Agency Assessment

[saundap]

Hi all, I'm new to the city and would like to get your opinions on agencies you've been happy to deal with and those you haven't enjoyed. Surely there is a split in the market, low quality to high.

I've enjoyed reading your postings so far. I get a lot of the same lame phone calls and emails that never show much promise. Makes me feel less alone knowing in not the only one!

Cheers fellas

[psychocandy]

All of them = tossers.

[northernladuk]

Who cares. If an agent has the gig you want you go with them. Generally you don't pick and agent and hope they will find you a gig. The only time you get to pick and chose is the rare time you interviewed direct and the client has given you a list to chose from. Not a very common situation at all.

You look for the work, who it's with is irrelevant to you..

That said, if you've never heard of the agent then do a credit check on them. It could be worth skipping the gig if the agent is just about to go bust on you.

If this makes you feel alone then I don't think contracting is for you. Wait till you get one of those scapegoat gigs where you are brought in for no other reason than to take the flack. If finding yourself a gig is hard for you then it's only going to get worse.

And don't buy in to all this agent hating nonsense as well. They are not the most scrupulous of people at times as they are sales people but they do provide a service to us and some of them are pretty good. Be wary and play them they way they are playing you but don't go for this blanket hate of every one of them.

[TheFaQQer]

Provanis is probably the best one I've worked with - quick payers, nice contract, nice guy to deal with, took people out for drinks and a meal (even those not contracting through the company), know the market, know what they are on about. Took a tiny, tiny margin on my contract.

But my experience may not match yours, of course.

[SueEllen]

Generally every agency has complete w*nkers and okay people.

However you don't know which one you are dealing with until you have to deal with them, so your question is like "How long is a piece of string?"

[uk contractor]

All of them = tossers.

This x 1000 but there are always the annoying 1 or 2 who insist on being the exact opposite!

[Contreras]

Provanis is probably the best one I've worked with - quick payers, nice contract, nice guy to deal with, took people out for drinks and a meal (even those not contracting through the company), know the market, know what they are on about. Took a tiny, tiny margin on my contract.

But my experience may not match yours, of course.

Looks like he sold up for a tidy sum about 18 months ago.

[TheFaQQer]

Looks like he sold up for a tidy sum about 18 months ago.

I didn't deal with Neale, just one of the more senior recruiters. I knew he'd sold up, though.

But generally it's the individual rather than the actual agency that is good / bad (OK, some bigger ones are different!) - I found myself torn once because someone I'd had dealings with at one place went to oraclecontractors.com which really put me off...