Advice on Agency/Temping work???

urban_spirit

Hi All

Has anyone had any experience working through a job agency or doing temping work please?
I will shortly be leaving my employer of 14 years and need employment pretty quickly, but am very rusty on job hunting.

Has anyone worked for or through a job agency or done any temping for or through them that can pass on some advice and tips??? I've never worked through an agency before, so know absolutely nothing of the system and how it works.

Are there good and bad agencies?
Or ones that have vacancies depending on what type of job you want?
Does it make any difference if you have a health condition - i.e. will they refuse to take you on???

Many thanks, in anticipation.

lynzpower

Hi there
Where abouts in the country are you? I can recommend a couple in london /

Agencies, well where to start?

1. Dont believe what they say until you have proof. The amount of jobs Ive been promised then never materialised is unbelievable.

2. Agencies effectively work with you- try and work in partnership with them, what you can do for them, what they can do for you. If you can go in with this attitude and build relationships like this, then thus will stand you in good stead.

3. keep phoning, if they know you are available you will get work

4. be prepared that you wont always get the suport you need as a newbie induction wise. if you can lay your cards on the table in terms of any training on the jo you will need, ask for it, and work out who the best person is to get what you need

5. ENJOY IT - im in a similar situ to you, and i think i will have to go to temping soon again. Im looking forward to the diversity of it, adn you never know where you will be offered the chance to go permanent if thats what you want. Each new job is a new opportunity. temps tend not to get bogged down in the office politics, and you can always move on fairly easily if you cant stand your boss ( depending where in the UK you are!!)

Hope this helps

Astaroth

I worked through agencies for many years whilst at uni and for a while afterwards.

Remember they are the ultimate sales people... they try to sell the job to you and then try to sell you to the job - needless to say that both sides can be told different versions of the truth so dont believe them about something unless they are willing to put it in black and white.

Agency staff, and particularly temps, tend to receive less pay, have to do the most disliked jobs and receive less training than their non-agency colleagues. As a temp you have a lot less employment rights but at the same time you arent bound by as tight a contract etc so that works both ways.

Agencies are good for getting work quickly and can be a bit of laugh if you arent bothered about a career.

tawnyowls

Usually best to concentrate on agencies that specialise in the sort of work you do - for instance, if you want office work, then people like Reed, Brook Street, Office Angels, are the people to go for.

Take a day or two to go around them with your CV (they usually make you fill in a form as well, but a CV shows you're serious). Dress smartly even at this point, and suss out the agency. If they've got a professional attitude to you, then hopefully they'll have the same attitude all-round and will have decent jobs to offer.

Do tell them what areas you're most interested in, but don't rule out other types of job. When you do land a placement, treat it like an interview - dress to suit the job, be punctual, helpful, and professional. I know loads of people who got made permanent from jobs that originally started out as temp jobs, so it's worth doing the best job and giving the best impression you possibly can.

I agree with lynzpower - enjoy it. I only had one temp position I found a pain, but even that was bearable for 2 weeks. You can also end up doing some weird but interesting things - I got one day's work as a volunteer for a company researching a psychology questionnaire, for instance; spent the day drawing pictures and ticking boxes, and even got lunch supplied.

saver6

There's no such thing as a good agency, only good consultants!

I was on the books of loads of agencies during uni, but the only one who got me any decent jobs and actually listened to the type of thing I was after (which were ones that would help me along my career path) was a particular consutlant at Reed who I had been referred to by my older brother. She was also the only one that found me work at 4pm one day, to start the following day.

The best thing that temping gave me was confidence - to keep meeting new people, step into and merge with different office cultures, and the payback now is that at no point since have I ever been overwhelmed by an interview situation or that dreaded first day.

margaretclare

Hi

The best one that I worked for was Adecco. Very professional - but you have to be professional with them.

Best wishes

Margaret Clare

Astaroth

Adecco were the worst one I ever worked for - they demanded to see a copy of my fiances death certificate when I was AWOL on the morning that she had died - they had pulled me off the job I was on (partially understandable) but said they wouldnt give me any other work unless they got a copy of the cert.

Reed was by far the best I worked for and ultimately got me into the job that has got me where I am today.

Savvy_Sue

As well as specialising in different kinds of jobs, some of their branches specialise in different areas of work. For example, Randstad in Bristol have one branch which specialises in charity / NFP placements. When I went round the agencies and my background was all in that kind of area, some of the agencies suggested I went to Randstad instead of to them!

VickyM_2

The thign to remember about temping is that a lot of temps are, quite frankly, rubbish. So if you turn up on time, are polite, efficient, neatly dressed, ask for extra work etc etc (I've had temps who thought nothing of taking a 2 hour lunch break!), then you will really stand out from the crowd. Your first jobs with any agency may well be rubbish but once you've proved to them that you're reliable, they'll find you better and better jobs. One time I was temping in London and went from two day jobs phoning up people to check their addresses, to a really interesting long-term position that only ended when I found a permanent job!

I agree with some of the above comments - it can be a lot of fun and you can learn a lot, especially about office politics! Sometimes everyone ends up confiding in you, because you're seen as being completely neutral.

Oh, and tho the pay might not be great, you even get holiday pay these days!

lynzpower

Good point about holidays VickyM
Some agencies let you choose to have your holiday Pay paid to you instead of racking up the days off. additionally if you leave the agency and you have days holiday outstanding then you will get the cash equivalent for working those days ( after tax of course)

lazymoezy

Im looking for a job atm in London. Im 17 and in my 2nd week of holidays!!!

I don't know anywhere, where I can find information on agencies inc. telephone numbers, locations etc etc. Would an agency be suitable for me? I havnt worked before other than work experience at school.

I just need a job to cover my driving test costs, buy a few things for my room and have a bit left over to enjoy myself! I'm not fussy over what job I want, something that does not require previous experience.

Im not sure where to look, i've done the usual of handing CVs but barely get a response and when I do its a letter saying 'no'.

I live in Waterloo, there isnt an agency in Waterloo, thats as far as I know, if anyone can help that would be appreciated.

Thanks,

-MoE-