Reply to: Sticky Suggestion

[Mordac]

Sorry guys. Not all of us are in sectors where going direct is an option. Law firms and banks for example rarely (in my humble and limited experience) will not deal direct particularly if you are lowly little helpdesk pleb.

There's your clue. Still, must be nice for Milan to have someone to look down on, finally...

[rootsnall]

It's not personal - it's business. You find yourself exposed to all the harshness out there which you are insulated from in a cosy permie role.
You are a commodity, the agents are not your friends, no matter how much they are calling you when you are up for a job.
If they don't call, you didn't get the interview or the job, or they found someone better to send in and you never made the list (this is the hardest one to take).
All my work has been through agencies, I don't want much from them - some flexibility on contract terms, pay-up promptly when invoiced and only take a reasonable cut.

Pretty much sums it up !

You've just got to play along with the game and look after yourself as best you can. You can't really stick to hard rules either as you'll lose out on work if you insist on certain things up front. If you treat all agents as scum you'll certainly struggle. You'll find the ones who've been around a while are usually OK.

I used to put quite a bit of effort into getting direct contracts but its not practical to even bother trying anymore in my game where I'm dealing with big companies.

[lukemg]

It's not personal - it's business. You find yourself exposed to all the harshness out there which you are insulated from in a cosy permie role.
You are a commodity, the agents are not your friends, no matter how much they are calling you when you are up for a job.
If they don't call, you didn't get the interview or the job, or they found someone better to send in and you never made the list (this is the hardest one to take).
All my work has been through agencies, I don't want much from them - some flexibility on contract terms, pay-up promptly when invoiced and only take a reasonable cut.

[errorista]

Well I did eventually get some good advice

To those of you that actually gave me an intelligent response, your advice is greatly appreciated and is taken on board. I am a shameless newbie and am still learning everyday.

To those of you who told me to stick my comments up my @rse and called me a tw@t... I am a shameless newbie and I'm still learning everyday.

Dont forget 'jobjock'!

It allows you to filter S3 and iProfile (just click the checkbox) and lets you create your own filters.

Most importantly it allows you to see the posting history of agencies/agents.

Only for contracts posted in London so far but the db is nearly a year old and its nearly time to expand its capabilities to include the whole of the UK.

Why not make it a sticky?

[DodgyAgent]

Finally, I reserve the right to dislike many of the pimps I talk to...

and I have the right to be hated by as many of contractors as I like

[DodgyAgent]

I have no problems using agents whatsoever.

These guys on here who bang on about 'going direct' wish they were always in work because they're not.

Yes, you can go direct but it's difficult to always be in work. Use agents where possible and go direct where possible, but dont listen to these ****** who reckon agents have nothing to add. They do.

Still don't trust bastards. Dodgy wheres that tenner I leant you?

I invested it for you

[bennyboy]

Well I did eventually get some good advice

To those of you that actually gave me an intelligent response, your advice is greatly appreciated and is taken on board. I am a shameless newbie and am still learning everyday.

To those of you who told me to stick my comments up my @rse and called me a tw@t... I am a shameless newbie and I'm still learning everyday.

[ratewhore]

With some experience under your belt you will soon be able to sniff out the little sh1ts who firstly, are fishing for leads with no contract behind the advert and secondly, those who haven't got a fecking clue about IT (like the useless little barrow-boy who spelt out LDAP to me phonetically yesterday).

Then of course there are the good guys like my last agent who communicated well and also bought me beer and curry.

They're a necessary evil at the end of the day.

Finally, I reserve the right to dislike many of the pimps I talk to...

[Bluebird]

Agennts are just looking after their own intrerests the same as you are - you can't call them names without looking at yourself, facing a few home truths and then call yourself the same names...

[MarillionFan]

I have no problems using agents whatsoever.

These guys on here who bang on about 'going direct' wish they were always in work because they're not.

Yes, you can go direct but it's difficult to always be in work. Use agents where possible and go direct where possible, but dont listen to these ****** who reckon agents have nothing to add. They do.

Still don't trust bastards. Dodgy wheres that tenner I leant you?

[DodgyAgent]

Title: Dealing with Pimps

Perhaps someone of my miniscule post count is being a bit presumptuous in suggesting a sticky but what newbie wouldn't read a sticky full of tips on what to look out for when dealing with these pr*cks...

CUK has a massive wealth of contracting experience within it's members and if we can bring together a list of do's and don'ts on dealing with recruitment agents we are one step closer to keeping the b@stards honest.

Things I've learnt the hard way and I'm still a newbie:

Always try to find out what their percentage is.

If they're more interested in what interviews you've been to lately than in what experience you have they're fishing for leads and there is no job.

Always ask for a job spec before you agree to an interview.

Never sign a contract unless you understand absolutely every clause in it.


I'm pretty sure most of you hardcore CUK members have much more useful tips than that (I'm pretty sure most of you have 3 or 4 golden rules that you contract by). Even if this doesn't become a sticky I would be grateful to hear what you've got to say and I'm sure other newbies would be to.

Cheers

Ben

here's a sticky for you:

Stick it up your a*se

here's a tip:

If you dont like agents find you own contract.

[boredsenseless]

bennyboy - you will grow to learn that there are plenty of experienced contractors on here who offer no useful advice to newbie’s but just like to feel superior by being obnoxious.

Strange I thought the implied advice of "Treat your customer with respect!" was actually worth more than any number of responses saying yeah go on screw them over they are just scum.

Are you a business or just a disguised employee. If the former then my advice is good, if the latter then you aren't really a contractor anyway, if you disagree just phone up HMRC and describe your working practices to them.

[malvolio]

bennyboy - you will grow to learn that there are plenty of experienced contractors on here who offer no useful advice to newbie’s but just like to feel superior by being obnoxious.

There are also quite a few who think it wise to point out to newbies that life is not as easy as they may think and that contracting is a serious choice, not something you do for fun... All we try to do is make them think a little before they make big decisions, but then there are always those who can't cope with a dose of reality.

FWIW agency margins are mostly not your concern unless they are losing you work (unlikely at your level), job specs are nice-to-haves but as someone said they are not always going to be available, and come to that you are selling the ability to leap into the breach and do useful work so they are partly irrelevant anyway. Finally nobody should sign any kind of legally binding document unless they know exactly what it contains.

I would add to stay away from the agencies that have a seriously bad vibe on these boards (you know who you are) even if it apparently costs you work and remember who your customer is (and it's not the agency)

[Agent_Orange]

"Always ask for a job spec before you agree to an interview."

With a number of my clients this isn't always possible. The fact that they need to take on contractors is quite often because of an added work load, the off shot of this being that they don't always have time to produce a spec.

[PrinceNamor]

bennyboy - you will grow to learn that there are plenty of experienced contractors on here who offer no useful advice to newbie’s but just like to feel superior by being obnoxious.