What's Good and Bad About Temp Work

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The poster above who said that working temporary can destroy your career, is absolutely correct. Working through temp agencies can wreck you. The longer you work temporary, the less likely that anyone will hire you permanently. Even working as a permanent employee at Starbucks looks better on your resume, than short term, temporary office jobs. The myth persists among employers that if people couldn't get hired permanently at any of their temp jobs, then they must have been "bad workers". I know someone who has worked for temp agencies for ten years now, always hoping that the next assignment will become permanent. It never does. Your assignment can end with no notice at all. Some employers even admit now that temp-to-perm is often a lie. Also, the people who staff these temp agencies are nasty, patronizing and rude to the temporaries. I have a bachelor's degree, and several certifications, but I would work at a fast food place before I would ever temp. People think I am joking about that, but I'm not.

KMIL of TX 6:57PM May 08, 2012

Once you have built a good reputation with an agency or a recruiter (try small firms!) - they love to give you work because they know you are reliable and will make them look good to their client. It's proving yourself from those who aren't serious about earning a reputation is the hurdle to get over (which you do by staying persistent and in their minds).

Lindsay of IL 5:13PM January 11, 2012

Some of us out here have no other source of a JOB and a PAYCHECK; there have been years when Manpower and Kelly have gotten me the only income I've gotten all year. I've temped at UCSF Medical School through both agencies when UCSF's own in-house temp pool had way too many higher standards than the agencies (UCSF has since stopped using agencies). I got long-term part time work at a children's test scoring company which hired ONLY through Kelly Services' on-site office. Now granted, I have tended to use the agencies as a stop-gap while I was either saving up to pay fees for, or working on a teaching credential.

Pam of CA 1:15PM November 17, 2011

I worked as a Permanent Temp on and off for 15 years. While their is a down side to it, my personality and temperment work well with being a temp. I love the flexible and the newness of always going to a different company. I hate corporate politics, so it is a fit.. As a free-lance Photographer-Artist it bgive me the flexibility to work or not work when i feel i need to, to fill in from creative assignments. I have a BA Degree in business but have worked everything from Warehousing, retail, Office clerical to banquet server. As somebody else said, this is not for everybody 1) lack ot benefits 2) stabiliy. But a single guy, with no children, no mortgage it works for me

Ed of TX 6:32PM August 27, 2011

I have working on and off as a temp for 10 years, first as a college student, then as a freelance photographer, i love the freedom and mobility that temping offers. I like that i can work when i want and where i what and not get involved in company politcs. I have time for my Photography work. However, I am single so i would suppose that for a married guy onw would need for stability

Ed of TX 9:32PM July 16, 2011

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/19711197/

Spreading the Word of GA 11:29AM June 11, 2009

Not all temp agencies are bad. There are still a few good Temp Agencies out there which are great to work for. In addition, if you are trying to get into a new career field most employers won't even give you a chance but temp agencies will give it a try if you can prove to them you are capable of doing the job.
Most Temp to Perm Positions pay a few dollars less (at the beginning) but once you get full-time hired you can negotiate your desired salary with the employer you are working for. I personally believe that online job sources like Monster or HotJobs are a waste of time because you very rarely get return call for an interview. Everybody has their own experience with Temp Agencies or online job search engines but it’s not fair to say that all of them are bad.

Anja of CA 12:33PM January 23, 2009

If one wants his or her career to be sliced, diced and destroyed, then they should sign up at a bunch of local temps. Companies that use temporary workers to do regular work on a regular basis are the kind that every worker and customer should also avoid.

Lyle of NM 5:45PM January 22, 2009

I have about 8 years of experience in total, and intensely for about 4 months communicating with staffing agencies, job hunters, headhunters, you name it. During that 4 months I sent my resume hundreds of times, registered and placed my profile tens of times at various agencies, like Monster, Robert Half Technology, Careerbuilder, many many others. Almost all job ads on those agencies websites will lead you to another agency website where you have to register to login and provide as much info about yourself, as humanly possible, then to another. All the same jobs are advertised on hundreds of these agencies websites. They just copy them from each other, but say it's "their" client that has the particular job opening. They are %99,999 fake scam bags. The jobs they advertised are non-existent. They fake these adds to attract the flow of resumes and other people's personal info which the sell in bulk to insurance companies, banks and others who are willing to pay for it, as well as sucking for more credit lines from banks for their "activity". These are the same kind of businesses that brought this financial crisis to this country. They saturated this job market, standing as a great wall between the employers and potential employees, drawing the wages down by placing the fake ads with imaginary low wages. These are the parasites on the body of the society. Most of them uneducated, rude, have absolutely no knowledge in the professions they supposed to be working with. About me: I am not a welfare recipient or permanently unemployed, smelly dude, as these proponents of the fake agencies are trying to portrait the people who complain on these outrageous fakers, I am IT professional with 11 years of continued employment, and highly valued at my job. As I said, I have about 8 years of the experience communicating with them, send them my resume few hundreds times, has been interviewed by them over the phone few hundred times, and only 3!! of all actually got back to me with some info. Most off these businesses and agents, or so called agents and head hunters deserve legal actions against them and forceful closing for bashing employment market in the US, stealing peoples personal information, lying, annihilating people's trust for business and for other people. These are not small petty crimes, they destroy the very fabric of the society. I am calling on the authorities and people to unite, pull the resources and investigate this evil, as there are just too many of these cockroaches.

Eugene Volovoy of NY 7:11PM December 02, 2008

This is basically another trend to low ball workers. The workers in these temp jobs are paid far below market and given no benefits. Add to the fact they are fired for any reason with just one phone call and no recourse. As a chemist, I had staffing agencies calling left and right with their low ball offers.
The agencies also are typically very dubious. They are well known for such practices as placing fake job ads to get people to sign up and come to their offices. When the candidate gets there, they are offered a much less attractive position or none at all. Also, when the candidate provides references the agency hounds the references to come in. Finally, they persistently ask where you have been applying so they can hound these companies to give them the jobs. The temp to perm notion sometimes exists, but more often it is used as bait.

Steven of IL 10:01PM November 01, 2008