The temp jobs thread

Etelmik

So, there have been numerous occasions where temp jobs have been mentioned and I want anecdotal information on it. Tell me your friends' stories too.

How much did you get paid, where was it, and what was it you were doing? Those are the most important things.

I heard earlier that a few decent jobs were available that way, like technical writer or copy writer or designer or programmer or whatever. That true?

Or, are most of them just extremely repetitive task-oriented workhouse hellholes, Office Space style, or boring jobs that mainly need a person and you end up with nothing but Internet surfing all day?

Kalkino

Depends where you are really. Back home temp jobs seem to be largely limited to data entry, menial office work and other random boring shit. However in London it is totally different, I've done a few so far, some of which have been pretty good fun. So my conclusion is that the bigger the city or place you live, the more likely you are to get a good range of temp work.

Zeon

I had a couple, one was driving a forklift with no licence (dont know how they got away with that), another was scratching dots off a 500,000 copy print job that went wrong, and the last one, which went temp to perm, was filing in an office.

Generally they pay a little better than minimum wage (10-15 dollars an hour, at the time, 7.75 was min wage here), they can be boring, or they can be fun. The fun jobs usually only go to temps that have put in their time with the agency though. They normally start you off on boring things unless you go in there with a fucking fantastic resume (and if you had that, why not just get a permanent job?). After you do a few jobs, and the agency gets good feedback on you, theyll start sending you to their more high priority clients, which usually means steadier jobs, better pay, better hours, and more interesting work.

All in all, if i lost my job, id probably go back to that agency at least as a start in my job search. Theyre definately a good way to go if you need employment urgently, as youre almost garunteed atleast a few assignments a month, provided youre not a complete fuckup. Theyre also a good way to pad your resume if youre just stepping out into the real world, as youll get experience in a load of different industries, providing whatever agency you go with doesnt specialise.

Plus ive noticed a lot of companies these days are using temp workers as a kind of failsafe way to screen new hires, as if you dont like a temp, you really can fire them at any time for any reason. Even during probation periods here, its still risky to fire someone because you simply "dont like them". With a temp, you can do that no problem.

Etelmik

Hmm. Maybe it's suckier in Utah (where I am) though, because of "at will" employment. Then again, Utahns are super conscientious and guilt-prone....

HadjiQuest

I've always wanted to go into Kelly Services.

The problem is, their only office in my area is their world headquarters, and it's a gargantuan affair that just intimidates me to no end whenever I drive past it.

Shark_MegaByte

Etelmik wrote: »

Or, are most of them just extremely repetitive task-oriented workhouse hellholes, Office Space style, or boring jobs that mainly need a person and you end up with nothing but Internet surfing all day?

This. Based on my experiences working for several staffing services in Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Iowa, and Louisville, Kentucky. If you end up with internet surfing all day, you're extremely lucky (not very fulfilling, but better than any assignment I've ever seen). All I got was repetitive crap that any computer-literate person with a high school diploma could do... and sometimes the computer-literacy was even unnecessary. Not hellhole-ish, really, but very morale-sapping if you're looking for any kind of responsibility and potential for advancement. I gained two things from working temp jobs: appreciation for the importance of having and sticking to a decent recordkeeping system, and for a good match between your work style & your supervisor's management style. In every other way, it was a waste of time.

Advice: Use temp jobs only as a backup plan to stretch out your resources while you continue looking for real work.

Zeon

HadjiQuest wrote: »

I've always wanted to go into Kelly Services.

The problem is, their only office in my area is their world headquarters, and it's a gargantuan affair that just intimidates me to no end whenever I drive past it.

Kelly is pretty decent, thats where i found my best jobs, but the branch i used stopped being an affiliate and turned into Shannon Human Resources, which is an even better place. Hadji i think you live in toronto, check them out if youre looking for temp work, bar none the best placement agency ive ever been to.