The Good, the Bad, and the Temps

http://www.linkedin.comSome good news in the hiring forecast. Not only are companies like Toyota, Mack Truck and numerous financial organiations hiring - all of your local retailers are on the hunt for, or are already hiring,  seasonal employees. So that brings us to the point of this posting. Many of those retailers are hiring through Temp Agencies (aka., Hiring or Staffing Services)

So, why do Temp Agencies fill some with glee, and others with horror? Well, it depends on your experiences with them, and what you're really looking for. If you're looking for a flexible but fairly steady paycheck - temp agencies can be a great answer. If you're looking for regular work hours, a stable environment and benefits - sorry. You're likely out of luck. There are even groups that hire day laborers. Tough work, but those who do well are usually kept pretty busy.

So what are my experiences with Temp Agencies? I actually who worked for two different temp agencies at the same time (a big no no to those groups) for two years. Norrell (now Spherion) and Kelley Services. I worked for a number of companies that hire seasonal workers like Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Burton Snowboards, Resolution, Inc. and a few less favorable locations too. I can tell you that I got out of it exactly what I wanted. No 'take home' responsibilities, low stress level, an ever changing flexible work environment and the chance to figure out what kind of work I liked, all while earning a paycheck. The longest stretch of time I went without work was a two week period, which I treated like a vacation.

So what's the bad? Sometimes you love with the employer, the co-workers and the job you're doing - and it doesn't lead to permanent placement. Sometimes, however, it does. The flip side to that is you may also work in a place that is horrible, the work is awful, the bosses bad, the co-workers miserable - and it's a long term placement. Often you can request to be placed elsewhere, but it's no guarantee you can be placed elsewhere, or you may be tagged as difficult if you make too much noise.

The other issue, for some, is that you don't always get paid what you might be worth. While the Temp Agency may be paid $16 an hour for you to work there - they use $4 an hour to cover their costs of recruiting, advertising, etc - you might only take home $12 of that hourly wage.

The other is that you get known as 'the temp worker'. Many of us have worked with a clueless temp worker with too little to do, and they're texting or filing their nails while we're working. That's often because they're not well supervised and, honestly, if it was you, would you ruin a good thing? Would you ask to do stacks of filing when you have less than a week left on the job assignment?

So while you browse the links above, don't forget the ABC's - Always Be Connecting. Get on the social media networks, Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn to connect with the people in the right places, and don't try to force yourself on them, just let it be known at the right time that you are looking! If you still struggle with how to use social media for networking, read this article!

Happy Hunting!

How's that economy look?

Today, it seems the big difficulty in the marketplace is the middle. Middle skilled, and middle paid people are in the part of the economy that seems to be struggling. The Good news, and for some the great news, is that wages are increasing 5% in the private sector. Read more in this New York Times article about the recession and it's affect on everyone - positive and negative.

Overall, and in the public sector - things are still on a bit of a plateau - in fact overall in general things seem to be on a plateau as shown by this poll from Gallup. Gallup Daily: U.S. Workforce 

The good news is that there are great signs of growth in some areas. Kelley Services (who I worked for over the course of a few years) has reported some great news in this article which shows they've had 18% growth in revenue. If you haven't thought ofTemp services, and you're unemployed, it can be a great way to get some revenue for yourself, and keep a paycheck coming in. You might be surprised who you can work for, and what you can do, at a temp agency!

Speaking of checking out places you might not have thought of - do you check multiple job listing sites, or just one? A loft of companies aren't hip to the fact that consumers find and stick to a favorite job site. So get out there, check out HotJobs, Monster, Craigslist and others - because your dream job might not be where you're looking for it - and don't forget that talking to people in your network of friends is a great way to get in the running for a job that hasn't made it to the posting sites yet!

If you need help writing a resume - make sure you go to The Employment Lines website where we posted a resume writing 'Best Practices' for you.

Happy Hunting!

Are you climbing on the right ladder?

I saw this posting today - and definitely should make many wonder if they are fighting to climb up the ladder in the right segment of the job maket - click here or on the image to go directly to the original posting!

Steve Jobs on Jobs. Jobseekers take note.

Mac vs PC? It doesn't matter - this guy has some great vision. You have 15 minutes, spend it listening to Steve jobs commencement speech to Stanford University in 2005.

The works!

We're very happy to be rolling out a number of interviews coming up, to help you stay in the loop as you either brush up on the resume and cover letter skills, re-enter the workforce, or just make sure you're on the right path.

Tomorrow (June 12th's) episode features Bethany of Global Girl Social Media, a friend of ours who helps businesses and individuals discover how social media can benefit their bottom line. Check Global Girl Social Media out, along with her Blog, Twitter, Facebook. Thanks for joining us!

Then, coming soon, we'll be joined by Kim DuBrul of Your Year of Transformation and Kimberly DuBrul Coaching. Not only does she help people find their careers, but just their life's focus as well. She has a Blog and Facebook page as well!

Up next, we're bringing back Rosa E. Vargas and a few of her friends who collectively call themselves The Resume Chicks.

All that, and a web site of our own coming soon where we'll have Access to E-books, links to Career Counselors, Services and just house all that information you should always have access to. The blog will, of course, continue to be a way to share the 'of the moment' info that's so important!

Happy Hunting!