temping in the US

and where everyone is at any one time.....

OTM. That was a bit annoying when I was temping. Even in the nicest place, you're just a second class citizen, "the temp girl." And you can just be pulled away at any time.

Usually the environments I work in are okay, the people can be decent -- although some have really sucked. But it's a purposeless life, which really eats away at your (I guess I mean my) psyche after awhile.

(by the way, in my defense, I'm not a miserable human -- I temp because I have other, productive things in my life that preclude permanent work, I swear...)

I'll do ok on the typing though, if they test that.

- I actually liked the "bottom of the totem pole" aspect. No one expects you to set the direction for the company's business strategy, you don't need to make a sales goal, you don't need to continuously excel or move up the ladder or come up with a brilliant innovation. You can hide behind a screen of "what do I know, I'm just the dumb temp?"

- Because of this, the least little bit of competence is often wildly appreciated. The expectations are low, so if you're even marginally good at some stupid small task (clearing paper jams, mail merge, etc.) people are pleasantly surprised.

- The work load when I was temping was odd. I was also trying to do some freelancing at the same time, and I idly hoped that temping would mean working a few days each week. No. Most of my assignments were for a few weeks at full time, then a scary nothing, then another few weeks at full time. Almost never was I able to arrange having the three days a week that would have been ideal.

- There are ways to become a SuperTemp and never want for work, also to get benefits and paid vacation and whatnot. But it is an uphill battle, moreso since the cloud of recession has drifted o'er the land.

People who are very sharp and very professional and have marketable skills get the primo assignments; it is they who are valued by the agency and sought after by customers. So if you're just a slacker who's drifting and doesn't have a better idea, you will struggle to keep a steady stream of income through temping. The agency will note your lack of enthusiasm and skill, and they will only call you when you're a last resort.

(Of course, if you're very sharp and very professional and have marketable skills, then you could bloody well get a perm job.)

The women in the temp office were hot.

(although I eventually started faxing in my time slips and getting my paychecks mailed when I got too lazy to go downtown to get them)

Also, be nice to everyone. Even people who hate you. But don't annoy them with your boring stories; just be pleasant.

But the vacation & benefits thing gets to be a problem eventually...

Obviously in the US health insurance is the biggest issue, but both of my agencies offer some sort of plan. (Don't know how good these plans are, as I have a policy on my own with CareFirst.)

One of these agencies grants me paid vacation time -- accrued at 1 hour for every 40 hours worked. But since I've been temping for this agency for 5 years, at 40 or more hours per week when the work was available, I built up enough vacation time to take a week or so off a few times. And on a couple of occasions I cashed in some of this leave when I had been off work for a while.

Right now I'm on a long-term assignment that will convert into a regular position if all goes well. There's a lot to be said in favor of my current assignment, but it's a shock to have to deal with office politics again.

I wouldn't do temping as any long term kind of strategy, but it's a "suck it in and just do it" short term solution.

In the US, the agency makes a big difference. For example in LA, sign up at a high end agency, like Davidson (which specializes in legal staffing) rather than Apple One (a general office agency which pays shit). Although they specialize in legal staffing, their clients often have other positions and they pay twice what Apple One sign-ons get for the same job.

In terms of the soul-sucking aspect, isn't this just an attribute of office jobs/corporate environments in general? At least in temp situations you don't have to try to forge significant relationships with people who are socially unadventurous and drone-like, right?

I'll search the Chicago threads because I know it has come up but does anyone have recommendations for good agencies in Chicago? I'm troubled by the fact that a lot of the miserable experiences on this thread come from Chicago people!

You should exit at gracefully and professionally as possible, regardless.

coz yer a second-class-citizen, coz you get shit for any sort of holiday pay, coz you have MASSIVE job insecurity, coz your wage is about 75-80% of what the company will pay for you doing your exact same job only as a permanent hire, coz the only available benefits are skanky(enh insurance, no 401k most places, etc).

mainly its the insecurity and treated-like-shit aspects that piss me off the most. I've been a temp for the last 3.5 years with the except of 14 months as a full-time hire at a job i left to move across the country.

n/a do you have theories about why temping in Chicago is so bad? That's a pretty daunting statistic.

I like the idea of having a week or so off every now and then. If I'm making $15/hr I could definitely afford to work 20-30 hrs a week. I've been living like an absolute pauper for the last 1.5 years. Is 15/hr realistic though?

that said, i'm thinking of temping for a while because i hate my current job with every fiber of my being, but i have no idea what i want to do next.

please explain the purpose of a temp agency sending more than one of their people to compete for the same job. doesn't this seem to work against the agency (meaning, if only one of these people can get hired, they only have the potential income for one person)? why not use the time to find jobs for the other 3 people so that you can get money from all of them? is the job market that terrible?

also, whatever happened to the days of them calling and saying 'go here and work.' why am i even interviewing for a temp job?!

it's sad that my current job and the market are so terrible i'm willing to pretend to want to work in a cell phone shop!

Work at a library: it is the solution to all of life's problems.

Where are you people temping?

The temp company I work through is pretty rotten too.

in fact, temping tends to exacerbate the passive-aggresive/insulting elements of the corp. environment, in regards to your treatment.

there's nothing about it to be romanticized. you're working there b/c a company wants your labor but doesn't particularly feel the need to address any of the obligations that come with you(benefits, job security, etc), so they deliberately keep you at arm's length.