Reply to: Blacklisting of Contractors

[Old Greg]

You don't know much about agents then do you ????? They do work for you AND the client.

I think its best you leave this to the professionals.

This is scary - do you not understand the difference between a supplier and a client? Your Ltd is supplier to the agency / EB, who is a supplier to the end client. The agency is your client. No amount of saying that it is otherwise and that you have tenty billion years' experience will actually make it otherwise.

Yeah, I wondered too. Generally I don't respond to people who are raging against the system but I decided that I'll make a rare exception you you, sir!

I think Bunk puts it quite nicely:





20 years in the business yet it appears that you are missing some basic understanding of how this business works. Is it that you are just going through a particularly bad patch and you want to have a good rant or do you really not accept that there is a certain amount of tulip we have to deal with?



The agent put more than one person forward for the job. It sounds like you made the short list but the client found someone who was better suited to the job than you. What exactly is your problem with that? Yeah, it would annoy me too but you can't blame the agent - they are just doing what the client is paying them to do. I don't know many agents who only put a single person forward for an interview.



See, that's where you don't get it. The agent doesn't work for you as the contractor, they work for the end client (who is the one with the money). If the client says "get me 5 people to interview" then the agent will do what they are told. If they put you forward and then refuse to put anyone else forward for fear of cannibalism then they are going to go out of business pretty quickly.

You don't know much about agents then do you ????? They do work for you AND the client.

I think its best you leave this to the professionals.

This isn't a rant, its an expression of views around a system that is fundamentally flawed and is totally focused around agents getting in the way. 20 years of consulting and I do a lot better without agents than with them......its my view, I know what I'm talking about and no one really cares about your view do they ?

[GillsMan]

Dont think so.....bit of advice, get some more contracting experience up your sleeve before you have a poke. You missed the point....

So how much more contracting experience would I need to be able to have a poke at the fact that you seem to be under the impression that the agent is working for you rather than the actual client, and the fact that you're shocked that an agent had the temerity to put more than one person forward for the same role, one of whom was a better fit than you?

Because I'm pretty sure that I've got that figured out in less than a year and am quite able to point that out to someone regardless of how long they've been contracting.

Those are your points, what else did I miss?

[Wanderer]

So why do you bother coming on here if you're not going to make a meaningful contribution rather than just snipe at others ??? nick off...you would know *** all about the reasons.....

Yeah, I wondered too. Generally I don't respond to people who are raging against the system but I decided that I'll make a rare exception you you, sir!

I think Bunk puts it quite nicely:

I've had a quick look through your previous threads. You seem to have an unusually high number of problems with agents and contracts. Are you sure contracting is right for you?

And no, not all those problems are mine by the way.......stories I hear and share.....same as yourself really...and given I've been contracting for 20 years, I'd say I've got it figured out..... if the useless agents would just get out of the way I'd do so much better !

20 years in the business yet it appears that you are missing some basic understanding of how this business works. Is it that you are just going through a particularly bad patch and you want to have a good rant or do you really not accept that there is a certain amount of tulip we have to deal with?

they mis-sold a role that resulted in me going through three interviews (1 Tel, 2 Face to Face) only to then find they put someone else forward from the same agency and I got passed over. So they wasted my time, not the other way.

The agent put more than one person forward for the job. It sounds like you made the short list but the client found someone who was better suited to the job than you. What exactly is your problem with that? Yeah, it would annoy me too but you can't blame the agent - they are just doing what the client is paying them to do. I don't know many agents who only put a single person forward for an interview.

You may be right but a good agent doesn't cannibilse their young by offsetting one top tier candidate against another.

If you are a true AGENT, you represent your client fully and get them the work.

See, that's where you don't get it. The agent doesn't work for you as the contractor, they work for the end client (who is the one with the money). If the client says "get me 5 people to interview" then the agent will do what they are told. If they put you forward and then refuse to put anyone else forward for fear of cannibalism then they are going to go out of business pretty quickly.

[northernladuk]

I wouldn't. There is no "role at all costs". I don't work with people I have no respect for. If I did, it would be hard to have any respect for myself.

Of course I wouldn't really "blacklist" an agent just like that. In general, I am prepared (possibly overly so) to give people another chance, but this tale does give a slightly bad impression to start with. I would keep in mind, though, that behaviour is generally that of an agent, not an agency.

Can't argue with that, particularly the last point made.

[jmo21]

Mavsterm, are you saying you think a recruitment agent should only put one candidate forward for the role?

That's not generally how it works, certainly not with any recruitment agent I have ever dealt with, and I certainly wouldn't expect it to be the case either.

What kind of work do you do?

Mav - you haven't answered my politely answered question, please do, it may help us understand the point you are trying to make.

But YOU are not the client. Your client is also the client of the agency. You've been contracting for 20 years, I've been contracting for less than a year and I've already figured that part out.

It's perfectly normal for an agency to send more than one candidate/supplier for the same role. Your task is to be the best fit for the role. You failed.

Dont think so.....bit of advice, get some more contracting experience up your sleeve before you have a poke. You missed the point....

[GillsMan]

You may be right but a good agent doesn't cannibilse their young by offsetting one top tier candidate against another.

If you are a true AGENT, you represent your client fully and get them the work. You don't waste their time on opportunities that haven't had the due diligence done on them. And especially not so after 3 interviews....that just smacks of disorganisation....

But YOU are not the client. Your client is also the client of the agency. You've been contracting for 20 years, I've been contracting for less than a year and I've already figured that part out.

It's perfectly normal for an agency to send more than one candidate/supplier for the same role. Your task is to be the best fit for the role. You failed.

After reading your posts here, I'm starting to understand why you were blacklisted....

So why do you bother coming on here if you're not going to make a meaningful contribution rather than just snipe at others ??? nick off...you would know *** all about the reasons.....

[Ignis Fatuus]

Also, at most I do a phone interview and one F2F. If they don't offer me the role at that point I'm not interested. My best roles were ones offered during the first call, people who can't make up their minds are not worth working for, you get no support.

HTH

Absolutely! An interview is a two-way street, and a client being unsure after a phone + a F2F is a really bad sign, not that you are failing it but that he is failing.

I would really like to see contractors stop grovelling and stop taking contracts at any price. If it's not right, walk away from it.

[Ignis Fatuus]

Why would you blacklist an agent that might actually delivery you a role just on the basis of one poster with no detail as to what his personal circumstance? No disrespect to the OP but he has a 10 page CV so certainly works a little differently than I do.

As cut throat as an agent is to get his wedge I would be just as cut throat to use them to get a role blacklist or no blacklist.

I wouldn't. There is no "role at all costs". I don't work with people I have no respect for. If I did, it would be hard to have any respect for myself.

Of course I wouldn't really "blacklist" an agent just like that. In general, I am prepared (possibly overly so) to give people another chance, but this tale does give a slightly bad impression to start with. I would keep in mind, though, that behaviour is generally that of an agent, not an agency.

[MarillionFan]

After reading your posts here, I'm starting to understand why you were blacklisted....

I don't even understand this thread.

[Wanderer]

you fill in the blanks on why the agency is blacklisting.....

After reading your posts here, I'm starting to understand why you were blacklisted....

[jmo21]

Mavsterm, are you saying you think a recruitment agent should only put one candidate forward for the role?

That's not generally how it works, certainly not with any recruitment agent I have ever dealt with, and I certainly wouldn't expect it to be the case either.

What kind of work do you do?

[alreadypacked]

You may be right but a good agent doesn't cannibilse their young by offsetting one top tier candidate against another.

If you are a true AGENT, you represent your client fully and get them the work. You don't waste their time on opportunities that haven't had the due diligence done on them. And especially not so after 3 interviews....that just smacks of disorganisation....

But you are not the client, the agent has a contract with the company not you.