With the current job market, I’ve found the best way to get a permanent placement is as a temp. I’m currently up for two positions (waiting to hear about one this week), and the one I’m working at right now is considering keeping me on permanently. Whereas I can send out masses and masses of resumes and get barely any responses (and I have four years of executive assistant experience, some with NYC companies). A temp agency will do their best to get me out somewhere ASAP, and then to get me on permanently. Yes, it sucks not to have benefits for a few months, but at least I’m getting paid at the same time - and the benefits will eventually begin.
I’m between jobs. Temp agencies can help find permanent jobs, too. When I talk to my agency, I’ll request to only be called for long-term or temp-to-perm. This assignment was just a stopgap.
I worked temp for a couple of years between jobs. I really liked it…although the worst one was when I did a favour to the temp agency working washing test tubes, beakers,etc for a drug manufacturer lab…that was awful - people treated you rudely because you were only the washer. The regular guy had been there 12 years and he had it down to a fine art - took so long to do this, so long to do that…so when he showed me I was thinking to myself I could probably do it faster and the first day on the job I did. Then from 2:00 til 5:00 I had nothing to do. So I went back to his timing so I didn’t screw anything up for him.
Other than that, working temp was fun however I did hear horror stories about other temps…one actually worked the morning learning the job, left for lunch and never came back!
I always took every assignment, showed up on time, etc. because you never know when a full time job might come of it.
Thanks for that link, Elysian. That guy’s an even worse temp than I am. I only steal stuff a little, when I work for a huge megaconglomerate that won’t miss a few pens and highlighters.
I generally temp when I’m new to an area. It’s hard to find a job in some areas without contacts, and temp agencies provide those contacts. Also, it gives me the opportunity to “try before I buy”, so to speak, and decide if I like that particular job before I commit to it on a permanent basis.
I’m temping right now and I hate, hate, hate it. I told the agency that I was looking specifically for a temp-to-perm position, and Iexpected that I would get an editing job, since that is what my resume shows. They assigned me to be a receptionist for a mental health advocacy group that is undergoing a meltdown due to the malfeasance of its (now former) executive director. Last week they conducted the second round of layoffs since I started, removing 25 percent of the staff.
I have repeatedly asked to end this assignment, only to be told that “they’re looking for a position.” I didn’t expect to be a permanent temp in a dead0end job in a failing nonprofit where I am stuck taking phone calls from pushy vendors and mental patients asking for help that they can’t get. Yesterday I spent the afternoon sending form letters to prisoners who had written asking for help getting treatment for their illnesses. I asked my supervisor why they wewren’t getting some kind of actual help, but I was told “we don’t do those referrals.”
Hey no problem, I know how it is Did you check out all his essays? There are many hours of reading to them.
He belongs to a group who hangs out on #spinnwebe on irc, although they won’t tell anyone which server. But if you like his website you might like these others:
I’m truly sorry to hear that, gobear. I am well acquainted with that hopeless, helpless feeling that comes from being stuck in a job that you desperately want to get out of, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. That’s the pimp agencies’ little secret that they don’t want anyone to know - they don’t want anyone to leave an assignment, ever. I’m not sure where they’d draw the line; probably at death or dismemberment, because if you lose an arm or hand, you can’t type as fast, and nobody makes money off of dead temps. Soulless bastards.
(I’ll be sure to check the rest of your links at work today, Elysian. If I can fit it in, of course.)
I’ve just been unceremoniously sacked from my temp job for the second time - seems they want to hire someone permanent, and since there’s a hiring freeze on they can only hire ‘internally,’ and since I’m but a temp (whose been here 1.5 years) I’m not technically ‘internal,’ so I don’t get to apply ! (I do, however, get to train the lucky soul who gets my job.)
I’m partly pissed off at The System which allows/encourages this kind of thing, and partly pissed off that I lose my sweet, easy, unlimited-Internet-access position, but mostly I’m pretty happy ! My boss feels terrible about the whole thing and says I can stay on as long as I need to ‘transfer knowledge’ while I find another job, and she’ll help me find another job (which never hurts!) and I’ve been looking for something full-time in my field anyway … so the only difference now is that I don’t have to hide my job-searching activities from my boss, and I don’t even have to pretend to do any work ! (What are they going to do … fire me?!) Heh, heh.
I hate those assignments where you get to train your replacement. I’m good enough to do this job, and I’m good enough to train the next person, but I’m not good enough to hire. Gotcha.
I also hate it when I end up supervising other temps. I truly don’t feel that temps should be supervising other temps. You should be properly hired if you’re in a position that requires this, or someone in management should be doing their job and supervising all the temps.
I’ve temped on several occasions, for a couple different agencies. Here’s two anecdotes that illustrate why I’d rather live in a cardboard box under the freeway than have to temp again:
In between jobs, I go to the temp agency, score off the charts on all their little tests and get assigned in the very agency’s corporate HQ, which is just down the street. It’s a telecommmunications asst. position, which basically meant I updated the broadcast fax lists and occasionally called phone companies to arrange to have additional phone lines installed in some branch office somewhere. (This is where I learned every area code in the country.) After a couple months, the manager expressed how impressed he was and said he would ask for a permanent position in his department for me. Upon follow up, I was told several times that he was waiting for the budget to be approved, and as soon as it was, I’d be permanent, full-time with benefits and everything. A couple more months go by and I’m getting further and further away from the journalism skills I trained for… but I finally hear through the grapevine that the budget has been approved. I skip the manager completely and go straight to the VP he reported to (who I’d gotten to know and really liked). The VP looked very sympathetic as he told me that the manager’s new position request had been denied and I could continue to temp in his department as long as I wanted, but there would be nothing permanent available for me any time in the near future. He also offered to help me find a suitable position elsewhere in the company. So I took him up on it…
And he helped me get transferred to an assignment in the Training department, which was run by … I don’t even know how to describe the woman. She was just really shallow and superficial and two-faced. She’d be really nice and helpful to someone’s face and as soon as they were out of earshot, she’d trash them to all her co-workers. Truly heinous, IMHO. I worked there for several months, constantly being told what a great job I was doing… And then one day, another temp went to heinous boss lady to ask for some career advice. I was fuming because this conversation took place in my cubicle, and the other temp had the same degree, background and career aspirations as I did, so I thought it was totally inappropriate to help him in my presence. She should have taken him to her office to discuss it. Later, I stepped in to her office (having been told, “you can talk to me about anything, any time.”) and basically said something about, “what am I, chopped liver?” I didn’t wait for a response, just left for the day. The next morning, the temp coordinator/supervisor called me to her office to tell me I’d been reassigned and heinous boss lady said I could work the rest of the day or not as I saw fit. I saw no point, so I left. The next assignment was about three days worth of work. Then, suddenly, they had no assignments available for me any more. The Legal Department, which had been clamoring for me to come back, suddenly didn’t need my help anymore. I thought maybe I should get away from the corp. office and went back to the branch office. This is in a large, metropolitan area in the mid-90’s and suddenly, the branch office didn’t have any jobs available for me either. I firmly believe heinous boss lady blackballed me and ended my career with that particular agency. A couple weeks later, I got a great job and moved to South Carolina so none of it mattered.
If I ever do temp again, I will be a temp whore and place myself on the list of every agency in town so if one screws me over, there will still be gigs elsewhere. Hopefully. (I wonder if I’m still blackballed? I should go apply to find out!)
My wife works for Big Company X Publishing house…where they have temps and interns all the time. She got a temp several years back who was working for her in her office. There were 4 women and 2 men all working in the office…2 offices 4 cubes. My wife in one office the second in command in the other office. There was a woman in the office who was routinely scolding the other temp and had a generally bad attitude most of the time. She had been with the company for 2 years and had been written up twice for adverse professional conduct.
The temp was roughly 33 years old and had quite an impressive background in the publishing industry…she was laid off 6 months prior because of budgetary cut backs.
Ok back to woman in the second office. She is leaving the house to move to CA to follow new hubby to his new job. And her job had been recently posted. The rude and crude lady had immediately placed her resume with HR for the position…(keep this in mind)
Ok the woman in the second office hears what is going on outside…hears the rudness, hears the flat remarks etc…etc…She asks to speak with the temp one afternoon in her office with the door closed. My wife joined the conversation and asked the temp if she was interested in permanent work at the house. Vehemently agreeing the temp interviewed for the second in command position and lo and behold got the job. A week later the the temp was training next to the second in command yet still working from her cube. The day came when the second in command left and the temp took over the position. On the docket for her first set of duties…Issuing a Notice of Termination toa Braun in the next room
Did you check out all his essays? There are many hours of reading to them.