Consultants and Temps Stand Firm

There was once a time when consultants were revered as subject matter gods that allowed industry to accomplish monumental tasks in short order.

Today consultants and temporary SME's are the 21st centuries example of slave and sometimes endentured labor, having to put up with unrealistic timelines laid out by corporate cronies who know nothing about planning and logistics and even less about the subject or technology they are charged with overseeing.

The hurry up and wait mentality or as I like to call it wait, see and fail syndrome which has swept our industrial culture is threatening not only the slim lead we enjoy in the global economic market place but is also turning a generation of highly skilled, knoweldgeable and resourceful experts to nothing more than hired hands with no rights, benefits or future to look forward to.

This syndrome will only continue to worsen if something is not done. Corporate America can no longer have it both ways. They can not expect to increase revenues by letting good people loose into the marketplace which is a temporary solution to bolstering the bottom line. They can no longer expect consultants to keep them afloat by doing the work they are not qualified to do or are not staffed to do themselves and expect to get away without providing just compensation, benefits or suitable time off.

This syndrome can not and must not continue if we expect to survive in an economy which continues to spiral downward. We must not allow ourselves to be sold on the cheap only to be tossed away 60, 90, 120 days later when the work is done and the "dyslexic chimps" (corporate execs) have reaped the rewards for which we have worked so hard to achieve.

Stand up for yourselves, demand JUST COMPENSATION, not what some inadequate and selfish recruiter thinks is market value.

WE, the self employed, self reliant, independant consultants are the ones who should set market prices. Dont settle for the scraps, demand the MEAT you justly deserve

Here, Here!

I could not agree with you anymore than if I had written this myself. I am a consultant working in the pharma industry and am tired of being recruited by low life head hunters who have only one thing on their mind, place a body, fill a position, get a fee.

Companies think they are saving money by outsourcing and temporarily staffing their projects, but I can tell you based on my many years doing this work and my level of responsibility that they are not saving the money they think they are because they detach themselves from the whole process and rely on a firm to do the work for them.

What is the goal of an outsourcing firm? It is not to find the right candidate for the job, it is to find a person who can pass as the right person for the job quickly.

That means finding some inadequate fool who will work for beans and push him on the client for approval, who (client) in many cases does not know what skills are required for the successful completion of the project. This not only hurts the client but also the consulting business as a whole.

I agree with you 1000% that we should stand up and demand the compensation we think is suitable based on our experience and not some lowly recruiting or staffing firm. Heck if they dont like it they can always hire us as full time employees with full benefits and vacation time.

If we all stuck to our guns and did not let a select few dictate how much we are worth we can once again regain control of a system that has gone completely out of control.

I moved to Austin nearly three years ago with seventeen years of professional work experience which included technical graphic design, computer setup/install/configure for a department with over 200 systems, and web/file/database/email/list server admin experience.

I started that long-term career back in 1987 getting $10/hour. I'm finding that most of the jobs here in this so-called "high-tech" city (housing such technology giants as Dell, AMD, IBM, Motorola, Samsung, Freescale, Apple among others) are either part-time or lousy phone tech support positions which pay -- guess what -- a mere $10 an hour.

Taking into consideration the inflation over the past almost twenty years and that no longer seems a fair wage. The decent jobs which do appear have so many applicants it's easy to get lost in the mix. Even then, they do not pay a respectable *salary*, prefering to keep people on wages.

I am tired of my experience, skills, talents and knowledge being cheapened by people who NEED my expertise to get through a day.

I have been unemployed for most of the past three years, because I refuse to lower myself, or my standards, for the benefit of others. Does it hurt -- yes. But to bow down to the oppressors is exactly what they want us to do.

Dave

You are all absolutely correct! I've steered clear of ALL of these agencies because they wanted to pay me the same wages (or less!) than what I was earning 16 years ago. Further, these agencies rarely have the positions available that are advertised, whether for short term or long term assignments. Then they attempt to steer you toward something else that isn't necessarily related to your experience. In the other scenario, they will steer you toward a reasonable assignment that matches your skills, but the client won't budge on the salary. I worked as a paralegal for 16 years. The clients LOVE my extensive work experience but don't want to pay for it. The agencies only care about getting the placement and their fee and won't fight for an appropriate wage for you. I was actually offered a litigation paralegal position paying $8.50/hour -- that is without any type of benefits! I was making $18.50 hour doing telephone sales.

I've not worked in my career field now going on 5 years. I won't until the industry changes. The agencies won't change until they are FORCED to change. As long as they can continue to get fresh recruits from high school or college who are willing to work for the low wages, or manipulate those that just don't realize how serious the problems are with these places, they will never change.

I had a sort of opposite experience working thru an agency. The hourly rate, thru the agency was great. Of course, no benefits but a good prospect for a perm position within the company. Lo and behold when the offer was made the company was offering $4/hr LESS than what the agency was paying. So, of course I declined. Working as a contractor has some good benefits, you get to see what the company is really like without being 'trapped' by the employer. I do asgree that the agencies have a one track mind as far as collecting their fees and placeing candidates.

Hah! Hard to be more accurate. When my agent charges company for my services $70/hr or more, and he offers me $30/hr from that that is an insult !!! There is more agents nowadays than companies who actually hire. There is an opinion, that who can work - works, who can't - becomes a recruiter. So there is a bunch of folks with both hands left, sleeves full of sand, thinking - others will make money for them.
I have solid 21 years of education, and lots of years of very good experience (not just seniority), and I WILL NOT LET THEM s#ck my blood. I can understand they have to do it for living, but proportions now are out of wack. They can't make more than we make. For very simple reason. It's us who do the job. Not them. It's us who invested in ourselves, our education, etc, not them. I will not talk to any pencilpusher any more.

Employment agencies are like goons in NYC, always looking for top dollar candidates so they can make the sale. We are always going to be "low-balled" when we use recruiters that get paid high rates. If you can get the job directly through the company, it's the best advise. They don't have to pay an agency fee and they may be willing to pay you better. Then again, it depends on where you live. I don't understand this:

If companies have a salary range for a particular position and require at least 3 years of experience, what about someone with 20+ years? They just can't put a range on that. It could be more than 25% lower!! YIKES! My feeling on that is WALK AWAY if they're not willing to negotiate what you are "WORTH."