Sweet! You’ve got your foot in the door.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You have a reasonably good grasp of how computers and the english language are used, and you are worried that you are not qualified qualified to be a temp? Having seen some of the utter doofuses (doofi?) that the agencies regard as being employable, I’d say that you are on the verge of being overqualified.
Glad to see that you have already got some income lined up, and I’m sure that you’ll be fine with lining up decent jobs. The biggest thing is the ‘fear factor’ of rocking up in an office full of strangers working for some company you’ve never heard of, doing something that sounds fearsomely complicated - but that wears off soon enough once you realise they’re the usual mixture of fools, slackers, and underappreciated stakhanovites.
Good luck! Go in with your best foot forward. A lot of companies will not list their job as temp-to-perm, but will capitalize on good talent when they see it. 90% of being a good worker in temp jobs is attitude. If you’re pleasant to work with, willing to learn, and patient, most places will be so happy that they won’t care about skills at all.
Hey thanks everyone!
That’s funny! My husband, who’s struggling himself as a free-lance computer/audio/video/HD guy, which is why I need to supplement, says I undersell myself, and maybe I do, sometimes at least. For instance, I said I typed 30-35 wpm, which was a total guess, but at Front Office Staffing they gave me a typing test and much to my surprise I typed 54 wpm with a 99% accuracy. You could have knocked me over. I had no idea. And he scoffs at me underplaying my html skills, since I’ve built several web sites and like to code html by hand. If someone handed me a blank sheet of paper and a pencil, I could write out a web site starting with <html><head><body> and ending with </body></head></html> with headers, paragraphs, images and links in between. But what good is that? I can’t do forms and shopping carts and javascript and flash and all that other razzmatazz that businesses want nowadays, so I’m not underselling myself there. Anyway, I think it’s better to undersell than oversell, lest I get into a situation that gets me into “I have no idea what I’m doing” trouble.
I really really really want that job at Duff & Phelps. Seriously want. I sent them my resume by e-mail the other day, and today I called but the HR person was out. It’s the absolute perfect job for me. I want to be up moving around, and so what if it’s doing mundane things like keeping the copiers filled with paper, stocking conference rooms, keeping the kitchen clean, keeping the vending machines filled, delivering packages, running errands? It’s all stuff that needs to be done and I don’t mind doing it. I’m not going to be intimidated by financial executives, we’re in different spheres, and I’ll be just as friendly to them as I am to the janitor. It probably pays well (well enough for me), has good benefits, is close to the el stop, but most of all, I really really really want to work there because they’re on the 42nd floor of 311 S. Wacker, my most favorite building in the city of Chicago. I adore that building (which is across the street from the Sears Tower) and I’ve never even been inside.
I wonder, if he doesn’t call me back, if I should take a resume and cover letter and actually go there on Monday. It could either be seen as initiative or stalkerism. At least I’m not calling 26 times without leaving a message.
smile What’s a stakhanovite?
Well, pooh, I didn’t even get that right. Should be
<html>
<head>
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<p><img src=“http://blahblah.com/blah.jpg”></p>
<h1>BLAH BLAH</h1>
<p>Blah blah</p>
<p><a href=“http://blahblah.com/blah”>Blahdelinkblah</a></p>
</body>
</html>
Blah!
Congrats! It’s tough finding temp work, especially temp-to-perm. Any time I’ve had to hire temps, I’ve worked with KForce. Very good, very professional. In fact, when I lost my job recently, they got me in on interviews very quickly.
Have you thought of being a courier? Its possible to earn several hundred dollars a week just delivering medications to nursing homes and/or assisted living facilities. Generally, all you need is a reliable car (minivan is better) and a fair knowledge of your general area. I know two guys who pull in better than $1K a week on a part time basis but they are on call virtually 24/7. You might find it interesting.
Thanks Slypork, but KForce is way out of my league, and there was nothing listed for the Chicago area in any case. Ha, they know who they’re shooting for. They don’t even call the positions Administrative Assistants, they’re looking for “Professional Administrative.” I’m not even qualified to be an Administrative Assistant, let alone something even more high-falutin’ sounding. I appreciate the post though.
LouisB, I wouldn’t mind being a local courier but I don’t have a car. I’d also like to be a national or especially international courier, but I don’t have a passport either. I love to fly though. That would be so much fun. When I was a teenager I wanted to be a “stewardess” (that’s what they were called and boy am I old) just to fly fly fly. Airborne couriers leave a helluva carbon footprint though. It’s a shame.
Back in the 90’s I temped for about 2 years in Chicago. You’re first couple of jobs will kind of determine how the temp agency views you. Be on time. Do the job well. Be willing to take jobs. You will get a reputation at the temp firm as someone that can be trusted and relied on. I found that after a short time, I was getting offered longer assignments, for more pay and much more frequently.
While you are between assignments, call into the office and ask what is available. Don’t wait for them to call you. I got the impression that people who gave the appearance of wanting work were much more likely to get offered assignments.
I also agree with the “keep in touch with more then one company”. The first company I signed on with just stopped calling me with assignments. Nothing. The second one, Olsten, kept me as busy as I wanted to be.
I’ve had permanent work for about 13 years now, but sometimes I actually kind of miss temping. Heck, for a while I was filling in at Levi Stauss. When I helped them streamline a report they had been spending 16+ hrs a week on (got it down to maybe 2hrs), the manager wrote me a personal check, equal to the amount of the bonus the FT employees had just gotten. About a year later, they called to offer me a full-time job, but I’d already accepted another offer, based off a later temp assignment.
Others have given good advice, but I will chime in. I used to work at a temp agency, as has been stated, you should register with a lot of them. Take any assignment they give you and do a good job at it, soon you’ll be in the call rotation for the agency reps as a solid temp and get better and better assignments.
Thanks slaphead, Tastes of Chocolate, and madmonk28. I appreciate the extra tips. I’m almost to the “please god, anything” point, but I have a few days before I start making the rounds of Target, Wal-Mart and McDonalds (not that there’s anything wrong with people working at those places, I’d just like to try for a bit more money). I had two appointments today plus went to two more temp agencies, and I have another appointment tomorrow.
I went to two different security companies. I’ve been looking for clerical, but decided to branch out into security. I don’t know why. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. Both have to do a background check, which I don’t know what will bring up. I’ve never been arrested or in any trouble with the law (pure luck though, considering what a JD I was as a teenager) but I was married to a drug dealer (pot only) when I was a stupid young thing. I don’t suppose they’d give me the results of the background check, but it would sure be interesting to see what one of them looked like. I can pass a drug test no problem. I was at one place for about 20 minutes, filling out a standard paper application and being told “we’ll do a background check and get back to you” but the other place, wow, I did their application online at their office, and it took well over an hour, answering dozens of scenario questions (such as ‘You’re on duty and are instructed to not leave your post, when an elderly woman asks you to help carry packages to her car. Do you…’ and then multiple choice). I think I did well on those.
I got turned down for a job as a “biometric technician” (fancy name for fingerprinter) because my credit report isn’t up to snuff (nothing major like bankruptcy, or defaulting on a house or car loan, just small stuff like some late bill payments). That was a shame because it sounded interesting and they were willing to train. They were going to invite me in for an interview but that one question tripped me up.
Every temp agency I’ve gone to have basically said “don’t call us, we’ll call you” and impressed on me that the job market is indeed very very slow.
I’ve sent out dozens of resumes and had many many interviews, but nothing has come of it, except for the convention gig coming up. I do have two more interviews on Monday though.
Broomstick, at some point before your unemployment runs out, you might run an ad in Craigslist. I did that (in the Resumes section) and I’ve gotten 3 responses from it so far. The first two I had to turn down because I wasn’t qualified. The first one wanted proficiency in QuickBooks, which I’ve never used, and the second was for a Junior Accountant Assistant at a real estate firm, and they wanted some higher education or equivalent experience in accounting. Since I suck at math and numbers terrify me, that’s not gonna fly. The 3rd is hopeful though. It’s for a receptionist and I’ll be interviewing on Monday.
The other interview is to do web work for a pet care-related web site that’s opening in a month. They need someone to re-size pictures and add pre-written content and such. I can do that. It’s only part-time though.
Of course I haven’t heard back from the Security companies. I am not surprised.
Oh, I keep slogging away at things, it can’t hurt, right?
I have a lead on a job doing interior painting for a property management company this coming week - so far that’s been my steadiest work, and it’s VERY spotty.
I’ll check out Craigslist, and there’s a couple other websites I’ve heard about that might be worthwhile, got them written down around here somewhere. I’ve got a couple months income in the bank so it’s not panic time yet but this is VERY bad.
I am trying to stay optimistic.
I GOT THE JOB I GOT THE JOB I GOT THE JOB! It’s a full-time Receptionist/General Office position for a small, interesting business, that starts on the 24th, so I can still do that convention job next week and won’t have to leave them in a lurch.
My new boss said that one of the previous times he was filling this position (people have tended to come and go because he’s hired students before now) he put an ad on Craigslist and got over 2000 resumes! It was too overwhelming.
This time, he didn’t place an ad, but looked through the resume section of Craigslist, and that’s when he saw my ad. He was impressed that I was polite, clear, had no spelling errors and was being pro-active about searching for a job, and so invited me for an interview. At the interview he liked me and today he offered me the job! I hope to be there for a long long time.
The week is Wednesday through Sunday, so I might still casually look for a part-time evening, or part-time Monday and/or Tuesday position, but I’m very pleased with landing a a full-time gig.
Thanks again everybody for your help, you’ve all been wonderful. I put aside my embarrassment at not being a “somebody” (i.e. professional careerist) and I haven’t regretted that decision. Even though I ended up not getting a job via temping, things I learned in this thread helped me, and gave me more confidence to keep looking. I hope this thread, if found in a search for ‘job’ or ‘temping’ helps others in the same boat.
Btw, I got turned down for this one because they wanted someone who knows how to build and implement online shopping carts, which is something I’ve never done. They didn’t put that in their ad, or else I never would have applied. Sheesh. At least now I don’t need it.
Congratulations! It’s a great feeling to be employed again, isn’t it?
What’s funny is that for all the advice you gave, you really ended up sorting everything else all by yourself.
We are proud 
- and you’re buying the drinks on Friday!
Yay! Go, Equipoise. Send some of that luck my way, will ya? 
Thanks MikeG and BlueKangaroo (breathes in your general direction)!
I know, that’s kinda funny. But all the advice did help me feel better about the whole process of moving from blue-collar to white-collar with little experience. I’m certain I’ll do well in my new job. I’ve been pouring over their web site to get to know the place and their services, and I really like what I see. They’re good people. I have 2 days of training this week, and two next week (in-between the convention gig) then I start in earnest the week after. It’s a great company, with nice people and atmosphere, fun boss, a decent wage for someone entry-level like me, it’s in a killer easy-to-get-to location (a block from the Chicago stop on the Brown line), and oh joy, I don’t have to dress up to a level that would make me uncomfortable.
The convention gig will enable me to buy some more clothes, but my new job is very casual. Nice casual, not slobby casual, but at least I don’t have to worry about buying pantsuits and blazers and expensive, scary things like that. I’m used to wearing long, flow-y, swishy, Indian-type skirts and I can wear those, yay! I just need to get some more nice pullover tops. Not that that’s fascinating info or anything, but it makes me very happy!
Thanks! Ha, the drinks might have to wait. The first paycheck will only be for 4 days of training. My first real paycheck won’t be for a month, and boy have I got bills to pay and catch up on, something that’s going to take me a few months. I’ll have to catch ya sometime after that. 