As a preface to what is to come I feel I should add that over all October had been a good month. Some very nice things happened, and as fellow blogger Happy Frog and I, noted: it is easier to list the bad things (paraphrasing there). However there some things that try as one might, I cannot let them wash over me.
First off: recruitment consultants.
They exist for the sole purpose of finding others work be it permanent, contract or temporary/freelance. They do not do it out of the goodness of their hearts, they get paid for their efforts. Say, for arguments sake they charge the end client £30 per hour for an individual's services, they take FROM £5 an hour of that for themselves. Multiply that by the number of freelancers on their books and it is sure to be a tidy sum.
Now I don't begrudge them earning a living, especially as their contacts enable me to earn one too. The bit I have a problem with is their attitude when it comes to returning calls and emails.
A bit of back story is required here: I work freelance - not through choice, I was made redundant last August and since then I have been mostly gainfully employed save the odd hiatus. I am also looking for a permanent position should the right one present itself. It is this bit of the recruitment agencies 'behaviour' that I have particular issue with. In the first instance, if an agency suggests and puts a candidate forward for a role, I feel they are entitled to feedback just as if they had attended an interview. Yet more and more, I find myself chasing these people for an answer and in effect doing their job for them.
On one occasion I attended an interview at which the client admitted they had cast the net wide as they were not sure what kind of person they needed. Fast forward 2 months and after numerous emails to the agency, I contacted the client direct to ask what the outcome was (I could guess I hadn't been successful given the time that had elapsed, but I wanted an answer) I was told that none of the initial batch of interviewees had been what they were looking for and she would have thought that after all this time I would have taken it to be a no. How rude!
In another case, I regularly contacted the agency to be repeatedly told that the client had not contacted them in ages, and then they tell me that the position has been filled. Sometimes I wonder what if anything these people do all day. It certainly isn't what one would expect them to do. Had they bothered to contact the client rather than waiting for them to get in touch maybe I wouldn't be writing this.
Stop having 'meetings' and leave facebook alone and do your job. I there are expectations on both sides. I am expected to be on time polite etc (nothing surprising there) also as I get paid by the hour, I am expected to keep busy. Permanant staff can goof off when work is slow. If it slows too much I get sent home (without pay I might add). This has happened on a couple of occasions when work has dried up or not come in. Full timers get to play on the internet, but I get to go home. On a few occasions this has even led to bookings being cut short or cancelled. Now I know that sometimes that can't be helped, but surely if you book someone for a week then after 2 days the work has dried up then someone needs to think about how they manage their resources. You might say that they were being kind in how they dispensed with my services as I was not what they wanted. Why then would they extend an initial 2 day booking to over a month? I think I have found the answer and that is that people are (mostly) human and the grim reality is that some are not good at their jobs and some hate theirs.
I have to be careful here not to segue into another rant entirely, but this problem is one that affects all customer facing roles. How many times have you been into a shop to be faced with a surly assistant? If you don't want to deal with the public get another job.
Right then, that's installment one, at an end. I could go on, but I'll save that for the next one... who will be caught in my cross-hairs next?
I was thinking of moving to freelance rather than permanent but your post has made me rethink that course of action. Perhaps it is just a grass is greener issue, but I would love to be outside of the office politics and just be able to get on with my work! Where I work we are not allowed to look at the Internet unless it is for work purposes so unless I am not at work (like today) I am not on FB or blogging. Maybe I will just look for a permanent job somewhere else!
ReplyDeleteHello 'I' and indeed not forgetting Froggy. I am honoured to have such esteemed personages such as yourselves pay a visit to my humble little blog.
ReplyDeleteIf you are considering moving to the world of freelance there are other things to bear in mind. I don't wish to put you off, rather to give you a clear picture of what may lie in store.
Firstly, the geographical location and industry/sector can have a massive impact on success/failure. I am in London and work in the creative industry - it is at times very competitive and cut-throat.
How you approach freelance can differ and could give you a totally different experience. You can register with agencies and go PAYE, which means you are techically employed by them and they sort out your tax and NI for a percentage of your fee.
You can register yourself as a limited company but will have to get yourself an accountant.
Or there is a middle ground - to use an umbrella company. You still find work through an agency - or not as the case may be - but for a flat fee the umbrella company sort out your tax and NI - it is easier to work through different agencies this way I have found. I have got work through 5 or 6 agencies using this method and while I don't gain as much as being ltd, it is easier and more convenient for me. Plus no tax returns to do.
On the downside, you might go for a few weeks with no work - and no work means no pay. Also there is no sick or holiday pay. No Christmas parties, no bonuses.
While it can be refreshing to be outside of all the office politics, there is another issue to contend with – that of simply being on the outside. Sometimes you are treated as less than everyone else simply because you are temporary. Even when I have been freelance I have had rules imposed on me. At one place I was told I was not to use my phone, despite my needing to be in contact to get future work. In another, I was given a login that not only prevented my accessing the internet when permanent staff could - despite my needing it for work purposes. I often get stuck on the slowest machine, with outdated software - the spare or the freelance machine - and then get plagued with comments on why I am not working faster. Then there is the problem of communication. I don't have a company email, yet am unable to use the internet to access my hotmail... have none of these people heard of a catch 22 situation?
On the plus side, there have been a few places where I freelanced with a view to permanancy and it gave me the opportunity to trial them as much as them trial me. I can walk if it does not suit me, and I have done that on more than one occasion.
I didn't have the luxury of choice in the matter, so my advice would be - think it through thoroughly and if you have any more questions, feel free to drop me a line and I will try to help.