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View Full Version : what are the cons of going through temp agencies?


SCfuji
06-23-2005, 05:13 AM
i keep hearing different things about agencies... do they take a % from your paycheck directly like taxes or does the company just pay you less since they pay the agency to find employees? has anybody found a cool job they liked through an agency? are some agencies way better than most?

thanks,
eugene

BOTW
06-23-2005, 06:49 AM
[ QUOTE ]
the company just pay you less since they pay the agency to find employees

[/ QUOTE ]

But, you might find a good job this way. The big ones will find you a job faster, the smaller ones (more headhunter-style) will find you a job more to your liking better.

raisethatmofo
06-23-2005, 07:12 AM

FouTight
06-23-2005, 08:19 AM
[ QUOTE ]
I've done Temp agencies and never again. I don't recommend them.

There's a reason why the job is a temp. And in my opinion, 99 % of the time, the job is going to stay temporary because the position doesn't require someone there all the time, 365 days/year. I got a job once and freaking every week was wondering when the company would hire me on full time so I could get benefits. I was jumping through hoops for the guy in charge but it didn't matter. Not sure where you are at but in my opinion,

I'd rather be working at Mcdonald's 30hrs/week PLANNING for something better like starting my own business or something like that than trying to get into a really nice company so you can eventually meet people you hate and start hating the job you have to show up to everyday.

I work for myself now. I don't make a ton of dough right now but I have plans and I'm happy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto

Plus, the regular employees where you are working generally treat the temps like ish.

And the part of this that drives me crazy is the regulars are usually complete morons, but still maintain an some form of elietism over the temps, not a fun situation, unless you like wanting to punch someone.

sfer
06-23-2005, 09:21 AM
The principal downside to using a temp agency is that you end up working as a temp.

Rhone
06-23-2005, 09:24 AM
[ QUOTE ]
i keep hearing different things about agencies... do they take a % from your paycheck directly like taxes or does the company just pay you less since they pay the agency to find employees? has anybody found a cool job they liked through an agency? are some agencies way better than most?

thanks,
eugene

[/ QUOTE ]

The company pays the temp agency an hourly fee. The temp agency pays you an hourly wage. Obviously the former is greater than the latter.

If you're unsure where you want to work or exactly what you want to do, temping might expose you to different jobs and different environments, and that might be a good thing for you.

That said, the worst job I ever had was through a temp agency. Summer right out of high school, proof-reading the yellow pages.

Line by line.
Ad by ad.
Page by page. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

steelcmg
06-23-2005, 10:19 AM
Im currently working for a temp angency called aerotek. But the job im working for went thru them because they where just starting down where im at. But they have already signed on for there lease for another 1year so it looks like ill be done with aerotek and being hired on full time. Atleast i hope so since it wont be benefical for them to rehire someone else.

teamdonkey
06-23-2005, 11:10 AM
[ QUOTE ]
has anybody found a cool job they liked through an agency?

[/ QUOTE ]

the job i have now i was originally a temp for. The big downside for me was the lack of benefits. Temp agencies typically don't give you anything until you've been with them a while (6 months before i got medical) and what they do give you is crap. When the company did hire me on they gave me a small raise, but with benefits the bump was pretty significant.

OtisTheMarsupial
06-23-2005, 12:27 PM
1. much lower wage than you'd normally get
2. weird ass jobs you don't want
3. annoying skills tests and drug test

The Goober
06-23-2005, 12:41 PM
Temp agencies have their place. If you looking for something short-term and are reasonably computer-literate, then they are generally going to pay much better and be less work than than slinging coffee at the coffee house or working for McDonalds. I've worked one temp job that was awful - a combination of data entry and stuffing envelopes all day. I've also had friends with temp jobs where they literally had nothing to do all day.

Its basiccally a lottery what you will get. Some companies use temps as a way to "try out" employees before bringing them in full-time, some don't. Some jobs are like 6 months, some are less than a week.

stankybank
06-23-2005, 02:50 PM
from what I understand and experienced, the temp agency already have a contract set up w/ whatever company they work with. I've heard that usually it's like $1-$2 per $10 an hour they take. I'm from Cali so it might differ depending on where you live and what temp agency you work for.

To be honest, working for a temp agency isn't all that bad. I would say that the worst part is that it's a 'temp' job so you never know when you're gonna be told not to come in anymore. Although you take a test to see what areas you have strong skills in, most likely they'll just offer you whatever they have open and either you take it or you wait for the next one. If you deny any job, most likely they'll see you as someone who's lazy and who doesn't really need a job ASAP so you might not get the next phone call right away. I say take whatever job you can and build up a relationship with your supervisor or whoever and try to go up the ladder in terms of pay and position.

I've had jobs such as straight Mexican sweatshop/warehouse conditions where I was lifting boxes and pushing crates around and [censored]. Not too fun. Not to sound racist or anything but that's exactly what it was. 90% of the workers didn't speak a word of english. I felt sorry for them and it was a good learning experience. I've also had decent jobs such as working at a BoA corporate office doing loan work.

Either way, if you want pay and something quick, go to a temp agency near you and do it. I say it's better than working at the Mall or gas station or whatever getting min. wage when you can easily get $8-$12 at a temp. You can probably google the nearest temp agencies around you. AppleOne is a big one, I'm not sure if it's nationwide though.

GL. Damn this post is long.

touchfaith
06-23-2005, 04:09 PM
It is much different in California (like most things, and for the better), and especially in the tech field.

First off, it is not 'temp', it is 'contract'. Think of it that way and you have won half the battle.

Second, larger companies will often pay much higher wages to their contract employees. Why? Because those benefits that you do not have, they do not have to pay you. Large companies save a ton of money using contractors and are able to forcast and budget based on these 'flexible' workforces, often times painting of much prettier picture of overhead expenses then reality.

Also, out here, and particularly in the tech field, Contract Agencies do give the option of signing up for their group medical plan, although the rate is often high in comparison.

My last contract lead to full time employment at a Fortune 100 company.

SCfuji
06-23-2005, 05:56 PM
with larger ones you have close to zero sway on what kind of job you want? damn that sucks.

SCfuji
06-23-2005, 05:58 PM
dont mind the temp part. just looking for something recent to resume since "poker playing" isnt really attractice to most recruiters. around 5-6 months would be nice and part-time would be fine by me. i get a more consistent income, have time to poker, and get work experience. fine vegas trip report you guys all did. that was cool.

SCfuji
06-23-2005, 05:59 PM
you had no choice but that yellowpage job?

Talk2BigSteve
06-23-2005, 06:47 PM
Do you live in a Right to Work state?

I live in Mississippi which is one, and there are temp agencies everywhere. Depending on the agency there may be a fee.
Some Charge a fee from you. Other's Charge the Company.

Alot of companies do this to avoid benifits for full time employees. Also you can be let go without cause, and it is not fired, it is called referred back to your agency for "reassignment."

Some companies will also only hire through a temp agency, because they get some sort of business tax break.

It also gives a company greater time to evaluate you. You can be a temp for 90 days, and then roll over to permanent for a new 90 day evaluation period, I know when I was in Dallas that IBM hired strickly through Manpower for alot of jobs, and even had so many temps we had Onsite Manpower reps.

Steve

BOTW
06-23-2005, 06:48 PM
Sometimes. You can always tell them, "I have a contract until the 30th" if they offer you something crappy. The problem is that you might not know it is crappy until you show up.

You might want to consider going through a few different agencies. You'll have to do all the tests a few times, but you'll likely have a few different jobs to choose from.

Nottom
06-23-2005, 11:28 PM
[ QUOTE ]
i keep hearing different things about agencies... do they take a % from your paycheck directly like taxes or does the company just pay you less since they pay the agency to find employees? has anybody found a cool job they liked through an agency? are some agencies way better than most?

thanks,
eugene

[/ QUOTE ]

You will get less pay than a full time employee doing the exact same job plus you usually get no benefits. If you get a somewhat permanent position and the company you are temping for decides they like you and want to bring you on full-time, you are basically [censored] for at least 3 months because of the contract they have with the temp agency.

They are fine if you are truely looking for temporary work (such as a summer job while in school) but can be a problem if you are looking for a real job.

Your Mom
06-23-2005, 11:29 PM
One downside is that the regular employees will look at you and say in a disgusted tone "[censored] temp." At least that's what I did.

ThaSaltCracka
06-24-2005, 12:45 AM
Temp agency is not the right word. These places are employment agencies. I say this because all of these places offer temp work, but all of them also have temp to hire positions, contract work, and direct hire.

Over the past 5 months down here in Portland I registered with 5 different agencies. One placed people in law firms, one was primarily office positions in downtown Portland, one was primarily office jobs in the surrounding suburbs, and the other two were general positions varying from office, warehouse, and general labor.

Registering with one of them is a good idea if you want someone else to look for jobs for you, also, if you have some skills, they can offer you some better paying jobs, with some future.

That being said, I hated being a temp employee. You have less rights, little benefits, and usually shitty boses. I would only do it again if I needed work for > a 2 months.

SCfuji
06-24-2005, 01:18 AM
lets say i sign up with four agencies. if its not a job by contract am i free to quit anytime i wish or is ending my job a one-way street?

ie, can i quit a job that one agency gave me and then since i have my name with three others can i use them as sort of backup for quick job turnarounds?

ThaSaltCracka
06-24-2005, 01:21 AM
you can give them a few days notice, or simply just say [censored] it, and leave anyways. They are use to that./
'

edit: yes.