TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Wow, this is a clear example of the kind of situation where a company
discards a candidate because of multiple submissions, and I can understand
why that would happen.
I'm so sorry to hear you've been treated this way, Mike. I'd complain to a
business oversight company, if there is one for these agencies (e.g.,
BBB?). I wish I had a good suggestion for how to deal with this, aside from
trying to contact someone within the company you'd be working for, as Gene
suggested.
Great cautionary tale for us all.
Good luck--I hope the year gets better for you. Let us know how it turns
out?
Kathleen
On Thu, Jan 8, 2015 at 1:49 PM, Mike Starr <mike -at- writestarr -dot- com> wrote:
> Tuesday, a large local corporation posted a requirement for a contract
> role. I've worked for them in the past. Whenever they post a requirement, I
> get calls and emails from agencies all over the country. I press each one
> of them to give me their best W-2 rate for the role because from my
> perspective there's no difference in which of the agencies I worked for. So
> after a long day of fielding phone calls and emails, I chose the agency
> that quoted me the best rate... gave them the current resume and a
> right-to-represent statement.
>
> So, today, I get an email from another agency that they've submitted me
> for the role and I've been shortlisted for the assignment AT A LOWER RATE.
> I can expect to be asked to interview for the assignment.
>
> Turns out that the I had worked with the recruiter who submitted me a
> couple months ago and agreed to allow his firm to submit me for a different
> role (identified by a specific requisition ID). I did not give his firm a
> blank check right-to-represent... just the right to represent me for the
> previous assignment. This recruiter committed a serious breach of ethics. I
> called him and read him the riot act then made him transfer me to his
> supervisor (the account manager). I read him the riot act as well.
>
> I really don't want to work for this agency... however, I'm afraid that
> there's no way I can back myself out of this situation without losing the
> opportunity to work for the client. I need the job... I need the money. The
> account manager is doing his best to mollify me, including offering me a
> much higher rate (basically, he tells me that they'll only make maybe 50Â
> per hour on me). He's also telling me that in order for this to happen,
> I'll have to provide his company with a right-to-represent agreement.
>
> I told him that was all well and good but what about the other agency...
> the one I originally agreed to allow to submit me for this role. This is
> one of those large corporations where they do not permit
> double-submissions. I'm going to call the original agency and explain
> exactly what happened. There are a couple things that could happen. The
> original agency could ask me to have the unethical agency pull their
> submission of me or they could release me but then file a lawsuit against
> the unethical agency or they could release me but file a complaint with the
> master agency that all the smaller agencies have to go through.
>
> Like I said, I'm furious. Any advice would be welcome.
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Mike
> --
> Mike Starr, Writer
> Technical Writer - Online Help Developer - WordPress Websites
> Graphic Designer - Desktop Publisher - Custom Microsoft Word templates
> (262) 694-1028 - mike -at- writestarr -dot- com - http://www.writestarr.com
> President - Working Writers of Wisconsin http://www.workingwriters.org/
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Doc-To-Help: The Quickest Way to Author and Publish Online Help, Policy &
> Procedure Guides, eBooks, and more using Microsoft Word |
>http://bit.ly/doctohelp2015
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
>http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>
--
Kathleen MacDowell
kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Doc-To-Help: The Quickest Way to Author and Publish Online Help, Policy & Procedure Guides, eBooks, and more using Microsoft Word | http://bit.ly/doctohelp2015
