Recruitment agencies + IT rates
Discussion
Oh no, another IT recruitment thread .. but funnily enough, I looked in the search but there doesn't appear to be a lot of recommendations on agencies.
Is there a list / website anywhere? Investigating getting into IT contracting but want to avoid some of the shark agencies that are surely out there..
BTW, how realistic are the rates on sites like itjobswatch, and how representative are the ads on Jobserve of the industry of a whole?
Is there a list / website anywhere? Investigating getting into IT contracting but want to avoid some of the shark agencies that are surely out there..
BTW, how realistic are the rates on sites like itjobswatch, and how representative are the ads on Jobserve of the industry of a whole?
Give these guys a call:
www.ecrmpeople.com/
The guys who run it are petrolheads and run a very successful and respected business.
www.ecrmpeople.com/
The guys who run it are petrolheads and run a very successful and respected business.
rico said:
Give these guys a call:
www.ecrmpeople.com/
The guys who run it are petrolheads and run a very successful and respected business.
I know both Chris and Steve very well indeed
How do you know them Rico ??
In 6 years of contracting I've never once been able to go to an agency and say "what have you got?" and have them come back with something. Usually it is a case of looking on JobServe / PlanetRecruit / JobSite / whoever and finding a contract that suits you and contacting the agency. Some are sharks, some are ok, and it is unfortunately rare that you get that much of a choice who to go with. 
I'd love to be proved wrong through and would love to be able to choose a good agency and have them find me a contract. Just doesn't happen though.
I'd love to be proved wrong through and would love to be able to choose a good agency and have them find me a contract. Just doesn't happen though.
Yeah Jon is right, I have had the luxury in the past of when working within my core skills to be able to tell an agent to get marketing me. If you work in a very specific area and are very well known in that area its possible but still not likely.
JobSite and PlanetRecruit eh?
Not seen them, ta Jon...
JobSite and PlanetRecruit eh?
Not seen them, ta Jon...
You have to think of IT agencies as Estate Agents. When you look for a house you may sign up to a number of agencies telling them the type of house you want, but generally speaking you'll generally find the house you like and then approach the agents who happen to be selling it. If it's with more than one agent then you get a small degree of choice if you are lucky enough to spot it is with more than one, otherwise that's about it.
An IT contract is much the same.
An IT contract is much the same.
Plotloss said:
JobSite and PlanetRecruit eh?
Not seen them, ta Jon...
In the past I have found the following to be of use:
www.cwjobs.co.uk
www.jobserve.com
www.gojobsite.co.uk
www.planetrecruit.com
www.theitjobboard.com
Generally speaking, JobServe yields the most contracts but a majority of agents cold-calling you say they saw your CV on PlanetRecruit.
Role could be problematic.
What I'd call my specialisation is building PHP/MySQL apps. Reasonably large scale ones, encompassing mobile/XML/WAP etc. After 5 yrs experience I think I need to separate this from simple "build me a website" job roles. Or should I just give up and brush up on my Java
What I'd call my specialisation is building PHP/MySQL apps. Reasonably large scale ones, encompassing mobile/XML/WAP etc. After 5 yrs experience I think I need to separate this from simple "build me a website" job roles. Or should I just give up and brush up on my Java
JonRB said:
In 6 years of contracting I've never once been able to go to an agency and say "what have you got?" and have them come back with something. Usually it is a case of looking on JobServe / PlanetRecruit / JobSite / whoever and finding a contract that suits you and contacting the agency. Some are sharks, some are ok, and it is unfortunately rare that you get that much of a choice who to go with.
I'd love to be proved wrong through and would love to be able to choose a good agency and have them find me a contract. Just doesn't happen though.
Strange. In 7 years of contracting I have built up a rapport with two or three agencies (more specifically two or three individuals that work for them) and they have provided all of my contract needs. In fact I know them that well and they are that clued up on the market that I haven’t looked at Jobserve for several years and don’t respond to cold calls from other agencies or speculative emails asking for CV’s.
For info I always use:
www.ntrinsic.net/
www.provanis.com/
www.synapps.co.uk/index.html
However all of these guys specialise in Oracle Apps so are probably not much good to you unless you are in that sector.
Hughesie2 said:As an analogy, rather than a rule, it holds up fairly well.
You have to think of IT agencies as Estate Agents.
What I'm trying to get across is the fact that Recruitment Agents are more akin to Estate Agencts than, say, Theatrical Agents.
A Theatrical Agent will be out there working on your behalf, finding you work, representing you, working closely with you like your accountant and solictor do.
An Estate Agent will be concerned with matchmaking a vendor and a buyer. Yes, they'll have a number of potential buyers on their books and will contact them when new properties become available, but generally expect to find buyers through advertising.
Now, honestly, which of the above two is more similar to the way a majority of Recruitment Agents work?
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