Client Comes First

Agencies are far more interested in keeping the client happy than keeping you happy. IT Contractors should just accept this as a fact of life, instead of whining about it, as they normally do.
 
The agent’s main concern is to get as many people out as possible and to extract as much as possible from the contractor. They surely and safely want to get other contractors into the client’s site.

Good Contractors

Agents want to be perceived by their clients as very resourceful people who can get very good contractors at very reasonable rates.

They will not root for you to the extent that it will annoy the client.  Nor will they risk their job by pushing for a large rate for you originally or for future work from the client. They will not show much interest in pushing the client for a large increase for you at renewal time either.

Not Your Agent

You must realize that their interests are very different from yours. It would be foolish to consider them YOUR agents. Just depend on yourself to do the negotiation and resist the feeling of depending on him.

Do not make the mistake most contractors make.

Contractors' Agent

There’s a real opportunity for real contractors’ agents now.  They can negotiate on behalf of the contractors. Initially, there wouldn’t be a huge amount to be made by the contractors’ agent, for instance, a share of 10% of any raise agreed, but as the agent wouldn’t do anything else except negotiate, he would eventually try to get his or her money from representing a lot of contractors.

Even if they did half a day’s work for each contractor every six months, they would manage to represent around 250 contractors by themselves, before even considering hiring other contractors’ agents to help them.