There is a great market for temporary employees, especially in the U.S. If you are currently unemployed then a temporary service may be a positive step in the right direction. Many of the major temp services have contracts with large corporations. These corporations would rather pay a temp service a nominal fee for temporary employees rather than hire new, permanent employees directly.
Many people do not understand that an employee is a high cost for a company.
Along with the salary a company pays to an employee there are other costs such
as federal, state and local taxes (beyond what the employee pays); health
benefits, retirement benefits, workman’s compensation and other employee-associated costs. This can be very expensive for a company and its one of the reasons you see lay-offs and downsizing today. Generally an employee costs about 2.5 times their salary. So a corporation will contract with a temp agency and the temp agency, rather than the corporation, will pay all of those costs.
Now you can use these facts to your advantage and I have done this two times in my career. Temporary agencies do a lot of advertising for open positions and there are even unadvertised positions they have as well. After you get pre-qualified with the agency they will send you on interviews with companies looking
for your skills. This is the time you need to begin evaluating your future. You need to ask questions such as:
“Would I like to permanently work for this company?”
“Does this company have the kind of jobs/positions I am looking for?”
These are very important questions. If your answer is “yes” to any of these
questions then do your best to “get in the door.” The job interview the temp
agency referred you to may not be the dream job you’re looking for, but it may be the next step towards the job you want. You would be surprised how far you can go once you are inside a company.
Getting to know people and understanding the culture of the company can help you find your dream job. This can be virtually impossible sometimes from the outside. For example, many open positions within a company are not posted to the outside public. Because you’re on the inside you now know what’s available before anyone else. You are still an “outsider” because you work for the temp agency but you have “inside” information. This is the time to start applying for those open positions before anyone else does.
Temporary agencies are a goldmine if you know how to use them. I have learned new industries and gained valuable skills and experience using this technique.
I encourage you to give it a try.
About the Author
Bryan Jones is the author of a highly acclaimed book, "You're Hired! How to Find the Job You Want in Less Than 14 Days!" This book is available at
www.TheHonestBusinessman.com/14days
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