Can someone tell me the good and bad and if they ever worked for one.

bad thing is, they give the job to whoever answers the phone first. (the key is to be on-call and ready).

bad thing is, they don't necessarily have a job lined up every day. (i guess this actually depends on the job market).

bad thing is, they want to send you all over god's green earth for each different assignment. (do you drive?)

good thing is, if you really WOW an employer, your temp job may become perm. (it can happen, sometimes projects really are temporary though, as someone is on leave/absent).

I temp-ed for a crack-whore once.

Bad thing - the term "job" has a whole different meaning in this particular field.

Good thing - I'm not too sure, but at one point, I may have met Whitney Houston.

The good thing is they pay you once a week.

The bad thing is that your assignment can end at anytime with no notice.

Good things:
--it's a great way to get experience in different types of business so you can learn what you do & don't like; and learn a lot of marketable skills.

--you are always meeting new people (which is nice for networking)

--it's temporary so if one assignment/company really sucks, you only have to do it for a few days/weeks and then you get a new one.


Drawbacks:
--you probably won't get health insurance or paid time off. (Some temp agencies do offer this for "permanent temps"--people who temp as their f/t job.)

--some companies can't/won't hire temps because it means they have to pay a "finders fee" to the temp agency & it's usually a percentage of the annual salary. (I work for a gov't agency and it's hard for us to hire temps b/c the gov't won't pay the finders fee.) And the temp agency usually makes you sign a contract that says you won't quit the agency and go for said company, thereby saving the company from paying the finders fee... If the company really wants you, they can try to negotiate with the temp agency for a compromise. (That's what we have to do...)

jone70 said:

Yeah, I forget about these things. My temp assignment a few years back wanted to pemanently hire me and there was a dispute over money so they had to wait a while before I could get out of my contract.

Stymie said:

Yeah, we had a temp in my department whom we wanted to hire but the gov't absolutely will not pay finders fees so we had to negotiate and keep her on longer as a temp (and thus pay higher wage to the temp agency) instead of hiring her as a FT employee sooner; which sucked for her b/c it meant she wasn't earning as much, and no health benefits or vacation was accuring even though she was for all intents and purposes 'our' employee.

I've worked for four different temp agencies for about 13 years.

The Good
1. You can get work in otherwise hard-to-get-into places, and then might have an opportunity to bid on other permanent jobs.

The Bad
1. You will be making way less than your coworkers that are permanent hires, doing the same job.
2. You don't get bonuses when they do.
3. You might have to work during holidays that they don't have to work on because of union contracts and stuff.
4. Your benefits (if any) will suck in comparison to permanent workers.
5. You can be let go at any time and not get any compensation.
6. I still had to interview for each temporary position I worked at.

I worked for Detroit Edison in the admin offices as a "temp" worker from 2003-2004. I wanted to get hired so badly since the actual Edison workers doing the same jobs as me were making twice as much as I was. Then when I got sick with cancer and took time off, my bosses said after three weeks that they weren't holding my job anymore and were getting another temp worker in.

If you need a job in a hurry, go for it. But don't expect loyalty.

ok, thanks all of you. So you are interviewed at the temp agency and the temp job???? What kind of questions do they asked at the temp agency?

unlucky7 said:

When I temped several years ago (in Chicago), the agency asked me what kinds of office machines I knew how to use (e.g. copier, fax, multi-line phone, adding machine, that kind of stuff). I also had to take a few tests to see how fast I typed and to prove I really knew how to use Word and Excel like I said.

unlucky7 said:

At the temp agency, they had me take tests on typical Microsoft Office programs to see what level I was at. I had to fill out an application, and they used that during the interview. You know, asked me about my previous jobs and education. But they are there to help you and make money for themselves, so you don't have to be so perfect as you would on a regular interview. For instance, I had quit one of my jobs because I hated my boss. I told the temp service that, and asked them what I should say in interviews when asked why I didn't work at that particular place anymore.

Then, they would call me when one of their clients were looking for someone, but they always wanted their own interview too. Those interviews at the actual businesses are just like any other job interview.

I wanted that Detroit Edison job so bad. When I went for my interview with them, I told them something like this, "look, I don't have a college degree, but I've been an administrative assistant for nearly 12 years. If you want someone that can take over this office, get it in shape and run things with little supervision, I'm that person." I had never talked like that in interviews before. I would always just sound like a perfect little robot, but I wanted this one real bad. Well, I got the job, and later they told me it was my little speech that did it for me. But big deal, they dogged me out a year later when I got sick.

ok, thanks jones70 and dustygirl, glad u both replied.

Do you guys recommend any agency's? kelly, talent tree, adecco, manpower?

unlucky7 said:

hey hon ...there have been lots of great answers here but I'll give you my input too

Agencies vary from place to place, I've found. For example, Agencies work very differently here in London than they do in Australia... my point there is don't take any of it for granted in the way they operate. even from town to town.

Good points, in general, about working for an agency are that you have a little more "freedom to move" if you will. example - my old boss here had to give 3 months notice if I want to leave I have to give a day the flip side to that is that it's reversed as well

Agencies you can move around to and from - and from branch to branch if you move. the "bigger" the agency the more opportunity you'll have too. I'd steer clear of the really small ones if you can help it as you have more chance of them doing the right thing by you if they're bigger. example? when I leave here in April to go back to Australia I will be owed holiday pay - a smaller agency than the one I'm with would surely try and get away with not paying me (because it's not compulsory unless you're told or ask) whereas this agency I'm with has been awesome and been totally upfront with me all the way.

bottom line - use your head and your intuition with them and you'll be fine stay on thier good side and you can do REALLY well

good luck

Illustrator said:

did your responsibilities involve getting hard poop out of her butt at any time..?

Natisse said:

Hello Natisse Thanks for replying, great advice...I'll keep them in mind.

unlucky7 said:

anytime at all hon

I've worked for several temp agencies...I think it's a great way to get money fast if you've been severed from a job without notice.

I agree with all of the pros/cons mentioned previously.

BlackAdder7 said:

Unfortunely, yes.
But at least I got to see a side of her that most people don't get to see;
that even though Bobby's ex-roni obviously isn't tender anymore,
she's still every bit the diva.
[Edited 1/9/07 13:00pm]

Illustrator said: