Temporary Job Service Agencies: Are They Right for You?

If you're looking for work, or want to work part-time, or just want to earn some extra cash, you may want to consider working for a temporary job service agency.

Advantages of working for a temporary service:

Temporary services have different rules, but the one rule they all have is never walk off the job without contacting the service first. If you don't like a job you are sent to, you can contact the service and ask not to be sent back to that job.

You get to see if you like working at a company and the company has a chance to see if they want to hire you. This way you won't end up working for a couple of weeks and quitting or getting terminated. You can be terminated from the temporary service if you break either the service's, or company's which you have been sent to work, rules. If the company doesn't want you to work for them, they can request the service not return you to them.

If you are looking for a change in careers, a temporary service may be able to assist you in finding a company open to hiring inexperienced people. If the company sees you can do the job, they might hire you.

Temporary job services are a good place for high school graduates who are looking for a job other than flipping burgers. Many companies don't want to hire someone fresh out of high school without knowing how well that person will work. This is a good place for senior citizens, too. Companies want to know if an older person can handle the job before they are hired.

Disadvantages of working for a temporary service:

You may be sent to a job you love at a company where you want to work, only to find the company isn't hiring. Some companies bring in temporary employees just to help during a rush period or when business takes a unexpected upturn.

You may be paid less than you would if you were hired by the company. Most temporary services pay less than the company pays, however this isn't always true. Some companies' starting wages are the same as what the temporary services pay. (Either way, the pay is based on what a company is willing to pay the temporary service.)

If you are looking for health insurance, most temporary services, if they offer health insurance at all, don't offer very good insurance. If they do offer good insurance, it is expensive.

You need to work a certain number of hours at a company before you can be hired by the company. This is usually around 500 to 800 hours. Some temporary services require you work 1,600 hours before you can get holiday pay. You also need to work the scheduled workdays before and after the holiday. And most temporary services will only pay for the major holidays; New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. Some offer vacation pay after you have completed about 2,000 hours of work.

Everything is based on how many hours you work. If you work 40 hours one week, have the next week off, then work 40 hours the following week, then, as far as the temporary service concerned, you have been employed for only two weeks or 80 hours. The same is true if you work four weeks at 20 hours a week. You are consider to have been employed for the temporary service only for two weeks.

Some tips:

If you are the type of person who doesn't like to be sent to different types of jobs, then a temporary service might not be a good place for you.

Always do your best. You will be closely watched for the first few days and supervisors might ask regular workers to evaluate your work. So do the best you can even if the regular workers are slumping around like they are wearing clothes made of lead.

Always be on time and if you are going to be late, call the temporary service and tell them you are going to be late. Never not show up without calling the temporary service. This may get you permanently banned from the temporary service.

Take the initiative. If you see someone who needs help and you are in a position to help, then don't just stand there watching, help the person.

If you complete your task before it is time to go home, don't wander about aimlessly. Ask the supervisor if there is anything else you can do.

Always be polite and courteous and never lose your temper. If you get angry about something, wait and talk to the temporary service that sent you to the job site. If it can't wait, talk to the supervisor at the job site. Never take your frustrations out on another worker.

If you put enough hours in at a company to get hired, and you have filled out an appacation, but the company doesn't hire you, then call the temporary service and tell them if you're not going to be hired, then you want to be sent elsewhere. if you want to a permanent job, there is no sense in working for a company that isn't going to hire you. And if the company does want to hire you, this will get their attention and let them know you really want to be hired.