FAQ’s about the staffing industry

Thanks for the overwhelming response to my blog. I have put together a list of FAQ’s that I have been receiving and want to answer some of them for all of you to see. Thanks for the feedback and on to the questions.

Can I switch agencies and stay with my current contract?

The answer to this questions is mostly no. There are rare circumstances that a company will allow you to change agencies. If you are not getting paid based on the terms of your contract would be the number one reason you would be allowed to switch agencies. I would be willing to bet your agency had you sign an agreement that states how long you have to be away from a client before returning through another agency. If you want to change agencies, make sure you have valid reasons and then see if your recruiter will release you from your contract. If they won’t you can ask your manager at the client to help but most of the time it will end there.

How many recruiters should I work with?

I would recommend three to five. Make sure you are comfortable with each recruiter and they have contracts in place with the companies you want to work with. Try to find recruiters that can meet your rate and mix it up based on clients. Most big companies have vendors list and not all recruiters can submit to those jobs. Target about 20 companies in your field and then find out who the recruiters are. Then find recruiters that don’t have a lot of client overlap. This way you will have opportunities at a greater variety of companies. Don’t use three recruiters for one company.

Should I work with multiple recruiters from the same agency?

If you are willing to travel and want to work in different locations, it is fine using recruiters from the same agency that work in different locations. Make sure that each recruiter is aware that you are speaking with someone else from their company. You don’t want to hide this information from one of the recruiters because they will find out. Also, make sure you have a consistent message or risk being labeled as untrustworthy.

Why will my agency do corp-to-corp at one client and not another?

Most agencies don’t care if you are W2 or work Corp-to-Corp. They all have different insurance requirements that you must adhere to. The big reason an agency won’t offer you the option of going Corp-to-Corp is the client. Some of my clients don’t allow it because they feel it ads another layer of contracts and can create legal problems down the road.

Is it okay to have different agencies submit to the same client and job?

Never do this. I just had a contractor give me permission to submit him to a position, which I did. I spoke with the manager and was able to get him an offer. A day later the manager came back to me and said that another agency had submitted his resume and they were rejecting him for the position. I spoke with my contractor and confirmed that he did give permission to the other agency. I spoke with my manager’s HR department about allowing the contractor to work and they felt that the losing agency would feel cheated. The most important thing for them was too protect there reputation for fairness with the agencies, and not expose their company to possible litigation from a vendor. The best solution for them was to just hire a different contractor.

Keith Zingler has over 10 years of recruitment experience. He can be reach at kzingler@pdstech.com.