Lions and Tigers and Headhunters. Oh my! (Part 2)

In our last newsletter we talked about some of the pitfalls of working with talent agents who crossed the line in an effort to place a talent into a position. If you've spent some time viewing the posts on the RealRates's BBS you'll see that my little story is just the tip of the iceberg.
OK, stuff happens. We all know now to watch out when negotiating contracts, right? For a refresher, take a moment to go to http://www.realrates.com/contips.htm and read the Consulting Tips. You'll be glad you did.
You may have noticed that we've started a page for independent-sponsored talent scouts on the CI site. At this writing there are only two sponsored agents, one in Denver and one in Colorado Springs. Hopefully they are, or will soon get calls from other independents.
I plead with Colorado independents to sponsor an agent or two yourself. Why? In my opinion doing so encourages talent agents to go beyond the normal approach and consider more carefully what most of us independents are looking for in a contract. If each independent would sponsor one agent we'd have over 50 publicly identified individuals that the rest of us independents could use as a trusted resource.
Have you noticed some of the job listings lately, for instance on DICE, where you'll see: "W2 ONLY!", "NO TELECOMMUTE!", "FULLTIME ONLY!" and so on. The exclamation marks are part of the job posts. What's going on? What I think is that some agents who are starting to get more and more inquiries from independents about opportunities are frustrated that they have to spend so much time weeding out those who do not desire to become fulltime W2s.
Fine, here in Colorado, lets weed out the Colorado agents who prefer only full-time W2 talent. Even better, lets support the agents who are helping independents find work. Independents - sponsor an agent. Agents - help an independent find a position and get yourself sponsored. We both win!
What about agency percentage splits? Recently, an agent from Freelance.com sent everyone who has a profile on the Colorado Independents site an email invitation to affiliate with the freelance.com approach. In the email was a declaration of the independent/agent split - 79/21%.
Shortly after we got the email, someone from our group, hiding behind an email alias, sent a reply to everyone that the rate split was too high? Was it? Read the article on RealRates: "What is a fair broker/agent cut?" (http://www.realrates.com/bbs/messages/tips1.htm). That article sets an expectation of a 25-35% agent cut and even higher for W2 positions since they pick up additional cost in placing W2s.
One approach is to just set your hourly rate and negotiate to get it. This can work just great if you are a good negotiator. Personally, I prefer disclosure up front if possible for several reasons: (1) it removes the problem of the talent finding out what the client is paying and being bummed about it, (2) it validates the talent agents willingness to play fair and open, (3) it sets industry standards by which talent, talent agents, and companies seeking talent can play the game more professionally.
Let's end the game playing and the acrimony you often see expressed on the RealRates BBS (there they call talent agents "Borks" - a play on Broker I think). Let's agree as best we can on some professional standards and expectations.
And recruiters - did you know that there is a secret society on the web for you - where again, you must be sponsored to become a member? Go to:
http://www.r0r.org/
I especially like the Pledges section.

Regards,

Clint Lewis
CI Founder
32U eSolutions, LLC
clint@32u.com
719 442 0926