Reply to: How to Respond when asked for Current / Previous Rate

[jamesbrown]

I send them a picture.

[Agent]

FTFY

good one!

[Agent]

Oh, Thanks! I can take from your post that I'm an asshole.

The contractors from the past have more experience to catch "smart guys".

Possibly but I don't know you so hard to say.

[Elliegirl]

FTFY

Ouuuuch!

[northernladyuk]

Pretty sure you said 'and then I tell them about the range that I had been interviewed for/approached/accepted, which is anything between £350-£800'

Nothing wrong with being a chancer, I've built a so-called career on it.

FTFY

[Bee]

Overall, I don't see the issue with asking for previous rates. The only contractors that have objected in the past tend to be the assholes that waste my time and chancers that think by not saying their previous rate that they're suddently worth an extra £300 a day...

Oh, Thanks! I can take from your post that I'm an asshole.

The contractors from the past have more experience to catch "smart guys".

[Agent]

And thank you too.
I don't 'quote' that range. It's the range that's been paid for what I do. There's a difference. Also being a 'chancer' has been quite lucrative for me, so I'll take that as a compliment, thanks ever so much and cheers.

Pretty sure you said 'and then I tell them about the range that I had been interviewed for/approached/accepted, which is anything between £350-£800'

Nothing wrong with being a chancer, I've built a career on it.

[Elliegirl]

Thank you

So you ask the agent what the going rate is for your field of play but then quote a huge range of £350 to £800 yourself and then say the agent generally don't know the going rate...

On the occassion you mentioned (the extra £100 per day), the client isn't paying you anything, the agency is. To say that the client is paying an extra £100 a day and that you'd miss out quoting a lower rate is something a chancer would say...

And thank you too.
I don't 'quote' that range. It's the range that's been paid for what I do. There's a difference. Also being a 'chancer' has been quite lucrative for me, so I'll take that as a compliment, thanks ever so much and cheers.

[Agent]

Quite the little charmer, aren't you?
I don't generally reveal my current rate, particularly because on one occasion an agent assumed I'd be happy continuing on that rate when the client was paying £100 a day more. Instead I ask if they know anything about the rates in my particular field of play (generally they don't) and then I tell them about the range that I had been interviewed for/approached/accepted, which is anything between £350-£800 a day. The £800 was a one off, usually top is £600. And that's not even sector specific as my lower rates have been in the financial sector. So I usually turn the question back on them and ask for client ballpark. I also had an agent approach me on £200 a day recently and told them no one in their right minds would get out of bed for that and they had to add on £150 a day to get a sniff of interest. They came back to me the next day to say yes which was nice, but another role came up and I went for that instead.

Thank you

So you ask the agent what the going rate is for your field of play but then quote a huge range of £350 to £800 yourself and then say the agent generally don't know the going rate...

On the occassion you mentioned (the extra £100 per day), the client isn't paying you anything, the agency is. To say that the client is paying an extra £100 a day and that you'd miss out quoting a lower rate is something a chancer would say...

[Elliegirl]

Interesting comments on this subject. I always ask for some insight into previous rates that the contractor has received as it gives me an idea if I'll be able to be competitive over the long term.


Overall, I don't see the issue with asking for previous rates. The only contractors that have objected in the past tend to be the assholes that waste my time and chancers that think by not saying their previous rate that they're suddently worth an extra £300 a day...

Quite the little charmer, aren't you?
I don't generally reveal my current rate, particularly because on one occasion an agent assumed I'd be happy continuing on that rate when the client was paying £100 a day more. Instead I ask if they know anything about the rates in my particular field of play (generally they don't) and then I tell them about the range that I had been interviewed for/approached/accepted, which is anything between £350-£800 a day. The £800 was a one off, usually top is £600. And that's not even sector specific as my lower rates have been in the financial sector. So I usually turn the question back on them and ask for client ballpark. I also had an agent approach me on £200 a day recently and told them no one in their right minds would get out of bed for that and they had to add on £150 a day to get a sniff of interest. They came back to me the next day to say yes which was nice, but another role came up and I went for that instead.

[Agent]

Interesting comments on this subject. I always ask for some insight into previous rates that the contractor has received as it gives me an idea if I'll be able to be competitive over the long term.

Im my experience (so an opinion, not fact...), when the market is slow, rates are more negotiable but this changes when the market picks up and all of a sudden I'm met with rate increase demands or contractors resigning mid contract.

With some understanding of previous rates, I'd be more confident that I'm offering a competitive long term rate (after all, the last thing I want to be doing is filling the same role twice withour making extra ££). At the end of the day, it's a confidence game, we can only lose a client once and it may cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. If there is doubt over a contractors commitment I wouldn't put them forward, it's not worth the risk.

If I know that you're taking a significant drop because work is slow right now then I can manage this from the client side and talk about building in a mid contract rate rise/review - if I'm already paying a comfortable level then this isn't always required (although it's nice to have, it's a ball ache so only done if essential to securing someone long term).

Overall, I don't see the issue with asking for previous rates. The only contractors that have objected in the past tend to be the assholes that waste my time and chancers that think by not saying their previous rate that they're suddently worth an extra £300 a day...

[northernladuk]

I never discuss a rate without a detail job specifications.

The current rate it's obsolete, only for statistics or to find something to be explored, for this reason, I always lie and honestly I'm sure that the agencies don't expect us the truth.

So that's a lie???

[Bee]

I never discuss a rate without a detail job specifications.

The current rate it's obsolete, only for statistics or to find something to be explored, for this reason, I always lie and honestly I'm sure that the agencies don't expect us the truth.

[jmo21]

Not sure I've ever been asked what my last rate was.

I often get "what rate would you be looking for", both when discussing a role I am interested in (normal negotiation starting point), and also when chatting to agents when they call up when I am NOT looking for a role and they are "updating their system" - I sometimes don't mind these chats, but that question gets a firm answer of "I only discuss rates when I am discussing a live role that you are going to put me forward for as it depends on the role"

They usually follow up with their real question "ok, so what would be the minimum rate you would work for so I don't call you about low rate jobs that won;t suit you"

I usually just say "i'd prefer to hear about any role that fits my skills/preferred locations and then I can decide whether I want to proceed or not".

[chopper]

I'm quite new to contracting and would be interested in how people actually deal with the question (presumably more nuanced than just "No I won't tell you"!).

You want to look smart? Answer their question with your own question and then answer that question.