Job search through indeed.com and the good and bad of staffing agencies (sample, interviews)

[te3t]

Well if there was no temp agencies around people would be in bad shape if they ran out of unemployment.

[Poor Chemist]

Originally Posted by te3t

Well if there was no temp agencies around people would be in bad shape if they ran out of unemployment.

I understand your statement but if someone has other options he or she should avoid temp agencies if the goal is finding full time work that pays decent money. I agree that if a temp job is all that you can find in terms of a job it's better than no job at all. Not everyone has an abundance of savings to live off of until they find that perfect job so temp work can become useful if you are in that situation.

After college I had very little savings and didn't have enough money to move cross country for a full time chemist job so I took the $17 hour temp job at Georgia-Pacific and I was optimistic that it was going to turn into something good but during my time there I noticed another temp in my department that was there for 18 months without a raise or no intention of ever being brought on full time. Most of the time the department didn't have any work for us to do so I started to get the vibe that this job is not going to become perm so I started applying for positions through the company as an internal candidate and got an interview for a full time position in another department and I felt confident that I was going to get the job but they decided not to hire for the position. The salary would have been $45k a year.

After 6 months of working there I asked my current department manager if he had any plans of bringing me in as a full time employee and he said "my department is new from the restructuring so I don't have any money in the budget to hire a full time employee at the moment but you can apply to other positions in other departments at GP careers" go figure! I simply was disgusted with this company and I applied for positions out of state where I met the experience requirements listed in the job description. At this point I was willing to relocate anywhere for a full time chemist position.

I had 2 interviews for my current job and was offered the job a month later. My current job pays $50k a year with a 3% cost of living raise every year and a potential merit raise based on performance. The company also gave me $5k relocation bonus for moving to West Virginia for the job.

I refused to continue working for $17 per hour and no benefits living check to check to keep the rent paid, gas in the car, keep the lights on, eating rice/beans, and spam just to get by.

I feel like I am finally making enough money to live comfortably as a young single 22 year old and finally feel my college investment is finally paying off. No thanks to the temp agency and dirtbag temp company I was working for. I didn't bust my rear end in school to struggle to pay for basic necessities. I moved 596 miles from my hometown for a decent chemist job and it so much better than that lousy temp job I had.

Sorry for the rant but if you take a temp job, you better be looking for permanent work in your field as there are no guarantees that you be offered a permanent opportunity. It doesn't matter how good of a worker you are in the position if the client has no intention of hiring a full time employee you will not be offered a permanent position even though the agency advertised the position as temp to hire.

[MSchemist80]

No they would have real jobs instead of companies forcing people to work through pimps to avoid paying benefits. They still have work that needs to be done they just won't be able to abuse the temp system any more.

[sandsthetime]

Originally Posted by MSchemist80

No they would have real jobs instead of companies forcing people to work through pimps to avoid paying benefits. They still have work that needs to be done they just won't be able to abuse the temp system any more.

Companies say it is the government's fault that they can't provide decent benefits, and that they can't give employees a good salary. We hear all the time from them that the government is supposedly suffocating them on purpose to try and make citizens more dependable on government.

[sware2cod]

Originally Posted by Poor Chemist

... Like you said a client can get rid of you with one phone call for any reason. With full time jobs it takes several weeks perhaps months to get rid of an employee and there has to be solid documentation of why that employee is losing their job not just one phone call.
....

When budget cuts/layoffs, the full-timers can be cut just as quickly as the contractors. One day they get called into a meeting and half hour later they are cleaning out their desk.

[te3t]

Originally Posted by Poor Chemist

I understand your statement but if someone has other options he or she should avoid temp agencies if the goal is finding full time work that pays decent money. I agree that if a temp job is all that you can find in terms of a job it's better than no job at all. Not everyone has an abundance of savings to live off of until they find that perfect job so temp work can become useful if you are in that situation.

After college I had very little savings and didn't have enough money to move cross country for a full time chemist job so I took the $17 hour temp job at Georgia-Pacific and I was optimistic that it was going to turn into something good but during my time there I noticed another temp in my department that was there for 18 months without a raise or no intention of ever being brought on full time. Most of the time the department didn't have any work for us to do so I started to get the vibe that this job is not going to become perm so I started applying for positions through the company as an internal candidate and got an interview for a full time position in another department and I felt confident that I was going to get the job but they decided not to hire for the position. The salary would have been $45k a year.

After 6 months of working there I asked my current department manager if he had any plans of bringing me in as a full time employee and he said "my department is new from the restructuring so I don't have any money in the budget to hire a full time employee at the moment but you can apply to other positions in other departments at GP careers" go figure! I simply was disgusted with this company and I applied for positions out of state where I met the experience requirements listed in the job description. At this point I was willing to relocate anywhere for a full time chemist position.

I had 2 interviews for my current job and was offered the job a month later. My current job pays $50k a year with a 3% cost of living raise every year and a potential merit raise based on performance. The company also gave me $5k relocation bonus for moving to West Virginia for the job.

I refused to continue working for $17 per hour and no benefits living check to check to keep the rent paid, gas in the car, keep the lights on, eating rice/beans, and spam just to get by.

I feel like I am finally making enough money to live comfortably as a young single 22 year old and finally feel my college investment is finally paying off. No thanks to the temp agency and dirtbag temp company I was working for. I didn't bust my rear end in school to struggle to pay for basic necessities. I moved 596 miles from my hometown for a decent chemist job and it so much better than that lousy temp job I had.

Sorry for the rant but if you take a temp job, you better be looking for permanent work in your field as there are no guarantees that you be offered a permanent opportunity. It doesn't matter how good of a worker you are in the position if the client has no intention of hiring a full time employee you will not be offered a permanent position even though the agency advertised the position as temp to hire.

If you take a temp job there is no looking for something else full-time because the assignment is your full time gig. How often do you think you can take off if you are working as a temp to go on interviews? So i believe the only way you can leave a temp job is to already been deep in the hiring process for other jobs or having a family member or friend get you a job . Other than that there is no other way to leave a temp job once you start the assignment.

[Poor Chemist]

Originally Posted by sware2cod

When budget cuts/layoffs, the full-timers can be cut just as quickly as the contractors. One day they get called into a meeting and half hour later they are cleaning out their desk.

This is true and it happens a lot in my profession when the money gets tight or they do restructuring of the research and development departments but at least with a full time job you are paid better and have full benefits for the whole time you work.

[Poor Chemist]

Originally Posted by te3t

If you take a temp job there is no looking for something else full-time because the assignment is your full time gig. How often do you think you can take off if you are working as a temp to go on interviews? So i believe the only way you can leave a temp job is to already been deep in the hiring process for other jobs or having a family member or friend get you a job . Other than that there is no other way to leave a temp job once you start the assignment.

When I had my interview for my current job I took two days off to fly up and drive in town for the interview. Of course I didn't get paid for those days but you are free to take days off in a temp assignment and you are free to quit the job at anytime.

If the client can end your contract at anytime, the worker can take days off or quit when they find something better.

A worker does not owe their contract company anything but a two week notice before they leave and in most cases the client will just let the person go the same day they put in their two week notice because they feel there is no reason for them to stay on pay roll for another two weeks twiddling their thumbs.

[MSchemist80]

I don't think you owe the contract agency any notice. If leaving without notice causes a disruption too Fing bad that is what you get for relying on temp when you need an employee.

[MSchemist80]

Originally Posted by sandsthetime

Companies say it is the government's fault that they can't provide decent benefits, and that they can't give employees a good salary. We hear all the time from them that the government is supposedly suffocating them on purpose to try and make citizens more dependable on government.

If they wouldn't act like complete sociopaths then the govt wouldn't need to have more and more laws regulating them. Companies have shown over and over again that self-regulation is a bad joke.