.

[pimpmycode]

Re: Getting one over on a recruitment agent.

Pardon my ignorance but in the OP's example why would the agent not put you forward for role? What do they gain by doing this to you?

[NotAllThere]

Pardon my ignorance but in the OP's example why would the agent not put you forward for role? What do they gain by doing this to you?

They're able to put forward a candidate from whom they can gouge a bigger margin.

[kal]

They're able to put forward a candidate from whom they can gouge a bigger margin.

That's exactly the answer I could not get. The excuse for not putting me forward was lame in IMO (and like you say was likely to be because I was asking for the top end rate wise). That's what annoys me about agents, playing god with peoples lives, made the result even more sweeter

[TheFaQQer]

Pardon my ignorance but in the OP's example why would the agent not put you forward for role?

They aren't on the PSL to get you into the client in the first place, and were hoping to worm their way in. It failed, so they fob you off as not being good enough.

[DimPrawn]

For some reason I read this as getting a leg over a recruitment agent.

[KentPhilip]

The mistake that the agent made was telling the OP that the client had rejected them.
Had the agent just said that the role was on hold for a couple of weeks or some otherr BS then OP would be less likely to contact the client directly.

Hang on - why am I giving out tips to agents?!?

[kal]

The mistake that the agent made was telling the OP that the client had rejected them.
Had the agent just said that the role was on hold for a couple of weeks or some otherr BS then OP would be less likely to contact the client directly.

Hang on - why am I giving out tips to agents?!?

What made me mad was that the client did no such thing, my CV never made it that far... The agent rejected me as not suitable with the lamest excuse I have ever heard, still as the saying goes, don't get mad get even

[chef]

I'm more surprised the role existed in the first place and that the client didnt just get farm your cv for contacts