Reply to: Sigh - agents (again)

[mondestereo]

So - just had a cracking interview. Agency put me in at a rate I was happy with. Now they are on the phone saying that the company has interviewed someone else at a much lower rate. If I can lower my rate they will go for me - but the agency won't give any figures.

Waddya reckon - is the agency ( a well known one) taking me for a ride ??


Peegee

Hi

I stumbled across this forum doing some research for my work which is, shock horror, contract recruitment. That alone might get me banned?!

Thought I'd share my view on this (probably age old) question though. The agency is probably, but not definitely, taking you for a ride. I have worked with recruiters who will agree a rate with candidate and client, then knock the candidate down a few quid telling them that the client won't pay what they're asking. Even more cheekily some of them will, at the same time, tell the client that the candidate wants more and get them to up their rate. Result, the agency increases their slice both ways. Personally I would never do this, firstly because it's blatant deception and not a nice thing to do; secondly because it's not a foundation for long term business (if the client and candidate become friendly and start talking about these things then neither of them are going to be happy).

That said, there are certainly circumstances where the agency could be telling the truth. I had a situation where a contractor was joining a project to work alongside people of similar skills and experience, all on the same daily rate, but she wanted £50pd more. The client, with whom I had a pre-agreed, transparent i.e. crap margin, understandably refused and I had to explain this to the contractor. She initially made the assumption that I was taking her for a ride. Eventually she accepted what I was telling her; whether because she decided I was for real or because she just needed the work, I don't know.

My advice would be to go on your gut instinct. If the guy sounds full of it then he probably is. But I've had a successful career in recruitment by working on long-term relationships, gaining people's trust and doing business properly rather than going for the fast buck, and there are plenty of like-minded recruiters out there.

A final word - all sorts of people work for any one agency. Brilliant, incompetent, trustworthy, deceitful; there is no point tarring everyone at one agency with the same brush. The guy or gal who places you on a contract is the one earning commission as a result, so judge him or her as an individual.

[DodgyAgent]

That's Contracting for you. 2 Plumbers turn up at my house with different quotes, guess which one I use!

the one with the biggest norks?

[arthur_cider]

So - just had a cracking interview. Agency put me in at a rate I was happy with. Now they are on the phone saying that the company has interviewed someone else at a much lower rate. If I can lower my rate they will go for me - but the agency won't give any figures.

Waddya reckon - is the agency ( a well known one) taking me for a ride ??


Peegee

That's Contracting for you. 2 Plumbers turn up at my house with different quotes, guess which one I use!

[peegee]

Some good advice here, I immediately assume the agency is taking the p1ss when this happens. Having said that, virtually all my contracts are on PSL and the rate has been agreed before interview.
One thought - it is actually quite difficult and time-consuming to find good people at a reasonable rate, when you do, you don't want to lose them for a few bob. Yes, they might find 2 that are an equal fit, they might as well choose the lower rate one because the other one will not be happy and will start looking for a new role first day in !
Defo contact the client, even if it's the truth, you have 'passed' the interview and may well be considered for future roles. If not, the agent will get hurt, so either way it's good news.
I would use email, phone calls are intrusive and can be annoying.

Took everyone's good advice and posted a letter to the client. Got an email response back thanking me for my time and regretting they couldn't use me at this point.
So, the agency weren't telling porkies, but thanks to your feedback I have a potential client for the future.

Ta!

[lukemg]

Some good advice here, I immediately assume the agency is taking the p1ss when this happens. Having said that, virtually all my contracts are on PSL and the rate has been agreed before interview.
One thought - it is actually quite difficult and time-consuming to find good people at a reasonable rate, when you do, you don't want to lose them for a few bob. Yes, they might find 2 that are an equal fit, they might as well choose the lower rate one because the other one will not be happy and will start looking for a new role first day in !
Defo contact the client, even if it's the truth, you have 'passed' the interview and may well be considered for future roles. If not, the agent will get hurt, so either way it's good news.
I would use email, phone calls are intrusive and can be annoying.

[NotAllThere]

sorry for being naive here ,but how do u get the PM's no/email.The agencies never disclose that to you...

At interview: here's my card; do you have one?
At the start of a phone interview: can I just make a note of your number, in case we get disconnected.

Do not call the client that interviewed you directly, they are not interested in the politics, they just want to fill that empty chair, the other interviewed contractor(s) are probably just as worthy but cheaper

For roles where one contractor is pretty much the same as another, they're not going to care. But they will care if they lose the contractor they wanted because the agency was screwing around.

Do remember that many clients have the same high regard for agents that we have.

[To BI or not to BI?]

sorry for being naive here ,but how do u get the PM's no/email.The agencies never disclose that to you...

name.surname@companyname.com or slight variations of that

Edit: you just need to have a look at their website to check their email address format

Sorry to disagree. I am not saying you are wrong to write (), but a phone call enables you to interact and find out what is going on immediatly. just call, say you are awfully sorry about taking the PMs time, could he spare a moment, and then just check the facts with him ("my understanding is blah blah) and then say "I really wanted this contract and wondered if there is anything we could do". Dont talk about anything else unless prompted by the client.

sorry for being naive here ,but how do u get the PM's no/email.The agencies never disclose that to you...

[arthur_cider]

peegee, you’ve probably already reacted by now but if not then what's more important to you, the contract role or the revised lower rate?

Don’t hang around with this for too long, if the agent had the 'ghoul' to make that call to you then there’s probably another option open to them

Do not call the client that interviewed you directly, they are not interested in the politics, they just want to fill that empty chair, the other interviewed contractor(s) are probably just as worthy but cheaper

[Sausage Surprise]

So - just had a cracking interview. Agency put me in at a rate I was happy with. Now they are on the phone saying that the company has interviewed someone else at a much lower rate. If I can lower my rate they will go for me - but the agency won't give any figures.

Waddya reckon - is the agency ( a well known one) taking me for a ride ??


Peegee

Agents did something similar to me in my current gig. I asked for X per day they said "Oh we'll get you X+20 for this one". I got interviewed and was told then and there by the client that I had got the gig. Agency phoned me 2 days later "Congrats, however there is a slight problem in that they are only prepared to pay X per day now.

I knew what they were up to (Elan by the way) but as the gig was 10 miles from where I live and my last one had been 300 miles away, plus, it was what I originally asked for, I agreed. Of course what I should have said was "OK then, you reduce your cut by 10 and I'll do the same"

[NotAllThere]

I don't think we disagree. Sometimes phoning is the right approach, sometimes not. Especially with a PM who doesn't want to be bothered with phone calls. As a hiring manager the last call I'd want to take would be from a failed candidate - they might be taking out the other sort of contract on me. I'd rather talk to an agent!

[Churchill]

Sorry to disagree. I am not saying you are wrong to write (), but a phone call enables you to interact and find out what is going on immediatly. just call, say you are awfully sorry about taking the PMs time, could he spare a moment, and then just check the facts with him ("my understanding is blah blah) and then say "I really wanted this contract and wondered if there is anything we could do". Dont talk about anything else unless prompted by the client.

You're going soft in your old age.

[DodgyAgent]

Calling will work of course, but an email or letter allows more time to think, and make sure you get it right. I always exchange business cards at interview anyway, but often contractors forget to get contact details like email addresses and phone numbers. Then a letter is the only option.

The advantage of a letter is that you receive them so rarely, that you're liable to make a very good impression on any hiring manager. Even if he knows you're doing it solely for that reason.

Sorry to disagree. I am not saying you are wrong to write (), but a phone call enables you to interact and find out what is going on immediatly. just call, say you are awfully sorry about taking the PMs time, could he spare a moment, and then just check the facts with him ("my understanding is blah blah) and then say "I really wanted this contract and wondered if there is anything we could do". Dont talk about anything else unless prompted by the client.

[NotAllThere]

Calling will work of course, but an email or letter allows more time to think, and make sure you get it right. I always exchange business cards at interview anyway, but often contractors forget to get contact details like email addresses and phone numbers. Then a letter is the only option.

The advantage of a letter is that you receive them so rarely, that you're liable to make a very good impression on any hiring manager. Even if he knows you're doing it solely for that reason.

[DodgyAgent]

Always remember, where negotiations with the agency fail, write a letter to the hiring manager at the client, thanking them for their interest, sorry that you couldn't work together etc. etc., making sure that you drop the agency firmly in the poo if they've been lying to you.

This is precisely what a colleague of mine did, via email, in the situation of the original poster. Agent came back to him the next day - "the client have changed their mind".

Why not just call the client? keep the call to the point and brief though.