****ing Recruitment agencies!
Discussion
Just got a phone call:
Her "I've got a great job that would be perfect for you."
Turns out to be convenient for me commuting, interesting enough work and reasonably secure so I'm interested.
Her "It's £xx/hour, what do you think?"
Me "Sorry, that's about £20/hr LESS than my current rate, no thanks."
Her "Well this is a great job and rates are coming down right across the industry, you must be negotiable on this?"
Me "No, I may get a rate cut in the future but it won't be anything like a £20 cut."
Her "Well, will you consider it?"
Me "No, sorry. I've got a secure job and a decent rate. I can't consider that kind of rate cut."
Her "I've already sent them your CV and they're keen to speak to you."
Me "I'm happy to speak to them but if it's £20/hr less than I currently get it's going to be a waste of everybodys time isn't it?"
Her "This is a more senior post with more responsibility than you currently have."
Me "Yes but the rate doesn't reflect that does it?"
Her "Well, I think you're making a mistake not even considering it, work is tight here at the moment and this is a really good position."
WTF?! Which words did she not understand, how can any agent reasonably expect a contractor to take that kind of pay cut in this market when I've already got a secure job that I enjoy?
s.
Her "I've got a great job that would be perfect for you."
Turns out to be convenient for me commuting, interesting enough work and reasonably secure so I'm interested.
Her "It's £xx/hour, what do you think?"
Me "Sorry, that's about £20/hr LESS than my current rate, no thanks."
Her "Well this is a great job and rates are coming down right across the industry, you must be negotiable on this?"
Me "No, I may get a rate cut in the future but it won't be anything like a £20 cut."
Her "Well, will you consider it?"
Me "No, sorry. I've got a secure job and a decent rate. I can't consider that kind of rate cut."
Her "I've already sent them your CV and they're keen to speak to you."
Me "I'm happy to speak to them but if it's £20/hr less than I currently get it's going to be a waste of everybodys time isn't it?"
Her "This is a more senior post with more responsibility than you currently have."
Me "Yes but the rate doesn't reflect that does it?"
Her "Well, I think you're making a mistake not even considering it, work is tight here at the moment and this is a really good position."
WTF?! Which words did she not understand, how can any agent reasonably expect a contractor to take that kind of pay cut in this market when I've already got a secure job that I enjoy?
s.Edited by Lefty Guns on Friday 20th March 11:19
offroading.net said:
not seeing a downturn in rates that much, noddy stuff maybe, but I am currently on the best rate I have ever been on & picked this contract up xmas time.
I'm on the best rate I've ever had and while the rate has stayed the same for the last 9 months, it hasn't gone down at least.
I have seen the other side of these toss houses.
Last year I was put on the sick for a few months with a back injury by my employer. They were a massive company with loads of other roles on site (I was doing warehousing but I have experience of IT and other roles etc). They wouldn't try to find me another role on site and wouldn't even pass on my details for internal vacancies.
So, I start applying for jobs myself but also register with agencies to try and help me find something quick. I hated being on the sick and as it was a back injury I could do pretty much anything apart from a role that involved heavy listing.
I visited loads of agencies and had interviews etc with them. They never got back to me once over 3 months with anything that would be suitable. Some of them weren't even bothered with me as, and I was told this by one woman 'I am a heterosexual white English male looking for work'. That shocked me a bit, the fact that she even admitted it!
Some of the idiots in the agencies just couldn't give a st. I remember going to one to see a chap who 'specialised' in the office/IT recruitment. He dressed like a bag of st, had the attitude of 'I have so many applicants I don't really give a fk' and was really annoying. This same agency also had loads of good sounding jobs in the window but everytime you you went in to ask about them they had 'just been filled'. I even sent a friend in once who and he asked about the same job and got the same response. Something tells me they were doing a bit of window dressing!
Last year I was put on the sick for a few months with a back injury by my employer. They were a massive company with loads of other roles on site (I was doing warehousing but I have experience of IT and other roles etc). They wouldn't try to find me another role on site and wouldn't even pass on my details for internal vacancies.
So, I start applying for jobs myself but also register with agencies to try and help me find something quick. I hated being on the sick and as it was a back injury I could do pretty much anything apart from a role that involved heavy listing.
I visited loads of agencies and had interviews etc with them. They never got back to me once over 3 months with anything that would be suitable. Some of them weren't even bothered with me as, and I was told this by one woman 'I am a heterosexual white English male looking for work'. That shocked me a bit, the fact that she even admitted it!
Some of the idiots in the agencies just couldn't give a s
t. I remember going to one to see a chap who 'specialised' in the office/IT recruitment. He dressed like a bag of st, had the attitude of 'I have so many applicants I don't really give a fk' and was really annoying. This same agency also had loads of good sounding jobs in the window but everytime you you went in to ask about them they had 'just been filled'. I even sent a friend in once who and he asked about the same job and got the same response. Something tells me they were doing a bit of window dressing!offroading.net said:
not seeing a downturn in rates that much, noddy stuff maybe, but I am currently on the best rate I have ever been on & picked this contract up xmas time.
I think it's very skill dependent. If you're just a basic Java/.Net/PRINCE2 bod with no specific niche skills then yes, rates are way down as the market is completely saturated. However if you have a specific skillset that clients want then as far as I can see rates are still pretty good.It's just a shame that my niche skillset appears to be dead in the UK, all the decent (read well-paid) contracts I've been offered recently are in Europe
Merc fan said:
Not sure she should have sent your CV anywhere without telling you first.
If you post your CV on a site, it will get forwarded to many many companies until someone says they want to see you.If you put you CV on a site for people to see, recruitment agencies make sure people see it! Not sure what the problem is here!!
G'kar said:
superkartracer said:
Another (i earn 100k year post) etc...
£20 an hour cut!! £xx an hour!! etc etc
My gimp GF earns £300 + a hour, you need to find another line of work.
Sounds crap.
Plenty of £400 a day BA jobs around. £50 an hour. I can see someone trying it on at £30 an hour.£20 an hour cut!! £xx an hour!! etc etc
My gimp GF earns £300 + a hour, you need to find another line of work.
Sounds crap.
What is a BA job? - Pilot..
Cheers
bigTee said:
Merc fan said:
Not sure she should have sent your CV anywhere without telling you first.
If you post your CV on a site, it will get forwarded to many many companies until someone says they want to see you.If you put you CV on a site for people to see, recruitment agencies make sure people see it! Not sure what the problem is here!!
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