Just flipped at an agent

[quackhandle]

Some sympathy, it's hard not to get pi$$ed off at the wide boys/girld who are just blatantly phishing, but I point out how long I've been contracting and let's not get off on the wrong foot by playing games.

I say if your role is genuine and location and rate are acceptable I'd love to work with you. Works for some not others.

qh

[tomtomagain]

Try a bit of reverse fishing ...... who's he got contracts with? How is the market? Are there many candidates available? What are the current rates like? Which skills are paying the most?

Have a bit of a laugh and a joke.

He is just another human being trying to do his job ... probably spends 7 hours a day on the phone, 6.5 hours of which involve being told to f'off.

And so what if he calls your ex-clients? It's not like they don't get called all the time anyway.

[jmo21]

No you are being an idiot. He is working between you and the client and is effectively a salesman for the gig. Not giving him a bit of your time to try convince him you are the best man for the job so he puts you forward above anyone else is just stupid. You are supposed to be a business try to sell yourself and get work. Being arsey with him is just going to end up not getting put forward. He doesn't know what you do so take a moment to educate him and prove that you are a skilled worker not someone that is great at writing bulltulip on their CV.

Going for a moral win? In that case well done. Enjoy the extra time on the bench.

Spot on!

Believe it or not, many agents ARE actually looking to fill contracts/jobs. Seriously, they really are.

And you know what else. Lots of people lie on their CV.

Agents recruiting for IT, for the most part only know key words (yes, the old what use are they argument) so having an actual conversation where you talk confidently to your CV is stage 1 of getting a contract/job.

Of course the agent is not qualified and cannot hire you, but they can pass you on to the next stage where someone actually qualified will do the real interview.

[DirtyDog]

<masonryan>You're all agents, I knew it!!!</masonryan>

[evilagent]

Man, I never thought I'd get like this. Maybe I am just getting old and grumpy!

Agent: Hi, how are you, could you tell me a little about your skillset?
Me: It's on my CV
Agent: Yes, but how strong are you in this technology?
Me: Very strong
Agent: What about this technology?
Me: Very strong
Agent: Can you tell me about the projects you are working on?
Me: It's all on my CV
Agent: Do you want me to contact you another time?
Me: It's not that, it's just you are asking me questions which are all on my CV.
Agent: I am just asking you questions that our clients would be asking you
Me: Have you looked at my CV? Do you think I'd have that CV if I couldn't answer those questions?
Agent: Oh... OK.... looking through your CV would you mind if I contacted the companies you previously worked for?
Me: Yes I would mind actually, I don't need you to get work for my previous clients


Do you think I was being too nice?

The manner you project can determine whether you are likely to come across as amiable in an interview situation.

Interviewer: Can you tell me a little about your skillset?
Him: its on my CV.
Interviewer: Tell me an example from your experience where you used this technology.
Him: Its on my CV.
etc, etc

The role you may get offered next time is only because some other contractor was willing to have a conversation, fishing or not, about sectors and companies.

As has been said earlier, turn the conversation around and ask agent what the market is like, the median rates, the hot skills. If nothing else, you can gauge the agents knowledge if it chimes with your experience. You may be surprised that one or two of us know what we're talking about.

Personally, fishing is truly awful and contrived, and best gambit is just to be honest that you're gathering info. Works with people you know, if you chat to them often. New contractor contacts are more wary.

Where on earth do you think new roles come from if not from talking to people?

[Wanderer]

The manner you project can determine whether you are likely to come across as amiable in an interview situation.

Interviewer: Can you tell me a little about your skillset?
Him: its on my CV.

An agent phishing is not an interview and I think you will find that potential clients get quite a lot more time and respect than the agent....

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Interesting perspectives here.

I will likely take a more lenient approach to agents in the future. It's just the consistent request for references which does my head in.

[DodgyAgent]

Man, I never thought I'd get like this. Maybe I am just getting old and grumpy!

Agent: Hi, how are you, could you tell me a little about your skillset?
Me: It's on my CV
Agent: Yes, but how strong are you in this technology?
Me: Very strong
Agent: What about this technology?
Me: Very strong
Agent: Can you tell me about the projects you are working on?
Me: It's all on my CV
Agent: Do you want me to contact you another time?
Me: It's not that, it's just you are asking me questions which are all on my CV.
Agent: I am just asking you questions that our clients would be asking you
Me: Have you looked at my CV? Do you think I'd have that CV if I couldn't answer those questions?
Agent: Oh... OK.... looking through your CV would you mind if I contacted the companies you previously worked for?
Me: Yes I would mind actually, I don't need you to get work for my previous clients


Do you think I was being too nice?

The difficulty is that agents do not have the technical abilities to test your skills. The client does so all they can hope for is reassurance from you. Clearly you were not interested in the job.

[DodgyAgent]

Interesting perspectives here.

I will likely take a more lenient approach to agents in the future. It's just the consistent request for references which does my head in.

On the other hand it is clearly a fish for references.

[psychocandy]

A) Are you in a position to gamble as to whether there is a role or not...

B) Let's say you have guessed lucky and this isn't a real role. Exactly how much better is your life for saving the 10 mins to chat to him? No fluffy bunnies die if you talk to an agent for a couple of minutes so what have you saved in this instance? Maybe 2 years off your life due to increased blood pressure?

It's part of contracting, just learn to deal with it and it will become water off a ducks back. Going to war with agents is just stupid.

Hate to say it but agree with NLUK here.

There are a lot of bellends out there but they're route to a contract. Fact of life gotta put up with them unfortunately.
Had the same yesterday pretty sure it was a fake role but could I be sure? Nope. Like NLUK says, play along for 10 mins not the end of the world.