Numpty agent

[Mich the Tester]

Get the name and email address of the director of the agency and copy him in on a withering reply pointing out the agent's incompetence and underlining how bad a job he is doing and that in an incestuous market not only do they risk getting struck off the PSL but also that their name could be mud with all financial institutions.

The fact that this guy got the name of a bank completely wrong is really really poor.

I know the director of the agency; I should have just gone through him. Might mention it over a beer.

[suityou01]

I don't mind being turned down; it's a fact of life in business that sometimes the client will choose a competitor. I DO OBJECT when the client is denied the possibility of being given a competitive offer by a numpty who doesn't have the basic decency to read, or even to critically analyse their own actions when a mistake is pointed out to them.

Get the name and email address of the director of the agency and copy him in on a withering reply pointing out the agent's incompetence and underlining how bad a job he is doing and that in an incestuous market not only do they risk getting struck off the PSL but also that their name could be mud with all financial institutions.

The fact that this guy got the name of a bank completely wrong is really really poor.

[shaunbhoy]

Surely an agent with a brain would realise

Yes, I think I can see the fly in that particular ointment Mich.

[Mich the Tester]

Had a pimp ring me yesterday asking

"How much experience in X do you have?"
"How much experience in Y do you have?"

I cut him short.

"Do you have a copy of my CV?"

"Yes"

"Ok good. Well the first page is a matrix of skills against time served. It's a useful profile that prevents me spending my whole day answering questions like these. Can I suggest you go away and read at least page 1 of my CV?"

He fooked off pretty quick after that.

I don't mind being turned down; it's a fact of life in business that sometimes the client will choose a competitor. I DO OBJECT when the client is denied the possibility of being given a competitive offer by a numpty who doesn't have the basic decency to read, or even to critically analyse their own actions when a mistake is pointed out to them.

[suityou01]

Had a pimp ring me yesterday asking

"How much experience in X do you have?"
"How much experience in Y do you have?"

I cut him short.

"Do you have a copy of my CV?"

"Yes"

"Ok good. Well the first page is a matrix of skills against time served. It's a useful profile that prevents me spending my whole day answering questions like these. Can I suggest you go away and read at least page 1 of my CV?"

He fooked off pretty quick after that.

[Mich the Tester]

memo to self 'dont fck around with mtt'

Well you see testing is one of those markets where everyone knows each other. I know many program managers, and they know me, that's why they ask me to apply; trouble is, we have to go through numpty PSL agents. I know the testing market better than most agents, I know most of the test managers in Holland, and I know who's on the big projects better than the agents. I'm happy to advise agents as to how to break into the Dutch testing market, on the rule of 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours', but the flip side of that is 'you make it dfifficult for me, I'll make it difficult for you'.

Surely an agent with a brain would realise that the person he's dealing with as a candidate today is very likely to be a customer tomorrow, especially in such a small world as the specialism where I work?

[EternalOptimist]

Looking for aproject from september, and enjoying the usual semi-amusing crap from incompetent agents.

See this e-mail exchange between me and an agent;

Agent; 'bla bla bla....we will not be offering your CV to our client because you have little or no experience in a financial environment, and Clientco specifically asked for this experience'

MTT; 'I have clearly demonstrated, in my CV, experience at ING Bank, DSB Bank, Swiss Life, and the testing of an application for the insurance industry; this might not add up to a lot of financial experience, but is certainly not 'little or no' experience.

Agent; 'we are seeking a candidate with experience as a Test Manager in a financial environment; you have Test Coordination experience, but your only Test Management experience in this sector is at DNB (Dutch Central Bank, where I have never worked).

MTT; 'In my CV, extensive Test Management experience is documented at four different financial institutions; I cannot avoid the impression that you have failed to read either my CV or my last e-mail. I have considered forwarding this e-mail exchange to Mr <name well known to me>, who is the Program Manager responsible for hiring a Test Manager for the <project named in advert> at Clientco and who expressly asked me to apply for this role via your agency, having been my Program Manager at a previous client. I shall thus be forced to offer my candidature via another agent on the client's PSL.

memo to self 'dont fck around with mtt'

[Mich the Tester]

Looking for aproject from september, and enjoying the usual semi-amusing crap from incompetent agents.

See this e-mail exchange between me and an agent;

Agent; 'bla bla bla....we will not be offering your CV to our client because you have little or no experience in a financial environment, and Clientco specifically asked for this experience'

MTT; 'I have clearly demonstrated, in my CV, experience at ING Bank, DSB Bank, Swiss Life, and the testing of an application for the insurance industry; this might not add up to a lot of financial experience, but is certainly not 'little or no' experience.

Agent; 'we are seeking a candidate with experience as a Test Manager in a financial environment; you have Test Coordination experience, but your only Test Management experience in this sector is at DNB (Dutch Central Bank, where I have never worked).

MTT; 'In my CV, extensive Test Management experience is documented at four different financial institutions; I cannot avoid the impression that you have failed to read either my CV or my last e-mail. I have considered forwarding this e-mail exchange to Mr <name well known to me>, who is the Program Manager responsible for hiring a Test Manager for the <project named in advert> at Clientco and who expressly asked me to apply for this role via your agency, having been my Program Manager at a previous client. I shall thus be forced to offer my candidature via another agent on the client's PSL.