Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A few months I started meeting with recruiters, in the hopes of finally obtaining a job that paid enough for me to move out and start my life as an independent adult. I graduated a few years ago, and was tired of working minimum wage jobs in retail and magically hoping for at least an interview with jobs I applied for with no luck. Besides, I did have an internship that was basically a marketing/general office one, and I figured there must be some way that people with even "worse" degrees than mine a la in stuff like philosophy and gender studies who don't go into teaching manage to get decent jobs.
I met with two, and relatively quickly I was offered a contract to hire job that I've now been working at for about a month. I actually quite like it, except it doesn't pay enough to live off of. My plan was to stick with it until they offered me a permanent position, in what I assumed to be some increment of 3 months (so 3/6/9/ a year etc), and then either accept the permanent position if the pay was good enough or else consider my contract finished and then use the recruiters for more opportunities, with the added experience obviously helping.
I recently found out, however, that this job is actually a "permatemp" job, where there is no chance of advancement other than the vague promise of "eventually" being promoted to permanent, even though the company has no plans to actually do so. I only found this out from my manager telling us this job is pretty much just a resume builder/side income (though Idk how it can be on the side when it's 40hrs/wk). I actually asked about what the timetable was to my recruiter when I first got hired but my recruiter only gives the vague "your employer will eventually tell you". As I've said, I do like this job, but if this doesn't directly lead me to actually receiving a stable job that I can live off of then I obviously want to find a job that does as soon as possible/feasible.
So I guess my main question is, is when should I at least contact the other recruiter?I know she still wants to help me based on the correspondence after I informed her of my job with the other recruiter, and I guess the recruiter that got me this job is out, unless it's common knowledge after like 3 months of a perma-temp job that that's considered being there long enough to count as putting your time in. Is there in general a minimum time one has to work at a place (barring a contract that is literally for like 2 weeks or whatever) before it "counts" and you can write it on your resume etc?
A few months I started meeting with recruiters, in the hopes of finally obtaining a job that paid enough for me to move out and start my life as an independent adult. I graduated a few years ago, and was tired of working minimum wage jobs in retail and magically hoping for at least an interview with jobs I applied for with no luck. Besides, I did have an internship that was basically a marketing/general office one, and I figured there must be some way that people with even "worse" degrees than mine a la in stuff like philosophy and gender studies who don't go into teaching manage to get decent jobs.
I met with two, and relatively quickly I was offered a contract to hire job that I've now been working at for about a month. I actually quite like it, except it doesn't pay enough to live off of. My plan was to stick with it until they offered me a permanent position, in what I assumed to be some increment of 3 months (so 3/6/9/ a year etc), and then either accept the permanent position if the pay was good enough or else consider my contract finished and then use the recruiters for more opportunities, with the added experience obviously helping.
I recently found out, however, that this job is actually a "permatemp" job, where there is no chance of advancement other than the vague promise of "eventually" being promoted to permanent, even though the company has no plans to actually do so. I only found this out from my manager telling us this job is pretty much just a resume builder/side income (though Idk how it can be on the side when it's 40hrs/wk). I actually asked about what the timetable was to my recruiter when I first got hired but my recruiter only gives the vague "your employer will eventually tell you". As I've said, I do like this job, but if this doesn't directly lead me to actually receiving a stable job that I can live off of then I obviously want to find a job that does as soon as possible/feasible.
So I guess my main question is, is when should I at least contact the other recruiter?I know she still wants to help me based on the correspondence after I informed her of my job with the other recruiter, and I guess the recruiter that got me this job is out, unless it's common knowledge after like 3 months of a perma-temp job that that's considered being there long enough to count as putting your time in. Is there in general a minimum time one has to work at a place (barring a contract that is literally for like 2 weeks or whatever) before it "counts" and you can write it on your resume etc?
Thanks in advance for the great help!
I was working a permatemp job last year that was claimed to be "contract to hire" as an associate chemist for a large paper company in the greater Atlanta area. I liked the work but the pay was hardly a living wage $17 bucks per hour and zero benefits (no health insurance, 401k, paid holidays, or sick days).
I loved the work but I discovered 6 months after working the job when I asked the R&D manager when will I be brought on full time and he said I don't have an open full time position right now because my department has been restructured but you are welcome to apply to jobs on the career website. In so many words that was telling me that this was a permatemp job the whole time.
I ended up moving out of state for a full time chemist position I landed 3 months after the R&D manager told me that. OP, your manager flat out told you the job is not going permanent so it's time to dust off the resume and start applying to full time jobs in your profession that pays a salary that you can live off of and get some real benefits which is a huge part of your compensation package.
Temp to hire jobs is like rolling the dice of whether or not the job will go perm. Sometimes it's a true temp to hire but sometimes it's not a true temp to hire unfortunately. Start looking for a full time job now, at least you have the experience now.
You know this job is not going to make you perm. They are going to string you along as long as you let them and find the next poor fool to pull this on. Companies that work with temp agencies are typically like this.
I frequently post the research stat done by Susan Houseman of the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research that only 27% of temp to hire jobs turn permanent. It is a lie and fraud for the most part. If you rely on temp agencies to find you a job and believe their lies you will never find permanet employment. Temp agencies are slime and they deal with companies that are slime. You need to find your own job with a company that isn't total crap.
Last edited by MSchemist80; 05-18-2016 at 08:06 PM..
Heh both Chemist guys are spot on. If the full time job is not there and conceivably will never be there, then don't spend forever waiting for the permatemp to become a full time. I would start looking for work, while still holding the temp job for you don't know how long the unemployment gap will go. So job search after work, on the weekends etc... Please do not quit with nothing lined up unless the job makes you absolutely terrible.
As the chemists have said and I've generally agreed with them, temping is a last ditch effort to stay afloat if it pays decently. You should always be looking for permanent employment, on your own, and not relying on an agency.
I was offered a $12 hour job in Washington DC with 2-3 years of experience in the field and with a Master's degree. I turned it down and the recruiter launched a barrage of expletives at me, even though I had told her $12 isn't livable in DC...period.
I was offered a $12 hour job in Washington DC with 2-3 years of experience in the field and with a Master's degree. I turned it down and the recruiter launched a barrage of expletives at me, even though I had told her $12 isn't livable in DC...period.
You may have been the difference between the recruiter putting food on the table and getting canned due to poor sales numbers.
I was working a permatemp job last year that was claimed to be "contract to hire" as an associate chemist for a large paper company in the greater Atlanta area. I liked the work but the pay was hardly a living wage $17 bucks per hour and zero benefits (no health insurance, 401k, paid holidays, or sick days).
I loved the work but I discovered 6 months after working the job when I asked the R&D manager when will I be brought on full time and he said I don't have an open full time position right now because my department has been restructured but you are welcome to apply to jobs on the career website. In so many words that was telling me that this was a permatemp job the whole time.
I ended up moving out of state for a full time chemist position I landed 3 months after the R&D manager told me that. OP, your manager flat out told you the job is not going permanent so it's time to dust off the resume and start applying to full time jobs in your profession that pays a salary that you can live off of and get some real benefits which is a huge part of your compensation package.
Temp to hire jobs is like rolling the dice of whether or not the job will go perm. Sometimes it's a true temp to hire but sometimes it's not a true temp to hire unfortunately. Start looking for a full time job now, at least you have the experience now.
I'm in the same boat, but I kind of figured this was the deal. Companies and recruiters both know that 90% of these jobs are long-term 'permatemp' jobs to get the best worker at a cheaper pay than a full-time employee and no benefits.
Little does my current employer know that I will be moving on soon, and I'll give them two weeks notice, but it will take them a while to find a good replacement. They've used me at a bargain rate, and I'm using them to build up my resume. Even Steven.
I was offered a $12 hour job in Washington DC with 2-3 years of experience in the field and with a Master's degree. I turned it down and the recruiter launched a barrage of expletives at me, even though I had told her $12 isn't livable in DC...period.
That's because the agency was going to earn $30/hour for your services.
I was working a permatemp job last year that was claimed to be "contract to hire" as an associate chemist for a large paper company in the greater Atlanta area. I liked the work but the pay was hardly a living wage $17 bucks per hour and zero benefits (no health insurance, 401k, paid holidays, or sick days).
I loved the work but I discovered 6 months after working the job when I asked the R&D manager when will I be brought on full time and he said I don't have an open full time position right now because my department has been restructured but you are welcome to apply to jobs on the career website. In so many words that was telling me that this was a permatemp job the whole time.
I ended up moving out of state for a full time chemist position I landed 3 months after the R&D manager told me that. OP, your manager flat out told you the job is not going permanent so it's time to dust off the resume and start applying to full time jobs in your profession that pays a salary that you can live off of and get some real benefits which is a huge part of your compensation package.
Temp to hire jobs is like rolling the dice of whether or not the job will go perm. Sometimes it's a true temp to hire but sometimes it's not a true temp to hire unfortunately. Start looking for a full time job now, at least you have the experience now.
$17 per hour? Are you a 4 year degreed chemist? I thought it was only us engineers that have this problem these days.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
