Temp Agencies Can Fire You At Will (2014, interviewer, unemployment)

[beera]

Just remember not all temp companies are the same- I worked with a crappy one and an amazing one. It was a smaller company (the good one) that really took the time to look over my resume and find me a good job. Which I did start out temping but then got hired on and the temp agency was happy for me.

It is holiday season so you may have an easier time finding a retail job at least?

Don't shut out the temp, and don't forget sites like craigslist, many people find legitimate work that way.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Here is what I would do if I did not have a job.

Write. Plenty of places are looking for writers now. For someone that is good you can make a good living writing. Just about everyone is looking for content. Most people are online trying to learn things from others. You can check Craigslist for writer jobs and come up with a few that would help out I bet. Here is the deal, lets say that you only make on the low end of things, that would be about $8 an hour. With the right couple of assignments you could make $100 a day X 30 days and you have a nice little income of $3,000 a month.

[bobtn]

Originally Posted by Midwest Maven

Heavy lifting? Hah! That's a good one. Temp agencies charge their clients 5x what they pay their temp employees. And most temp agencies "fish" for their new hires by posting fake job ads on their website, or on job search websites that are very popular like Monster, Indeed, SimplyHired. No way are temp agencies doing the heavy lifting. Like it was already stated, they have sales quotas that they have to meet, so they lie to their prospective temps, pay their hired temps far below what they are worth, and overcharge their clients so they can bring in the big bucks. It's pretty obvious you've never temped before. Maybe you are a temp recruiter? Or you've never been in a life situation where you were out of work and needed to temp to earn income? Unless you were in that situation, you really have no clue what it's like to be as a temp for a temp agency.

LOL! The corps are the ones driving the rate. 20 plus years ago, I temped through Accountemps, and was hired as a perm employee. Part of the paperwork you signed with them said you could NOT disclose your payrate, as they did not want the client knowing the markup, which covers SS, Medicare, FUTA, SUI, and markup.

Now the tables have turned and employers have the power. My last 3 knew every temps payrate, and had a contractually agreed upon markup percentage contract with each agency. that means as the temps pay rate goes up, the agency makes more. Such knowledge of the markup and true temp payrate is a given at any employer past mom and pop size. We had one agency who wanted our business and wouldn't agree on a locked markup. We told them we wouldn't deal with them, and they capitulated and agreed to set a contractually agreed upon markup, where we'd know the true payrate.

The employer wants to know for 2 reasons: (1) control the markup, make one agency bid vs another, and (2) If I suspect I will hire a good temp, as the perm is probably retiring/leaving for good, I want to know what they are getting now. Because if my benefit costs exceeds the markup, and it usually does, I want to know how much MORE this person will cost as an employee.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by Midwest Maven

The red flags were the times I went to the supervisor's office and overheard her gossping about ME behind closed doors, to the attorneys. She basically fired me b/c I called her out on gossiping about me, during a meeting I had with her last week. I told her it was concerning to me what I overheard her say, that I brought it to the attention of her boss, and my temp boss, who then asked her about what she said. So then she lied, denied it to her boss and to my boss, and then called me into her office today and fired me for vague reasons (which were all b.s. lies). I know I got fired b/c I confronted her for her gossiping about me. So I take responsibility for doing what I thought was the right thing -- protecting myself from being fired -- that actually got me fired.

You must have VERY LITTLE work experience to think it's OK to "call out" your supervisor even to HER BOSS and get away with it as a TEMP. And somehow you "heard this" behind closed door.

If I were living week to week, I would never in a million years do ANYTHING to jeopardize my job. Especially at a TEMPORARY AGENCY.

[thedwightguy]

Moderator cut: snip
If you're with a temp agency it's a pure numbers game.
No one, and I mean no one, wants feedback unless they ask.
And even then, say as little as possible.

Temporary labour (labor) started with the rec/dep. of the early nineties in a big way through Tacoma (Tacoma, go figure) with an a.. agency by the name of Labour Ready.

LR and other agencies do "black list" and register you as having "quit" when you no longer show. Even the province
of Alberta has asked LR to STOP DOING THAT: You can do it in New York state but NOT HERE and they still do it.

Recommendation: Pretend you've been sent in as an undercover and are there to collect subversize information. It helps.

[KABurke]

Originally Posted by thedwightguy

As Zig Ziglar used to say: SHUT UP
If you're with a temp agency it's a pure numbers game.
No one, and I mean no one, wants feedback unless they ask.
And even then, say as little as possible.

Temporary labour (labor) started with the rec/dep. of the early nineties in a big way through Tacoma (Tacoma, go figure) with an a.. agency by the name of Labour Ready.

LR and other agencies do "black list" and register you as having "quit" when you no longer show. Even the province
of Alberta has asked LR to STOP DOING THAT: You can do it in New York state but NOT HERE and they still do it.

Recommendation: Pretend you've been sent in as an undercover and are there to collect subversize information. It helps.

Temporary agencies have been around since the early 80's. Ever heard the term "Kelly Girl"? Kelly Services. Manpower. They've been around for decades.

[Cangee]

I can relate Midwest Maven. I worked for an air conditioning manufacturer through a temp agency and one of the perm workers there was a gossiper. She liked to talk about people and also liked to make people's lives miserable because she was an unhappy person. The person she used to back stab moved to another group so I became her next target. She texted and played games on her cell phone all day and dumped her work on me. I already had tons of work to do and also had to do her work for her. I did not have time to do her work and she told the supervisor I did not help her and was not a team player. The supervisor and this woman were buddies and believed everything she said. Therefore, I was let go. I am pretty sure that now I am gone she picks someone else as her next target. She just texted me today and asked me how I am doing. I could have texted her back and told her I got a perm job and making $75k a year and I don't have to see her fat self each morning. However, I didn't reply. I didn't want to waste a second of my life on her.

[MPowering1]

I'm always curious about how these old threads are resurrected again. It seems a lot have come up recently. Are people doing searches on topics and not paying attention to dates or is there something else going on?

[313Weather]

Originally Posted by MPowering1

I'm always curious about how these old threads are resurrected again. It seems a lot have come up recently. Are people doing searches on topics and not paying attention to dates or is there something else going on?

Sometimes it's the bolded.

Also, maybe they don't want to start a new thread when one already exists?

If you notice as well, the ones who usually bump these old threads are new members.

[MPowering1]

That's what I figured, but thought I would ask. Thanks, 313.