Temporary Employment Agencies

There is a great article over at Yahoo today regarding temporary employment and the myths that go along with them.

Having worked in the industry as a placement counselor, I can tell you that this article is right on!

A well written article by Doug White who is with Robert Half, International and I hope you will take time to go read it.

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-the_truth_about_temp_work-1390

There are several additional things that I would like to point out that Mr. White could have added to his article.

When you do take an assignment, you will need to report that to your unemployment office because your check will be reduced by the amount of money that you earn on that assignment. You will need to report this after you receive you paycheck for the assignment and then your next unemployment check will be lowered by that amount.

Many temporary job assignments turn into full time employment. By hiring through a temporary employment agency, a company has an opportunitiy to see prospective full time hires in an actual work environment before making an actual offer to employ them. They can see first hand how you interact with other employees and supervisors, as well as how well you work independently and as a team member. As Mr. White pointed out, in these extemely volitle times, companies are cautious about making a hiring decision. The hidden cost of hiring is probably close to 33%  over an above the salary offered. There is a big investment to put someone on their payroll nowadays.

Back when I was working in the temporary agency field we did not offer any benefits to the people we sent out on assignments. I am glad to see that there have been some changes in the industry where some of the temporary employment agencies are now offering that to their temporary staff of people.

In this article, the author briefly stated that there can be opportunities to learn new skills, that the agency itself may offer you an opportunity to learn new skills right there at their office. I know that we used to do that all the time, everything from improving your typing skills to learning new computer programs. You can also  learn new skills directly on an assignment. I found that there were times when I had someone who was extremely computer literate but lacked a lot of expertise in one of the particular computer programs that a client might want for an assignment. If that person was strong in other programs, especially one that was similar to the the one they had requested, they would actually give that person an opportunity to fiill the assignment and then teach them how to use the program in question. Of course what comes to mind is working spreadsheets. Maybe you have experience using Lotus 123 but never worked with Excel; or you have used the Word word processing program but never used Works. If you have used one or the other, it is easy to switch over to the other program.

The other thing that I want you to know, from working in a temporary employment agency, is that we didn't just sit back and wait for companies to call us with their needs. We would actively call companies telling them about the great applicant that we are wanting to find work for to see if they might happen to have a position they could utilize their skills.

I worked for two temporary employment agencies where we would have engineers, computer programers, and management personnel seeking work back in the 1980's. We would actively look for positions to place them in on a temporary basis, calling companies to see if they might have a need for these people. Back when I was working, we never mentioned the person's name, just their skills. We did the same for all of our clerical and accounting people, as well as our construction personnel.

Last but not least, Doug White forgot to tell you that working temporary jobs will help keep your self esteem up as you go through this economically slow employment time. Getting out there and working on temporary assignments gets your face out there in front of potentinal hiring opportunities. You never know if someone you happen to work with on one of your assignments may know someone at another company who is looking for someone with your qualifications. Perhaps even within the company you happen to take the assignment for, there are other positions which you could qualify for on a permanent basis. By working temporary, you are getting up, getting dressed, putting on a smile and going out and doing something very productive!

Please don't think of working as a "Temp" is your last resort, make it one of your first choices. Go ahead and take some jobs that are different than you are usually used to doing, go have some new experiences. You might find that they are really something you need to explore further in your permanent job search.

Think Outside The Box

Amid the economy's many ailments,with numerous companies continuing to cut their workforces,or close their doors completely,there is still some good news that has remained mostly off the radar. The at-home work force is growing at a surprising rate and it is encompassing many new occupations.


The down side of this is that there is fierce competition and this means your odds of landing one of these jobs can vary depending on the skills required by the hiring companies. If you succeed and do get hired, you will probably take a pay cut.

But even with a pay cut, look at the bright side, you are saving gas not having to commute back and forth as well as time traveling on busy roads and away from your family activities.  By working at home you will be saving on costs of wardrobe upkeep, meals out, having to get up at the crack of dawn for a long drive!  You now can walk down the hall to your office, or across the bedroom! You can work in your jammies and no one will ever know the difference.


For companies, home-based employees, independent contractors,and freelancers are helping cut costs and improve their bottom line while at the same time are improving their customer service. Full-time, home-based freelancers, and independent contractors in the U.S. are expected to increase by 200,000 workers to 11 million by the end of 2009, says Ray Boggs, a vice president of IDC, Framingham, Mass., a market-research firm; he sees another 200,000-worker increase in 2010.

Workers are finding that if they are not able to find a job with a company, they are able to create their own by taking innovative action and thinking outside the box about how their skills could translate into working for themselves at home.


There are sites which link clients with skilled freelancers. These sites are also seeing a surge in demand for virtual workers with a widening range of professional and technical skills.

There is a company called odesk.com. Their monthly postings which  include graphic design, software, administrative and other projects, rose to 28,000 in the past 30 days! You might be amazed at what skills you have that a company can use.

Another company who has seen a healthy increase is elance.com Monthly hiring on Elance.com is up more than 40% from a year ago. I am sure that other companies of this type have also seen an increase in workers registering to provide services to prospective clients.

Did you know that there are companies where your skills as a translator can land you a position if you are fluent in a foreign language? Lionbridge Technologies, Waltham, Mass., a provider of multilingual services including translation and product testing, is taking on new freelancers. Go browse their website and look at the different types of services that they offer their clients. Some positions are extremely technical and require high skill levels. But I happen to know that there are some very talented people who are now unemployed that are finding it very difficult to find a position in today's job market who are qualified to fill those positions!

I am going to start making you put your thinking caps on but I need your help. We are going to do some interactive brainstorming! If you have already gotten a copy of "What Color Is Your Parachute" you would know what I am referring to!..... Go Buy The Book!!!!!

I would like some of you who are looking for work, or who wish to make the transition to working at home, share with me some of your different skills. I am not just speaking of the ones you have used in a corporate level but also what I call your passion skills. If you could do any job that your heart desired what would it be? Perhaps you enjoy knitting, sewing, basket weaving or candle making. Maybe it is woodworking, tinkering with cars, sculpting, painting,tooling leather,or weaving on a loom. Think of all the hobbies that you have that you enjoy as well as your "work skills."

Do you want to work full time or part time? Do you like to get up early or prefer to sleep in? Do you like to work into the wee hours of the morning? Okay, so it is now 4:22AM and I am going strong.. I took a power nap earlier today but I am normally up till between 2AM and 3AM.

Let's have some fun while we seriously look at new opportunities to earn you some money!