I would appreciate any guidance someone is able to give to me. I live in the north suburbs of Chicago and am considering researching temp agencies. 1) Has anyone had a goos experience with one in the Chicago area? 2) Where would you suggest that I begin my research on the companies? 3) Would someone mind explaining to me how the system works (roughly)?
I'd really appreciate any help you can give me and so would my bank accounk! :o)
Thanks!
Submitted by: Dena
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Hi,
I am in the western suburbs – Downers Grove close to Oak Brook – Since I worked for Agencies between jobs more than 9 years ago they are like any company. Check on the web, ask for word of mouth recommendations. Sometimes the bigger known are better sometimes the smaller are better. You are interviewed by them just like a regular job. They will test you on computer programs and time you.
They are only as good as the companies who use them. The more companies the better the more you will have a chance to work. You are working as a part-time worker so there are no benefits however, some larger firms do offer or did offer some benefits if you become a regular part timer. So if you need a day off you are not paid – no sick pay – no insurance.
I have interviewed with one told them that at the time I did not have a good car and I was going to night school classes so I needed jobs within a certain mile radius. When they called and gave me an option to work at the first place it was over 20 miles away – I gave them a second chance and it happened again too far away to make the classes at night I told them they could take me off their list.
Good points you can sign up with more than one agency so that you keep busy. You can ask for a long term job which gives you the options to be offered a full time job at that company. You get to check out companies from the inside to really see if you want to work for them. I was on a job for 6 months for a maternity leave. If she didn’t come back I was told I could have the job full time.
You do have to watch for those like I mentioned above that don’t listen. While on the maternity 6 month job I received a call from an agency that cold called for people looking for a job. The supervisor gave them my name – however, after my interview with them they would call and give me an interview time and date then proceeded to call one hour before the appointments and cancel saying the job was taken. When I complained on the phone I was more or less told I was too old – I told them that if they were a reputable firm they should be selling me on my experience not my age. Since the sales person was younger than me she couldn’t understand that statement. A manager did call me and profusely apologized to me for the circumstance but I told them to take me off their list as I didn’t want to do business with a company who hired people who were prejudiced to age and at that time I was in my late 30’ts.
Good Luck
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Anonymous on
9/23/2008 11:55:50 AM
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I worked for agencies over the years: Kelly, Stivers, Allied, Apple One, Team One, and Career Strategies. But my best experiences came from Kelly, Career Strategies and Allied. I grew accustom to working temp to perm with companies such as Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center, Bank of America (Allied) and Executive Services of Southern California (Career Strategies). It was Bank of America and Executive Services of Southern California where I was hired full time after working only three months. My current job, House Ear Institute (Kelly) was a temp to hire position from December 2003 to February 2004, and they hired me March 2004. So the success rate of temp to hire position through temp agencies can be a win-win situation for both the agency and the company/organization, as long as you are willing to go the extra mile of buying out the contract.
Working with temp agencies comes with key factors you want to consider such as determining what your immediate needs are for bringing in a temp, the hours the temp will work, and the cost to your company. Understand while some fees are higher than others with temp agencies, it is cricital that you are aware of the fee scale which temp agencies use. Agencies will not pressure you into temp to hire situations because it is based on what your immediate needs are, how long you'll need the temp and what hours the temp will actually work. Assignments can be short-term for days or some weeks, or they can be long term for the next month or two spanned out over the next six months. Temp to perm comes into play when you have a position you want to hire someone full time in, but want to test drive the temp to see if he/she can perform at the expected level of the company/organization. This is where they contract buy-out becomes an issue.
Best agencies I can think to use -- if they are in your surrounding area -- Career Strategies and Kelly Services. They work to keep their temps working and always have both their client and temp's best interest in mind. They provide good representation for both their temps and the agency. And their screening process of their temps are excellent, to say the least.
I hope this tid-bit of information is helpful.
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Rene Rivers on
9/5/2008 1:34:14 PM
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I used to live in a suburb of Chicago (Darien) and always used Kelly. I don't know if they still exist. I used to work temp only where the assignments could be one day to months and I worked temp/hire. Temp/hire is where you work temporary and if they like you they request the agency to place you on fulltime. However, some agencies will buy out the contract outright and others make you pay the temp service by collecting the temp amount until the amount is paid and then you get the regular pay of the job you were hired for and that becomes your hire date with the new employer. I always work temp when between jobs or as an adjunct when I was trying to start my own typing or other business.
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Elaine Sklom on
9/4/2008 6:24:46 PM
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I would recommend Staff Source out of Hammond IN (not too close though, sorry). Avoid Davis.
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Jamie on
9/4/2008 1:05:03 PM
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Are you specifically looking for temp work? I don't have any agencies that I could recommend but I work for Motorola and they are looking for Admin support in Libertyville and Schaumburg. PLease email me at jill.richter@motorola.com.
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Jill Richter on
9/4/2008 10:21:51 AM
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Hi
I tried that 2.5 years ago. I went with Account Resources near O'Hare. They are very nice. I went with Temp to Hire, which has it's draw backs. Temp to hire is more like a trial however, if they decide they want to keep you they have to buy out your contract, which means your actual start date can be quiet different from they day you started working with them. In my case it took from 1/31 to 7/11 before my contract was bought out.
If you just temp, the assignments can be for a week, a month or longer. They can change their minds at a moments notice.
I hope this helps.
Diane
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Diane Klepadlo on
9/4/2008 9:09:40 AM
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