Thursday, September 27, 2012

Google+ Integration 'Upgrade'

I was up for the idea of integrating my blog with my G+ account - I wasn't really using it much and only a few of my friends are active on there.

Generally I find social networking useful for two reasons: keeping in touch with friends in other countries and selling business services.

The problem with this integration is that your Google+ profile replaces your blogger profile, which is ok... but  I've got particular settings and appearances on each which don't flow together. Whilst I'd still rather use Google+ than Facebook - I closed my FB account last year and am unlikely even to create a business page - I just feel that the integration between products could use a little more flexibility.

Good idea overall, just a couple of issues stopping me going ahead with it.

Update 15th August 2014

I've gone with it. The benefits of linking the posts to something like Google+ outweigh any foibles and the plus profile is now a lot more flexible. It's a no brainer.
The only think left to do is find something that automatically links new posts by adding a twitter status. The blog itself has gone from a technically focused R&D exercise to a business and architecturally focused observational process, infused with a sprinkling of scenarios from outside of the business world :)
 

Commodity Update

It seems that it's a two-way street - After writing a post this week about tips for handling tricky recruiters, a large section of the recruitment industry itself has outed one particular individual.


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Information *Is* The Commodity


You're about to set out from the world of permanent employment and embark on contract work. Awesome! You know your tech-stuff and are chomping at the bit to ply your trade as a gun for hire...but are you savvy when it comes to negotiation and recruiters? Sure, you're confident in your technical skills, but do you know how to be a top-class salesperson too?

It struck me recently that there are perhaps less experienced people being taken for a ride by the seedier agents out there. If you've been doing this for some time or have also read the Toe-Rag Recruiter Playbook™ you probably won't be interested in what follows.

All I'd like to do with this post is provide a few tips and explain why some agents might ask some seemingly innocuous questions. After a number of years learning from my own mistakes I've built some very good relationships with particular agents I trust - They've even helped my out by explaining some of these areas, and over the years a few have even become mates.

It should also be pointed out that not all recruiters are used car salesmen, generally it's more likely to be one or two people at a handful of agencies here and there. We each have our own personal preferences about who we like to work with and who gets us the best rate, so I'm not going to insult your intelligence by telling you who to use and who to avoid.

This isn't about naming and shaming either - It turns out the Del Boy stereotypes out there are known to all anyway. A mate of mine (a recruiter) also pointed out that the recruitment industry is there to make peoples lives better - via career and monetary advancement. He's right and he also pointed out that, like anyone, there's bills to pay and sometimes people stoop low to keep the wolves at bay. There's plenty of good websites where people can share their views such as Contractor UK - some particularly good advice across a range of topics and forums.

Before we start though, don't start treating recruiters like cold war-era spies trying to steal the toast off a grannies breakfast plate. Treat recruiters with the same professionalism and respect you'd use for clients or potential new bosses (it doesn't matter whether it's returned, just stay positive and professional). Remember: recruiters are your friends, they're most likely to be the people that'll get you that next job.

Terms and Conditions

Make sure you fully understand the implications of payment terms before you sign a contract. When are time-sheets due? How often are invoices processed and paid? What happens if you miss a time-sheet & invoice deadline by an hour? Are the agency willing to be flexible once or twice?
Ideally look for an agency who accept weekly invoices, pay weekly and don't stipulate daft paperwork requirements like "your time-sheet and invoice have to be in on the Friday lunchtime for the same week".
Once you've signed that contract you can't change it until renewal time looms.
Sometimes you have to compromise to get that rate or a contract to get you commercial experience with something. It all swings in roundabouts.
Another discussion here which may give you some more ideas.

LinkedIn Contacts

Ah, such a good idea.
Ever noticed that pretty much only recruiters write updates on LinkedIn? Sure there's big companies selling stuff, job openings and some great groups but most of the time that recruiter who's just massaged your ego a bit will shortly send you a LinkedIn request.
What you may not realise is that following that they'll probably work their way through your contact list and find your current boss, your previous bosses, colleagues who may be hiring and other potential candidates (i.e. your competition).
It shouldn't have surprised me so much I guess, but when I hid my contacts the next few agencies who sent connection requests called or emailed less than thirty minutes later asking if any of my colleagues were also hiring. Pretty much because they discovered they could't access my contacts or associated profiles.
Hide your contacts list on LinkedIn from everyone and control the flow of information as you see fit. Hide the "Viewers of this profile also viewed..." box in the same way too. It's only used for the same purpose.
This one is up to you, you're potentially offering up information on your own competition.

Job Specifications

This one's a bit trickier as not all vacancies will have a formal job spec. For example, there might just be a company telling a recruiter to find them a Java developer with WebSphere experience. Just be aware that agencies advertising a role that doesn't have a job spec *may* not actually have that role on their books. It's not always the case but they may have used any number of methods to try and get their foot in the door, firing across some prospective candidates to a potential client.
Mind you, there's nothing to stop the agency amalgamating a few existing job specs into one fictitious one so there's plenty of ways around it.
They may also just be trying to fish for candidates to represent for roles that haven't fully materialised yet. Either way ask for a job spec and confirmation of rate / package - If they claim not to have one yet and you've not worked with that particular agent before, be a little cautious.

References

One particularly annoying ploy for a hiring manager is when you get cold calls / emails from an agent you've never worked with, asking what sort of candidate you're looking for with regards a vacancy either you've just filled or have never advertised. How did they find out?
You always get genuine agents you actually want to work with buried under all sorts of tat and unrelated connection requests.
One tactic is to advertise a fictitious role and asked for references from applicants. Maybe a day or so later that role "magically" gets either withdrawn, filled by another agency or the agent "can't get hold of the client" - usually it didn't exist in the first place. However, in that time, the applicant is sent a job spec for another role...But the agent's now got their foot in the door with a new potential client or contractor directed by your references. Granted, that is a worst-case scenario but it does happen.
They may ask your referee for the reference but will tag on a business enquiry offering their services on the end. They may tell you it's a requirement to validate candidates; honest conversations between agencies and hiring managers usually end up with an agreement that an agency can only screen technical candidates so far, the rest is up to the interviewer to assess (i.e. references often have little to do with it).
Bear in mind that this isn't always the case - Speculative applications are very different to applying for live roles. In this scenario if you already have recommendations or testamonials, supply these to the agency omitting the names and organisations of the referees. Often those agencies working on a more pro-active basis will like to create a sales pitch about you, backed up with real-world opinions. This is a great approach for speculative applications on your behalf and has worked well for me in the past.
There is no company in the UK (possibly Europe too) who requires references with an application from an agency. Even government or security-cleared roles with checking processes have a more direct approach to references which are far more formal.
Usually the person at the client organisation interviewing you will ask for references if they're needed at all - It varies, some hiring processes require it post initial interview, some don't at all.
Professional networking sites often have a recommendations feature which is a reasonable compromise (most people are happy to act as referees if they just don't want to make a public recommendation).
You may get into a situation where the agent tells you that they can't submit you for a role without references as it's "a requirement from the client". This is cow poo. Challenge them: Ask them if they're happy for you to approach the client directly as you understand they cannot represent you in this instance due to their own processes.
You'll be surprised how often "all of a sudden" they find a loophole and your resume is on the clients desk for review. More importantly, if that doesn't happen don't reconsider and don't dwell on it. You're almost certain to have a conversation with that agent straight afterwards about another role which "may also suit". If you don't, there's a hell of a lot of agencies out there who will work with you.
Tell agencies who've asked you for this that you'd be very happy to supply a list of referees *directly* to their client when the time comes.


Who Was....

I hate these questions. It's like they're cringing with embarrassment at the other end of the phone for even asking it, just to see if they can get away with it.
You'll be asked who you worked for (sometimes tied in with requests for references), who you worked with, whether they're hiring at the moment or how the business is doing in general.
Don't mention names - or even job titles - This is just another ploy to generate leads / new business by contacting the people you mention in this scenario. It won't make any difference to your application for a role at all.
When you have an interview arranged via another agency be honest about the fact - Just don't disclose which company it's with or who you're going to be interviewed by. Always let them know how it went and where the land lies going forward though. See point #5 in the summary below.

You Don't Want To Work There...

Often when a recruiter knows you're going for an interview they'll ask who it's with, who you're meeting, what kind of role it is, what the interviewers favourite colour is, how many fingers they have....

However, often that follows with something along the lines of:
[Agent] "Well good luck with the interview, I'm sure they'll hire you after spending any length of time speaking to you. If you don't mind me asking, who's it with?"
[Candidate] "It's an interview with Daves Websites Plc in Exeter"
[Agent] "Oh ok, I've heard of them - who's interviewing you?"
[Candidate] "Erm, I think it's a guy called Horatio Hornblower."
[Agent] "Ah right. That's interesting."
-Oscar winning pause and change of tone-
[Agent] "Just so you're aware, I've heard some interesting things about DW Plc, lots of people have left there recently because of the environment"
[Candidate] "What do you mean? Is it really that bad?"

At that point even if you don't believe them it starts making you think. Score one for Johnny Recruiter. It's an age-old tactic and a lot of agents try this at one time or another. For me I see it as an unprofessional mechanism to steer candidates back to their own vacancies. It's a *real* annoyance when you're trying to hire people.
Even if it is the same thing as politicians running negative campaigns against one another,  they're in business to make money from you, the product, so gloss over it and keep the relationship positive. It's just one of those things that's to be expected and it's no big deal.
Try speaking to contacts and getting first-hand opinions if you're getting concerned. For permanent jobs, carefully phrase some difficult questions about working practises during interiews. Disguise questions about how many people have left / joined with topics on how fast the teams are growing, how often people stay late at work and why the role is open in the first place.

If you're a recruiter reading this who's actually tried the steering tactic: Bad dog. No biscuit for you.

Tips and Summary

So as an overview, eight points to consider - Remember it's not a rule book or a doctrine but just some suggestions:

  1. Hide your contacts list from everyone on LinkedIn (or any other professional networking product). Do the same with the "Viewers of this profile also viewed" box too
  2. Never give references to agencies, only ever directly to a potential client. It doesn't benefit you in any way to do otherwise no matter what the recruiter might tell you
  3. Always get a job spec before you hand across too much information
  4. Never disclose who your line manager was, who's job title was what, which directors deal with what, which other managers deal with which area of the business....It's just lead generation. You can always use this info as a bargaining chip if you like as an incentive to get the agent working for you, but that's your choice
  5. Don't disclose the organisation or name of the contact for interviews you will be attending. It's none of their business (they get shirty when you disclose their clients to other agents so it shouldn't work the other way round either). Do let them know you have irons in the fire though, that can help move things along
  6. Any time an agent tells you to avoid or be wary of a particular company, press them for the source of the references and take with pinch of salt. Also realise you should have followed point #5 and slap yourself in the face for not doing so
  7. Never discuss your rate with anyone but the agent and your accountant. Not even your mates or your boss (even though your boss should already know). Bad for business and come negotiation time it'll only hurt you. You never know who your mates' mates are, or who *their* mates know either (the "it's a very small world principal")
  8. Most importantly, be honest with recruiters about yourself, your skill set, what sort of roles you're currently capable of and whether you've been submitted before. You'll only make them look bad and less likely to talk to you again if you don't. That trust relationship works both ways.
If you're reading this and strongly disagree, I'd love to hear from you. The topic is an open book based on both my own experiences and [horror] story swapping with peers.

Conversely, if you're reading this and have your own experiences to add it'd be great to hear from you - Please keep it constructive and informative though :)