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I started a temporary job through a temp agency about 4 months ago that could possibly lead into a full-time position. I wasn't trained very well and figuring out things and creating various spreadsheets to help with accounts. Anyhow, I was told that if I had a Bachelor's degree I would have been hired (I have an Associated Degree) and that I have very strong skills. The new person is coming on board the week the boss is out of town, and I am to train her and she will job shadow under me (I just overheard this) and find this to be very unfair and confusing. If I can't qualify for the job and a temp worker at that, why would you have me train the hired staff? I absolutely love my job and it's heart-wrenching. I leave in August. It's hard to find good paying jobs in small town USA, heck jobs period, especially jobs you love. How should I handle this situation? Frustrated in Small Town USA.
Ok, so you find yourself in a position faced by many people at some point in their work life. Being too nice and cooperative when really you have zero to gain from it. Sure, you can do the greatest training sessions in the world with the new person. Be the nicest trainer and most courteous person around. The only thing that benefits is your vanity and ego. The idea maybe you are that kind of person that thinks of others first and foremost and some serious good luck in your work situation will come as a result. Yeah, I have met many of those people in my time and most of not all never get anywhere and end up meandering in life with the impossible belief that good things always happen to nice people. Sorry to break it to you but business and the workworld in general is no place for naivete and wishful thinking.
Now, you do have an AA, but they really wanted a Bachelors?. I have known people in exec positions for some pretty big companies with minimal education. One in fact with just a GED and she was the CFO of a small but well known tech company. They just compensate for lack of education by people skills and street smarts. Both of which will dictate how you survive in virtually any company. For you, the company had time to access your skills, you had an AA, but still they felt they needed a Bachelors degree holder for the role. Seems to me like they were happy enough to let you stay on the job until they found somebody else. You were never permanent material in their eyes. The excuse about the need for a Bachelors degree was just that an excuse to not hire you. Writing on the wall time.
Be smart from now on . No big hearted, look at me and how nice and charitable I am by training the new person. The dye is cast , they don't want you and why should you need them if there is no future at the company. Forget empty suggestions about positions coming up in the future. If they liked you enough then positions would have already opened up for you.
If money is not an issue, as you might need every last penny working as a temp, then stick it out for the extra pay checks. No harm there in doing so. However if money is not so much of an issue for you, then enjoy the moment when you tell your supervisor you have found something else and will not be back tomorrow. Put them in a bind and see how they react. Remember they only want you there from now on to train and that is it. They might offer some concessions to you which is in doubt. In the end, you exercised proactive and decisive thinking in getting out of there and not waste time being stuck in a situation which will only get worse for you
You are a temp worker - a temp worker isn't someone that would have to conform to the companies policies regarding who they hire, because you're not actually working for the company - you're working for the temp agency.
Basically:
1) Company goes to temp agency and tells them they need a person with certain skills to fulfill a temporary (but possibly one that will go to hire) job.
2) Temp agency scans their database of available employees, and finds you - you are in the area and have enough skills to perform the job.
3) Temp agency sends you to do the job.
4) Company decides they need someone in that position full-time (rather than just temp), and now they need to hire someone in accordance with their hiring policies - i.e., the person must have certain skills and possibly certain degrees and a particular amount of experience (as in, 5 years, 8 years, etc.). You don't have the required degree and/or you don't have the required years of experience, so they can't hire you from your temp job.
5) BUT, as a temp worker, you've done really well, so the company wants you to train their new hire. They gave you a great rating to your temp agency, and may write you a letter of recommendation as well, which could help in your future job search.
Do NOT tell them "see you" - all that would get you is no paycheck, no letter of recommendation, and, if it pisses off the temp agency (who you actually work for), then they might not place you in further positions, which means you could end up without a paycheck for a long time.
If you can, pursue your Bachelor's Degree. It's no secret that those with a Bachelor's qualify for more jobs and get higher pay. If you live in a small town, then having a Bachelor's could also put you above the competition.
In the meantime, start applying to job outside of the temp agency (basically, normal full-time jobs), and also notify the temp agency that when your current placement ends, that you would really like to be placed elsewhere (and you might mention that if something else that will be long-term should pop up before August, that you'd like to be considered for it - you don't want to stay in your current placement if it means giving up a better placement elsewhere). Basically, cover all your bases, and try to get new employment in place before your current placement ends.
EDIT: If they haven't hired anyone yet, you might go to whoever supervises you at the company, and let them know that you love working there, you'd like to stay, and you'd be happy to start the process of getting your Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution if they would hire you on instead of hiring someone else. It's possible that being in the process of getting a Bachelor's Degree would fulfill their hiring requirements.
Try not to take it personally. Some companies have a rule that a Bachelor's Degree is required for certain positions. I've worked at places that had that requirement and, while some companies would bend the rules on occasion, others wouldnt, no matter how badly they wanted to hire someone.
As another poster mentioned, the resume up front should've made this know from the start. If someone at the company goofed, then yeah, it's on them. However, there shouldn't be any reason why a temp position can get by with a candidate that has an Associates degree, but the permanent position requires a bachelors.
As another poster mentioned, the resume up front should've made this know from the start. If someone at the company goofed, then yeah, it's on them. However, there shouldn't be any reason why a temp position can get by with a candidate that has an Associates degree, but the permanent position requires a bachelors.
Of course there are reasons why lesser qualifications might be acceptable in a temp but not a permanent employee. Lots of companies like to promote from within and have employees who can grow over time. Someone might be capable of handling one specific set of duties without a 4 year degree, but they might not be able to be promoted after that. If a company is going to invest in an employee over time, they want someone who can have a career path, not just a job.
If they hired you, they would have to pay the temp agency a premium; maybe they're just going cheap.
True.
It could also be like emm74 said. A temp is not a permanent employee. There are more fees/taxes and liabilities with a permanent employee than a temp employee. With a temp, there's only one payment to the temp agency, and you can fire the temp at any time and for any reason. With a permanent employee, there's benefits, PTO, worker's comp, unemployment taxes, etc. It can also be more difficult to fire someone. For any of those reasons a company might be willing to have a temp worker who didn't fulfill their employee requirements, but not be willing to hire someone permanently without meeting requirements.
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