So, as of about 7:05 a.m. Central Standard Time, on the 19th day of September, in the 2008th year of our Lord; I have become unemployed
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Two Nickels' and Ninepence Worth of Free Advice:ixnayonthetimmaSeptember 19 2008, 23:11:51 UTC
Be careful with agencies. They will find you shit work very easily, but there are several caveats worth mentioning.
1. Systemic Lock-In. Temp agencies, as part of their interview process, will enter information about your skills and work history into their computer system and, based on that history, will place you into a narrowly-defined mold. Once in this mold, they will only find you work that they determine you'd be suitable for. This isn't all that bad in your case, since you're just looking for truly temporary work.
2. Instability. Depending on the work they assign to you, the jobs themselves are notoriously unstable. Going beyond the defined 'temporary' nature of the jobs, you will be routinely given inaccurate information about the length of the contract and even the nature of the work. (Example: as a cable pulling contractor, I was told I'd have steady work at a single site for at least two months; I worked literally one day on that site. Come to find out I was just sent to fill in for a guy who was out that day.) It becomes very not fun very fast to be waiting around all day for a phone call in hopes of work.
3. The Bullshit Malarkey Story. Temp agencies will tell you pretty much what you want to hear once they decided you're an ideal fit for a contract they need to fulfill. Don't believe them when they say "there is a chance to go from temp to a permanent hire." That is the equivalent of me telling you there is a chance that you'll win the lottery. While there are some temp jobs that lead to permanent jobs, it is rare. They may even have you serve up a fresh batch of cow dung to help them save face. (Another example: I actually had a temp agency tell me to lie on the jobsite if I was asked who I worked for.) That kind of crap will make you feel dirty for some reason. Unless you're good at lying, then you'd make a great salesman.
4. Lack of benefits. No vacation, no sick time. No holiday pay. Some agencies have an insurance program, but you have to pay for it yourself. Also, some agencies offer a 401(k) program, but I have never known a temp agency to offer any kind of paid time off.
These things probably won't matter for what you're looking for, but I just thought you should know what you're getting into before you took the plunge. I was with various temp services for two years, bouncing from job to job, and I was burned by them more than once. So just don't expect too much from them.
On a positive note, good luck finding work! If you can find something on your own, (try Craigslist; that's where I found the job I'm at now.) that might be more fulfilling. And if that doesn't work, just try to make money filing frivolous lawsuits!
1. Systemic Lock-In. Temp agencies, as part of their interview process, will enter information about your skills and work history into their computer system and, based on that history, will place you into a narrowly-defined mold. Once in this mold, they will only find you work that they determine you'd be suitable for. This isn't all that bad in your case, since you're just looking for truly temporary work.
2. Instability. Depending on the work they assign to you, the jobs themselves are notoriously unstable. Going beyond the defined 'temporary' nature of the jobs, you will be routinely given inaccurate information about the length of the contract and even the nature of the work. (Example: as a cable pulling contractor, I was told I'd have steady work at a single site for at least two months; I worked literally one day on that site. Come to find out I was just sent to fill in for a guy who was out that day.) It becomes very not fun very fast to be waiting around all day for a phone call in hopes of work.
3. The Bullshit Malarkey Story. Temp agencies will tell you pretty much what you want to hear once they decided you're an ideal fit for a contract they need to fulfill. Don't believe them when they say "there is a chance to go from temp to a permanent hire." That is the equivalent of me telling you there is a chance that you'll win the lottery. While there are some temp jobs that lead to permanent jobs, it is rare. They may even have you serve up a fresh batch of cow dung to help them save face. (Another example: I actually had a temp agency tell me to lie on the jobsite if I was asked who I worked for.) That kind of crap will make you feel dirty for some reason. Unless you're good at lying, then you'd make a great salesman.
4. Lack of benefits. No vacation, no sick time. No holiday pay. Some agencies have an insurance program, but you have to pay for it yourself. Also, some agencies offer a 401(k) program, but I have never known a temp agency to offer any kind of paid time off.
These things probably won't matter for what you're looking for, but I just thought you should know what you're getting into before you took the plunge. I was with various temp services for two years, bouncing from job to job, and I was burned by them more than once. So just don't expect too much from them.
On a positive note, good luck finding work! If you can find something on your own, (try Craigslist; that's where I found the job I'm at now.) that might be more fulfilling. And if that doesn't work, just try to make money filing frivolous lawsuits!
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