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.
In defense of a temp agency, in my past I signed up with one when I lived in a different state. I didn't get a job with them for months, but finally they sent me on one assignment that was pretty good. The people were excellent and in the end the boss wanted to take me on but by that point we had decided to move back to NY.
So, yes, they are helpful if there is something you can do.
General Dynamics has laid me off twice in 2 years. Why should I trust them again? Not going to do that.
Yeah, I don't blame you there. There is an article in the Dallas Business Journal this week that says Raytheon is adding 200 engineers at the Garland facility. That's a suburb of Dallas, though.
How are Randstad, Kelly, Robert Half, Spherion over there in big country? Thx.
Isaiah, yelp.com may help you. This site has reviews all over the country from retail outlets & restaurants to employment agencies. I was just reading temp agency reviews in Boston, which mentioned, unfavorably, most that you mentioned. Take a look. Perhaps offices vastly differ from region to region.
I'm sure there are some good agencies, but I live in a small area and we only really have 3. I believe that (as other posters have said in other threads) most are only out to get you on their books.
Funny, but not everyone with 'bad experiences' is paranoid or a weirdo or loser..some of us are good workers and intelligent people who are just trying to earn a living. If you have never had the BURDEN of not getting a good paying job then you have NO idea what it is like.
One place my husband dealt with when job searching and they said, "We have a job for you at 14 dollars per hour." He goes down to them 2 times to sort out paperwork, bring proof of being able to work, and so on. They keep him hanging a few days, then call back, saying "You need to go to X company and interview. The hourly rate is $13." He (meantime) was looking on his own, applying at other places. He tells them you said $14. The woman gets pi@@ed off and says, "I never did." He keeps getting switched back from one person to another. In the end he found his own temp job and later got a very good full time job at another place.
So, like all things, make them your tool but keep looking....
I have had the burden of not being able to find work, and having to collect unemployment for 3 weeks as I searched but was unable to find anything. The issue was that it was mid-may and I was moving end of august, and all the jobs I could find were full-time, hire jobs and I was leaving for school. Its frustrating not working. And its frustrating to be forced to work 1 week asssignments, sit a week out, work another week, etc and try to make ends meet. I know all about it. However, I felt my recruiters were being honest, and I was looking hard, and nothing was turning up. And this was in Seattle spring of '06.
And like you said in your last sentence, just keep plugging away.
Quote:
Originally Posted by petlover8
This all sounds wonderful, but it does matter what color you are.
Im upset that racism is still such a huge issue in this country. Hopefully that will be changing as Barack Obama continues to pave the way and show that really, we are all equal and that no particular race, gender or sexuality is any better than any others.
However, in my experience working temp IT jobs. Race didn't matter one lick. I've worked with hispanic-americans(they werent all from Mexico), african-americans, asian-americans, pacific islanders, europeans, canadians, etc. Most employers are Equal Opportunity and thus race is not a factor.
As a matter of fact, the best coworkers I have had, tend to be minorities. Some were here as legal immigrants, some were full American Citizens. It never really mattered to me, my bosses or my employers. Hell, one of my bosses was a minority.
P.S. Please excuse me if I didn't use the 'politically correct' term for any particular group. I dont really keep abreast of what the "PC" terms are these days, and by no means do I mean to offend or insult anyone or any group by referring to them incorrectly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lisak64
Temporary agencies are businesses and they need to make a profit. So if they offer you $14.00 an hour, they're most likely charging the client company that you'll be working at, around $21.00 per hour. That $7.00 mark up is covering many costs. The costs of paying recruiters to recruit people and interview them, the cost of renting an office space and all of the costs involved in that (phone, computers, mail, advertising, subscriptions to monster, careerbuilder, etc).
HAHAHAHA!
$21? 50% overhead? No. When I was making $12/hr, equivalent employees from other agencies were making $16/hr. Which means that the company itself had to have been making much more than that.
My buddy, who has his own business and occasionally gets temp contracts... Usually receives them at $70/hr or so, and then farms work out (if he's able) at about $12-$15/hr.
My work now, I was making $17/hr on a temp-to-hire contract. My company was paying the agency $34/hr.
My issue is that the overhead is SOO high PER HOUR. I understand that the agency eats all the payroll fees, overhead, etc. However, most of that overhead per job is a flat fee. It takes sales X hours to get job. It takes recruiter X hours to find employee. It doesnt take sales more money and time for each hour I work. The recruiter isn't doing any more work each hour I work. Yes the agency is trying to turn a profit, but 100% is just overkill. Its ridiculous. Theres no point for it. Oh, and in addition, theres the finder's fee to begin with (for the company) and also if they end the contract early, theres an early cancellation fee.
Yes, up until that rant I have supported temp agencies. I really like them, they do a lot of great things... but I'd be much happier if they weren't so damned greedy.
Isaiah, yelp.com may help you. This site has reviews all over the country from retail outlets & restaurants to employment agencies. I was just reading temp agency reviews in Boston, which mentioned, unfavorably, most that you mentioned. Take a look. Perhaps offices vastly differ from region to region.
Much luck to you & everyone seeking employment.
It can also vary recruiter to recruiter within an Agency.
I've had good luck with TAC Worldwide, Robert Half Technology and one other that I can't remember off the top of my head.
This all sounds wonderful, but it does matter what color you are.
I had this happen to me when I went to an assignment my agency sent me on. I was qualified for the position (it was with a high end italian shoe company in NJ) I had just graduated college a few months ago and I had work experience. The person I was replacing was going on maternity leave in a few weeks and she wanted to train someone to do her job. She was the receptionist and some type of coordinator or assistant. I should have known something was up when I got there because I was the only black person there (except for a warehouse person who gave me a funny look when he saw me in the office, kind of like "you have no idea u won't be in the office long) as the afternoon came I noticed my agency called several times and the girl who was supposed to train me kept going back and forth for "meetings". Then a rep from my agency came into the office. Everyone was being hush hush and moving fast and u could see there was tension. My "trainer" came in and told me to go to lunch and make sure I take an hour since it's policy . At the end of the work day as I was driving home I received a message from someone from my agency that the company no longer needed my services. They proceeded to say they don't know what is wrong with the company yadda yadda yadda. I was honestly hurt. Not because I wanted the job, but because it was the first time I was given a job and then let go because of the color of my skin (it couldn't have been anything else because I was dressed professionally, I knew how to do the job, and the girl said she was going to go on maternity leave immediately but soon after I got there said she was going to be there until she gave birth). Now I have experienced racism before but that was just so blatant and hurtful that I will never forget it.
It can also vary recruiter to recruiter within an Agency.
Oh, of course. I also fully recognize that some may see the same recruiter/agency & have vastly varying accounts of what happened, positively & negatively. Depends on the job one is seeking, personalities, length of experience in the field for either side, professionalism of each involved, as well.
I, too, second your inner-knowledge of agencies. I worked with someone in the early 80's that had previously owned an employment agency. He told me he brought in jobs for which he was paid $50-70/hr (quite a sum in those days)... doled them out for $8-12/hr. Perhaps not all agencies earn this much & I understand agencies have payroll, too, but some surely do earn quite a profit on other's hard work. Each story is individual, but it is good to listen to cautionary stories & decide for oneself.
Does anyone have any experience with Ruthier? They hire out legal employees. I see they were involved in some sort of lawsuit some years ago. Not sure if that's straightened out & they've retrieved their former reputation. I was a legal secretary many years ago & we hired through them exclusively. Just curious.
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.
Can't forget this one
. At the end of the work day as I was driving home I received a message from someone from my agency that the company no longer needed my services. They proceeded to say they don't know what is wrong with the company yadda yadda yadda. I was honestly hurt. Not because I wanted the job, but because it was the first time I was given a job and then let go because of the color of my skin (it couldn't have been anything else because I was dressed professionally, I knew how to do the job, and the girl said she was going to go on maternity leave immediately but soon after I got there said she was going to be there until she gave birth). Now I have experienced racism before but that was just so blatant and hurtful that I will never forget it.
