Question about resume/employment applications when you've been temping for years.

Drez

So, long story short I've been temping for a long ass time.

On my resume, I generally list the companies that I was assigned to. It looks better than "Temp Agency X" or whatever and I'm not really interested in temping anymore.

On the actual job applications, I list the temp agencies in my work experience fields because technically and legally speaking, I was an employee of the agency, not the client I was assigned to.

Am I correct in this?

Infidel

So long as it's clear somewhere that your role was as a temp you should be listing your assignments. Telling me you were employed by a temp agency tells me fuck all, I need to know where you worked and what your responsibilities were and what you accomplished.

Enc

If I were reading your resume, I'd want to see that you worked at a temp agency, and then see a breakdown of the positions and experience you obtained in each position. I'd also want to see some sort of positive spin on your experience as building on your versatility and a desire for more permanent employment in your cover letter.

Your biggest detriment from my perspective as a hiring body is that you lack a permanent position or regular employment, gear up your resume to play this as a strength and show me how it has made you a better employee for my position.

Do research on who you are applying for and what the job generally entails, then apply what you have done in the past to it in your cover letter using tangible examples. Even for entry level, showing an interest in the company along with a solid example of skills will get you past the paper stage of a hire and get you an interview. After that, it's up to you.

Aldo

Not sure if this is applicable to the US, but here goes:

Don't list the temp agencies you used: they only paid your salary. You worked for the companies and you gained your experience and impressed people there. Your consultant at the agency probably won't even remember your name, but the people at the places you worked probably will (provided you stuck around long enough to leave a mark. Then again, you're probably not listing places you only worked a few days at anyway)

Gork

I'm a recruiter, I look at resumes all day.

If I saw a whole bunch of different companies and not the temporary agency you were placed by, I would assume you are a job hopper or there is something very wrong with you.

List the agency you work for and then the companies they assigned you to, for what period of time and your specific responsibilities at each.

Deebaser

I am not a recruiter, but I look at a fair amount of resumés as well.
I agree with Gork 100%. Having a bunch of different companies makes you look like a mercenary.

EggyToast

The resume should be representative of your experience, and it sounds like you need to break from the "standard formatting" mold. Gork's formatting suggestion is exactly what I would suggest -- list the temp agency, and each job can be listed based on relevance or experiences. It could be a good way to custom tailor your resume to your potential employers, too.

corkscrewjack

The purpose of the resume is to get you an interview, nothing else. You shouldn't lie or misrepresent anything (b/c that can be used as easy justification to fire you later), but do whatever else it takes to highlight valuable information and hide undesirable parts. You might want to only list companies that you temped for more than several months at and round up to the nearest year (write 2009-2010 instead of 2009/11-2010/4), with (maybe) an asterisk pointing out the fact that it was through a temp agency.

Drez

I worked at one company for 4 years as a "temp" (they strung me along).

I should have mentioned that in the OP.

edit: And the agency didn't actually do anything for me. They didn't even help me get the job. The company contacted them to contact me. I actually really resent their involvement at all. It's a long story I don't want to get into, but I only had one assignment with the agency, and I really have no desire to list them on my resume at all.

corkscrewjack

Drez wrote:

edit: And the agency didn't actually do anything for me. They didn't even help me get the job. The company contacted them to contact me. I actually really resent their involvement at all. It's a long story I don't want to get into, but I only had one assignment with the agency, and I really have no desire to list them on my resume at all.

Then don't-- there's no law that says you have to put your funding source on your resume. In academia, most students/postdocs/etc are funded by various grants, but when they write their resumes they put down the name of the university, not the funding source. Similar thing for you.

Drez

Actually, that's not entirely true. I actually have what I guess is a unique situation.

I temped at a certain company for about 2 1/3 years from one Agency. Then I was unemployed for six months. Then the company hired me back through a different agency (which is pretty shady in and of itself, IMO). Anyway, the bottom line is that I was basically at this ONE company for about four years total, with a seven month hiatus, and TWO temp agencies at the same company.

Is it really more appropriate for me to list these two agencies? I don't see how that will help my career at all.

I should have put all this in the OP but I was trying to hammer out one of the most annoying job applications I have ever filled out.

Drez

corkscrewjack wrote:

Drez wrote:

edit: And the agency didn't actually do anything for me. They didn't even help me get the job. The company contacted them to contact me. I actually really resent their involvement at all. It's a long story I don't want to get into, but I only had one assignment with the agency, and I really have no desire to list them on my resume at all.

Then don't-- there's no law that says you have to put your funding source on your resume. In academia, most students/postdocs/etc are funded by various grants, but when they write their resumes they put down the name of the university, not the funding source. Similar thing for you.

Thanks, that's what I figured.

For the application, though, you do have to put the funding source for "work experience" right? I mean the application is what they use to confirm your work experience?

Grislo

You can always spin it (though I guess it would be correct, so there's no real spin to it) as that company being very keen on hiring you, which should be a plus.

The key is to avoid getting into a long explanation of the situation, and also to avoid being at all negative about your past employer(s).

corkscrewjack

Drez wrote:

For the application, though, you do have to put the funding source for "work experience" right? I mean the application is what they use to confirm your work experience?

You don't have to do anything-- job hunting is not a government regulated process with laws about what exactly can be put in a resume/application. In fact, the more creative you get, the more success you'll probably have. And no, the application is not what they use to confirm your work experience-- that's what references, background checks and employer-due-diligence are for.

Enc

If I were to hire you for one of our positions, I'd want a full honest account of your work history within a reasonable scope. That would include both companies, plus the gap in between. Then I would want you to address that gap and the rehire in your cover letter.

Your resume should be as honest as possible without being detrimental. If you don't want to claim something, that's fine. But don't add or falsify information. If I find out later on in the hire stage that your resume was exaggerated, I would immediately cut you from my pool. If I find out you didn't list something, I really wouldn't care.

Your cover letter is critical, and should go with any application you make. This is where you explain your history, briefly, and spin the reasons for your gaps in work history or experience with the temp agency. Don't spin lies, though. If you or your references contradict your cover letter later on, I would likely cut you from my pool.

Also, scrub your facebook and online appearance. Pretty much every hiring body will search your name and the name of the companies you work with (at least) a few minutes in Google to see what you have been up to. If your facebook shows you spending weeks at the beer pong championship, that likely won't help you.

Jimmy King

I did long term contract/"temp" work like that for years. I always listed the company I was actually doing work at as the employer on my resume. When I felt it might matter, I would note that it was contract work. When I interviewed I almost always just mentioned that those were contract jobs through local firms. Who the middleman taking a chunk of that money was made no real difference to anyone because it didn't have any effect on the work I actually did.

MichaelLC

I put down the companies I worked at, not the agencies, but reference that it was a contract -- sounds better than temp. So:

Widget World, Chicago, IL, 09/2010 - 05/2011
Widget Tester -- Contract

Formatting a little off, but basically that.