Attention, All Current & Potentially Unemployed DUers: (repost from March)

[elehhhhna]

Attention, All Current & Potentially Unemployed DUers - Do this asap!
Edited on Mon Mar-16-09 04:51 PM by elehhhhna
Register with a temp staffing company. We can argue the merits of temp staffing some other time, please. Here's the skinny --

There are temp staffing companies who serve virtually every market/skillset you can imagine. Employers (our customers) are bottoming out, layoff-wise. In general, they've shed enough people and are becoming aware that they'd better hang on to the employees they have. The work doesn't always go away, so they use "contract' or "temporary" staff to fill in where needed. They're going to delay direct/permanent hiring for as long as possible, btw. This means temp will BOOM. Then comes "temp-to-hire" (like auditioning on their payroll), and finally direct-hire (headhunters, etc.). Keep in mind that there will be incredible pent-up demand for staff once we hit the elusive turning point. I think, as my customers do, that the turning point is looking close...Q3 is the most common guesstimate.

Anyway, temp will skyrocket, thousands of temps will convert to full-time corporate employment and then -- wait for it -- the folks who avoided being laid off in the first place will all play musical chairs! Most EVERYONE has a bad taste in their mouth about work after the last 12 months, right? People who want to make a move aren't budging right now due to fear. Once the cycle's hit bottom it will move up very quickly.

Here's my advice: register with any and all temp companies you can. Depending on your skills & the size of your town or city, there may be, literally, hundreds of them. Do some homework and select those that are specifically temporary/contract staffing companies -- not headhunters who also do temp on the side. The temp vendors have pricing advantages and they simply do more volume. The national companies are only concerned with top line growth right now, so they'll give their services away at a discount, but can't cheap-out on the pay rates -- you can't keep good temps with bad pay rates.

Call for an appointment. If you need a bit of a makeover, do it. Get that hair cut & colored, find a smart cheap resale BUSINESS outfit, and use the whitestrips. Ask the staffing manager for advice about your resume. How can you improve it? Do it. The exception on the resume rule is unskilled labor. You don't need one, and yes, there are tons of temp companies who provide exactly that. It's not about shoveling and climbing, btw. Unskilled labor often means assembly work, and their clients seem to prefer women and mature candidates.

Be flexible. Will you accept a same-day assignment? Weird hours? Let them know. Then follow up. Not stalking, just squeaky wheel.

The pay is not fabulous but it IS competitive. The boost in self esteem is dramatic. The potential to land a dream job is strong -- seriously! I've been blessed to be a part of that miracle for many, many people. That's another thread.



Been meaning to write this for ages, sorry it's so off-the-top and random.

[silverweb]

1. I will vouch for the wisdom of this.

I did temp work for 18 months back in the early '80s and it was a very interesting, positive experience.