But, for the most part, these firms specialize in filling interim full-time jobs, rather than catering to freelancers who seek a variety of projects with more than one client. Rob Steir was a free-agent wannabe himself when he founded MBA FreeAgents in New York two years ago. An M.B.A. graduate of Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Chicago, he had grown tired of his career in commercial real estate and was eager to find project work in other industries such as the Internet business. So he launched his own recruiting business. So far, the people listed by MBA FreeAgents don't pay anything to have their names listed, but that may change.
Companies screen their own applicants.
Mr. Steir says about 50 companies have paid the fee to access his database. It interviewed some 30 people from MBA FreeAgents's listings and has brought one of them into the company on a consulting basis, says Clyde Musgrave, vice president of business development. M Squared, launched in 1988, has worked with more than 600 mostly Fortune 1000 companies finding freelancers to work on projects ranging from setting up human resources departments to helping with mergers. M Squared takes a cut of a worker's hourly fee or a percentage of the total project fee. Now free agency is everywhere.