Re: what are the cons of going through temp agencies?
 

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.

Re: what are the cons of going through temp agencies?
 

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.

Re: what are the cons of going through temp agencies?
 

with larger ones you have close to zero sway on what kind of job you want? damn that sucks.

Re: what are the cons of going through temp agencies?
 

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.

Re: what are the cons of going through temp agencies?
 

you had no choice but that yellowpage job?

Re: what are the cons of going through temp agencies?
 

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

Re: what are the cons of going through temp agencies?
 

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.

Re: what are the cons of going through temp agencies?
 

[ 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.

Re: what are the cons of going through temp agencies?
 

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.

Re: what are the cons of going through temp agencies?
 

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.