Anyone have any experience with office "temping"?

[JKMastalski]

I am thinking about quitting my job and temping. What does everyone think of temping? Anyone a temp out there? Benefits are not an issue, I am on my DH's health plan.

Anyone know a good temp agency in Philly? Or better yet, anyone need a temp in Philly?

 

[bjgrazi]

I did it, wasn't a big fan of it. I thought it was a good way to find a permanent job. I did get a couple of offers, but they were for companies I'd never want to work for.

 

[Jungle Skipper]

my sister did it, she loved it....but then she got offered a job as a CNA and took it, more money. She was always getting offers though....

Jungle Josh

 

[grinningghost]

I did it many years ago as a means to finding a permanent job. It wasn't bad. A couple of the places weren't much fun to work in, but thankfully, they were only temp jobs, so it was easy to hang in there until they ended.

I did end up with a great permanent job in the end, which was my goal, so all in all, it worked well for me.

 

[BedKnobbery2]

I think temping is a lot harder than people think; lots of times you end up being not much more than a person answering the phone and taking a message (I wouldn't even call it being a receptionist--you usually can't schedule things without checking with someone!) or you can end up with a lot dumped on your lap and no guidance on what to do with it. When you look for an agency, aim for one that really matches skills with positions as well as personalities with positions; for example, in my office, a lot of the time someone looks like they are just diddling around on the computer but they are really trying to get something done and don't have time to chat.....so someone who likes to chat a lot is more of a hinderance than a help. If your agency is okay with it, you may want to call the person you are replacing and ask what their expectations are. I feel equally as bad for a temp who has skills and can't use them as I do for a temp who has something to do that he or she has no idea how to accomplish.

Good luck!

 

[LolaMak]

I temped throughout college breaks (summer and winter breaks). Some good experiences, some bad.

The good...you get to meet new people and learn different skills while on the job. You can add the skills to your resume too (you can become pretty efficient in Word, Excel, typing, and general office work while temping). Most importantly, you can network yourself to prospects, hoping to land a job you like.

The bad...some places, I got treated like a temp...like someone who isn't qualified to be working there (that's why it's sometimes good that you're only there for a short period of time). The pay isn't always that great and the work is very, VERY, remedial (you're getting paid to do the chores others don't want to do).

But, it's a good way to earn some extra cash when you've only got a few weeks of free time. I wish you all the best and good luck!

 

[Hagred]

Around here in these economic times, getting a temp job is about as difficult as getting a permanent job used to be. There's also nothing temporary about these 'temp' jobs - it's a great way to staff your office and downsize in a hurry if you need to. I know people who've been temps for the same company for a year or two and they're still temps because there isn't any full-time, permanent work to be had.

I think the days of getting a temp job in the hopes of it turning full-time are over. At least for now.

Still, I wish you the best. The northeast has been very hard hit economically so any job you can get would be a bonus.

 

[LolaMak]

Originally posted by Hagred
Around here in these economic times, getting a temp job is about as difficult as getting a permanent job used to be. There's also nothing temporary about these 'temp' jobs - it's a great way to staff your office and downsize in a hurry if you need to. I know people who've been temps for the same company for a year or two and they're still temps because there isn't any full-time, permanent work to be had.

I think the days of getting a temp job in the hopes of it turning full-time are over. At least for now.

Still, I wish you the best. The northeast has been very hard hit economically so any job you can get would be a bonus.

I completely agree. Actually, i'm temping now. I've been temping for a few months now and, because of the economic times, they're probably going to cut my position.

I graduated college in 2002 and, after taking a sales job (hated every second of it...but they're plentiful in all types of economic environments), I settled on temping. Awful how over 2 years later, i'm still trying to find a job. Maybe i'll have better luck in Arizona.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I have been temp-ing for the last 3 months and really enjoy it. Of course, it is at a Disney location, so that is a major perk in itsself.
I can't buy at Company D.
But I am very happy with the gal who is actually my boss. And it is very nice to kind of have some say in your work life.
Luckily I have been working in a great area with super nice people.
I am a pretty flexible person, so that helps a lot.
This will end soon probably . And I hope something else is set up afterwards. That makes at little uncertainty.
Otherwise I am pleased. My biggest responsibility is showing up in the morning.

Probably about 6 years ago I temp-ed for a year and half and really liked it. I learned more in a year's time than I did in several in most jobs.

Usually with temp-ing you get paid every week. Not many companies do that any longer. And I like a weekly paycheck.

 

[smiley]

I temped about 15 years ago for a place in California called Kelly Girls. The pay was not as good as if I had held a permanent job, but the flexibility of temping was worth it.

Out of all the places I worked for I only chose not to return to one place. I worked at the location for one day. The employees were extrordinarily rude to me. While on my lunch break I called my temp agent and told her I would not return the next day. That night she called me and had something else set-up at another company. The temp agency also had another temp go out to the previous company to finish up the job I started, but that temp called and told them she wouldn't finish either. My temp agent told me about two months later that they dropped that company, because none of the temps had a positive experience.

I was also offered jobs at many of the places I worked, though did not accept any of them. The temp agency never held it against me if I told them I was not available for a certain amount of time. They always had plenty of work, the only time I did not work is when I didn't want to.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[Snowysmom]

I have temped in the past. In the late nineties I had really good luck. I worked at one place for over a year and was treated very well and got some good experience. They went through downsizing and I got another temp job that ended up becoming permanent. That is one reason why I do like temping. You can check out the company and see if it is some place you would want to work permanently. In my case, the company was sold after I worked there for a little over 2 years and I was laid off. In 2002 I temped again and while the company I worked at had alot of nice people working there, I basically did all the junky work. I found a permanent job and left. I believe right now alot of companies are using temps so they can downsize or upsize quickly and easily. The economy is still bad no matter what they say!