I'm a freelance consultant in the area of computer software development.I'm a freelance consultant in the area of computer software development. Call me Al. I normally work for large corporations on a contract basis for a few months per stint. I recently moved to New York from the San Francisco area, and since I was starting in a new city where I had no business contacts, I was forced make use of contract placement companies, also known as "headhunter agencies". These are middlemen who try to get contracts for people like me in return for a cut of the money. They way this works is that after the agency gets me a interview that results in a job, I sign up as an employee of the agency, who then bills me out at a higher rate to the company where I actually work. It's a sleazy business, but without more contacts here I have to work this way. I got my current contract through a smallish agency. While working on this contract, another agency called me about another position that was somewhat more lucrative. After interviewing at the new company, I was offered a contract. Now, my existing contract was a typical one in that it was open-ended and could be terminated by either party with two-weeks' notice, so, barring any major pay raise from my current job, I planned to quit my old job and accept the new one. |