agency selection criteria

[AlfredJPruffock]

And now would be worse, because many of the CV at the moment are probably not from "real contractors" but out of work permies, which carry the negatives of CV's designed by folks looking permanent positions (I Like skiing, hiking and playing with my model train sets),

Hmm thats a point - is this where Ive been going worng ?

Or are my hobbies more marketable eg

Pony-Trekking, camping - watching TV ?

[Not So Wise]

I chased an Agency up about a contract I fired my CV through to on jobserve yesterday...

Agent apologses for not getting back to me but then tells me that he may not have seen my CV

He then explains that he had over 300 applicants and that in order to get through them quick enough so he get some CVs over to the Client quickly..... wait for it.... he deleted anything after the first 50

Awesome.

Even in the boom times, when they were not getting hundreds of CV's per contract this was pretty common practice and to be honest I don't blame them.

Say trying to place 3 positions, aprox 300 CV's per position, that's 900 CV's….would YOU read them all if you were an agent? I know I would not, hell I would draw the line at about 30 per day, rest of time I would want to be looking for new leads

And now would be worse, because many of the CV at the moment are probably not from "real contractors" but out of work permies, which carry the negatives of CV's designed by folks looking permanent positions (I Like skiing, hiking and playing with my model train sets), risk they will rush back to permiedom when something comes along or who are just unsuited for contracting

Some call agent before sending CV, I prefer to call them within hour of sending it, (enough time for it to reach them, not enough time for them to discard it without reading) that way we can discuss easily the particulars of my cv and how it fits their clients needs. This gives agent something to discuss with client (besides quoting CV verbatim) so they can "sell" me to the client instead of just forwarding the cv and saying nothing. Seems to work pretty well as many times get to interview and client starts to bring up things that are not on CV but that I had told agent

[kookachoo]

If you can get them to take the call! My name must be on a million post-it notes on computer screens across the country...

...better than the toilet wall, I guess!

[sal626]

FWIW

I call the agent up FIRST to discuss the role and then send my CV to their agency email address.
BUT I'm in a niche market, I guess it maybe different with more mainstream skills.

This works, and not just for niche markets.
90% of interviews I've had were a result of being proactive and calling the agent up.

[Pogle]

FWIW

I call the agent up FIRST to discuss the role and then send my CV to their agency email address.
BUT I'm in a niche market, I guess it maybe different with more mainstream skills.

[PM-Junkie]

For once, I wouldn't slam agents too much for that. Wading through 300 CVs for just one role isn't feasible, I reckon.

....or the guy who gets a load of CV's and puts the top half of the pile straight in the bin saying "it's part of the selection process - why would I want to employ someone who is unlucky?".

[smiff]

He then explains that he had over 300 applicants and that in order to get through them quick enough so he get some CVs over to the Client quickly..... wait for it.... he deleted anything after the first 50

Awesome.

For once, I wouldn't slam agents too much for that. Wading through 300 CVs for just one role isn't feasible, I reckon.

[mailric]

I chased an Agency up about a contract I fired my CV through to on jobserve yesterday...

Agent apologses for not getting back to me but then tells me that he may not have seen my CV

He then explains that he had over 300 applicants and that in order to get through them quick enough so he get some CVs over to the Client quickly..... wait for it.... he deleted anything after the first 50

Awesome.