SPUG: Recruiter Survey

[Patterson, David S (David)]

I've contracted for over 8 years all over the country.  It is *rare* to find
an contract agency that is willing to provide a salary or hourly rate that
is in any way tied to the agencies' billing rate to the client.  This rate
is almost always confidential.  However, there have been a few exceptions.

The game goes like this:  The agency publishes a Job Title/Skills List/Years
of Experience sheet and gets the client company to agree on a bill rate for
each Title/Skill category.  Then the agency goes out and recruits the
cheapest labor it possibly can, and inflates as much as it can the Job
Title/Skills List of the new hire.  In many cases people were recruited grad
school or from overseas and were paid $10 - $20 an hour for software
developer or tester positions.  So imagine the frustration of company
managers who were paying $150 - $250 an hour for unhappy, grumbling
contractors barely able to keep a roof over their heads.

Some of the larger client companies who use a lot of contract help (e.g.
IBM, Boeing)  caught on to the game the agencies were playing by the mid
90's and modified their vendor contracts to mandate the percent cut the
agencies were allowed to take.

But the bottom line is:  If you think the price is right, then take the
contract.  Otherwise, pass it by.  That's how the marketplace works when
you're selling your labor.  If you want to change this equation, you have to
sell more than just your labor.  You basically have to go into business for
yourself.  If you have the time and willpower, great.  If not, there's
nothing wrong with a standard W-2 contract.

> 	---
		"To do great important tasks, two things are necessary, a
plan and not enough time..."

> 	David Patterson
> 	Software Engineer
> 	Lucent Technologies *
> 	6464 185th Ave NE
> 	Redmond, WA  98052-6736
> 	425-558-8008 x 2172
> 	888-501-4835 Pgr
> 	davidpa at lucent.com
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Tim Maher/CONSULTIX [SMTP:tim at consultix-inc.com]
> Sent:	Wednesday, June 21, 2000 1:23 PM
> To:	spug-list at pm.org
> Subject:	Re: SPUG: Recruiter Survey
> 
> SPUGomaniacs,
> 
> Some people are getting the impression that I'm talking about selling
> the SPUG email-list to headhunters.  DON'T PANIC!  I had nothing of the
> sort in mind.
> 
> By offering them "special access to our Email list", I was thinking that
> we might loosen the usual requirements for postings that currently scare
> away most headhunting agencies.  Specifically, recruiters are required
> to disclose the hourly rate they're willing to pay the contractor;
> many refuse to do this, and get their submissions squelched (by me)
> on this basis.  (Such disclosure makes it harder for them to play "both
> ends against the middle" and jack up their bill-rate while reducing their
> pay-rate, to the detriment of both the contractor and the client.  If they
> want to play these games, they can do so without the help of SPUG, IMHO.)
> 
> There's at least one agency out there that guarantees 82% of their
> bill-rate to the contractor, so for them, for example, it might be
> reasonable to waive this hourly-rate disclosure.  But only if they're
> an agency with a good reputation, which is why I'm asking for feedback
> on which agencies are considered ethical and good.
> 
> I don't own the SPUG email-list, and don't feel entitled to sell it or use
> it in any unusual way without the permission of those on it.  Trust me!
> 
> ==========================================================
> |  Tim Maher, Ph.D.           Tel/Fax: (206) 781-UNIX    |
> |  SPUG Founder & Leader      Email: spug at halcyon.com    |
> |  Seattle Perl Users Group   HTTP: www.halcyon.com/spug |
> ==========================================================
> 
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