Advice To Contractors On How To Get A Good Rate For The Job

By Author: kunwarpal solanki
Total Articles: 49
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Recruiters always love first time contractors.Because they are often referred to as agents those new contractors consider them to be ‘their agents’ who will get them the best rate that they can.



After all, that’s what happens in the acting profession where agents are called the Mr-ten-per-cents and the more they get for a client the more they get for themselves as their cut.However, nothing could be further from the truth in the IT Contractor market.Agents there are Mr-as-high-a-percentage-as-we-can-get.



Yes, they do negotiate as much from the client as they can get – but they then try to keep as much of that as they can for themselves and leave the contractor with as little as they can get away with.It has happened in the past that agencies have taken more than half of what a client has paid for a contractor which means that the contractor is doing all the work and the agent is taking more than half of the fee just for matching him or her up with a job.



The way that commission scales are set up at agencies encourages individual agents to act ...
... this way with them keeping a higher percentage of the fee as they get more income in for the agency.That’s why they love first time contractors who are naive and they see as fair game.



It’s like taking candy from kids – or like shooting fish in a barrel.So, what should contractors do to get a good rate?Firstly they should know their marketplace.There are many websites for IT Contractors which show average rates for skills like ITJobsWatch.



They could also ask their Contractor Umbrella Company if they are experienced contractors. Umbrella Companies, with their large databases of contractors, are usually knowledgeable about rates in the marketplace



Once contractors know what their skills are worth on the marketplace they should then decide if they want to go in at that rate or above the rate if they think they are good (or good at interviews) or below that rate if they want to be competitive.



If they can, they should be vague with the agency about rates prior to going for the interview saying the rate will depend on certain things.Once they have actually got the job, the contractor has the whip hand.The company will not want to take second best and the agency will not want this juicy contract to evade their grasp.



Contractors can then tell the agency that they want a better rate than whatever the market rate is.The agency will bluster but even if in the end they cannot get the extra money from the client they will give the contractors something extra out of their own commission rather than let it slip away.



Gerry McLaughlin is the CEO of UK IT Contractor umbrella company website www.ITContractor.com.