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On the UK's largest online jobs board, Jobserve, a recently placed advertisement from the recruitment agency, Progressive, requested 'a well-rounded Database Administrator for a very large, multinational, SAP user.'
The advertisement concluded: 'Please note, this client does not want to see any ex-contract persons.'
Adverts requesting ex-contractors need not apply are far from unique. A search for 'ex contractors' on Jobserve.com alone reported 19 results from within the last five days of advertised permanent IT positions, the majority asking them not to apply.
| "I very reluctantly request: 'No ex-contractors'. I would love to put some of them forward to see how they got on" | | Colin Molyneux, Progressive |
Colin Molyneux, Progressive's consultant who wrote the advert, said: "Clients specifying they don't want ex-contractors is quite commonplace. It can be very hard for 'serial contractors' to continue in the market if they want to go permanent. Clients are saying 'No' because they think as soon as the market picks up, the contractor is simply going to jump ship and head back into contracting.
"I very reluctantly request: 'no ex-contractors' for two reasons. Firstly, because the client demands it and secondly, because I would love to put some of these guys forward for six months to see how they got on.
"I've put a contractor in a permanent position before and watched him leave after three months, which looked bad on me as well as for ex-contractors looking to go perm generally. It has been historically proven as a case of the few spoiling it for the many. I get some really excellent candidates for perm positions that have come from contracting backgrounds and the client simply isn't interested. It can make things very frustrating."
A consequence of the distrust some clients have of ex-contractors is the introduction of contract terms that stipulate ex-contractors will be liable for training costs footed by the client if they decide to leave within a certain time period after they have been employed.
Mr Molyneux explained: "Many clients are writing this into their contracts because if they pay for two or three years' training and the worker then leaves to go contracting, the client's obviously operated at a tremendous loss.
"The downside of this is that the worker is locked into the position for the duration of the contract's terms which is obviously bad news if they'd rather be somewhere else, such as back working in the contracting market."
| "I fully understand the current plight of contractors and think the client in this case is being shortsighted" | | Robbie Cowling, MD Jobserve |
Robbie Cowling, Founder and Managing Director of Jobserve, said: "This is not a simple matter. Having been an ex-contractor myself and remembering how poor things were in 1990, I fully understand the current plight of the contractors and I personally think the client in this case is being shortsighted.
"They obviously fear that an ex-contractor will look to become a contractor again as soon as the market picks up. I can understand their concern and they may have already experience this type of thing in the past. However, I believe they should be able to cover this concern during the vetting process when they are making their various selections. This would give ex-contractors, who are genuinely looking for a permanent position, every chance to explain why they have decided to move their career in that direction. This advert is also excluding IT professionals who, for no fault of their own, were made redundant and then took a short contract because no other permanent jobs were on offer.
"The current market is very poor for all of us involved in recruitment but for clients looking to take on IT staff there has never been a better time to obtain some real quality staff. However, to do this they must be prepared to really sift through ALL of the highly skilled candidates that are now available.
"As I disagree with its contents, I am sure some readers will wonder why Jobserve advertised the job at all. Well all of our jobs are vetted, but not to reflect my opinion, or that of anyone else in Jobserve, but because we make best efforts to comply with the laws that surround job publishing. As things currently stand there is nothing wrong with the advert and the agency involved is just doing what the client has asked them to do."
| "Sometimes only ex-contractors have the high level of experience required for these positions. If you've met the ex-contractor and properly vetted them then there's no gamble" | | Tim Barton, ARC Recruitment |
Having searched Jobserve's database for examples of agencies asking ex-contractors not to apply for permanent positions, one particular result specified: 'DB2 Consultant Major Inv Bank Banking Not Rqrd Ex Contractors Welcome.'
Tim Barton, Director of ARC Recruitment who placed the advertisement, said: "I thought I'd buck the trend, someone's got to do it!
"Sometimes only ex-contractors have the high level of experience required for these positions. I've placed a couple of ex-contractors in permanent roles before and they're still there three years on, so historically we've built up an element of trust.
"Many contractors will truly go permanent, but it can be hard to convince clients of this if there's no direct communication between the agency and the Line Manager of HR Director at the client site. Personally, I have the luxury of being able to spend a lot of time with these people and in doing so I can convince them of the benefits of using ex-contractors, but you really need an open door from the client in order to do this properly. This really represents how the recruitment industry should operate in an ideal world."
Mr Barton said the process of using ex-contractors represented a risk that could be overcome if dealt with in the correct manner, adding: "If you've met the ex-contractor and properly vetted them, then no, there is no gamble. If you're just sending CVs to clients without personally checking them then it is definitely a total gamble."
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Richard Powell, © Shout99.com 2002
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