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!