Don't want to butt in here but I can tell you my own experience of this - I mostly used agencies in the past. These days it's mostly word of mouth or people I'v

Don't want to butt in here but I can tell you my own experience of this - I mostly used agencies in the past. These days it's mostly word of mouth or people I've worked with in the past. I might get a call a year or two later from a contact, who may even have moved companies, and they need someone for a job. I think it's a case of "devil you know". Recommendations and prior experiences of successfully completing gigs is quite important. If I were doing more gigs per year I'd probably work more with agencies. The gig I'm currently on was through an agency, just because that was how things worked out - I got a phone call and the gig was interesting and a good rate. Building up a network over time is important. I always take agency calls even if the person is a bit clueless - you never know when they might actually have a gig you want! Hope that helps!