Remember to ask, how much does the job pay? Remember, you will be taking home your hourly pay minus whatever has to be taken out for taxes and Social Security. Know your budget well. If you apply for temp work and you are offered $15 an hour for your first job, find out whether you will be offered that rate on every job or if your pay will be more or less than $15 an hour on future jobs.
When Paula applied for temp work as a bookkeeper with Satisfactory Staffing Service she knew she wanted to use her skills as a temp to find a permanent job. Satisfactory Staffing Service was very impressed with her test scores and her references and offered her a temp job as a bookkeeper with one of its best clients, a start-up company. Paula would be filling in for approximately six weeks for someone who would be on maternity leave.
Satisfactory Staffing Service offered Paula $14.50 an hour for the job. She was very eager to work and accepted the job. She temped well at the company and was a good representative for the service. At the end of six weeks. Satisfactory Staffing Service called Paula with another assignment, for two weeks, and she accepted the next temp job.
When Paula received her paycheck for the two week job, she noticed her pay had decreased from $14.50 to $13.25. She immediately called the service to see why she was not receiving $14.50. The service told her they paid her $14.50 at the first company because it was a very important client and the service needed to send a topnotch temp.
The temp job where Paula was now was a small business that could not afford to pay the temp service as much money as the previous company. Therefore, the service could not pay her as much money. Paula was justifiably upset.
She should have asked how much money the service was offering her before accepting the two week job. Never assume because you are paid one salary on one job that you will be paid the same on the next job. Always ask. Be your own best friend and make sure you are taking care of yourself financially. Do not sell yourself short.
Some services may negotiate with you up front as to what your rate of pay will be, and it will stay at the same rate no matter what the job is. You can ask for a raise when you gain more marketable skills. Just make sure you are happy with what you agree to.
Job Description
What exactly will you be doing? Is it something you will enjoy doing and can do well, or is it something you need to tolerate doing for a few days in order to make some money? Can you do the job the service is asking you to do? If the service calls you with a job that is in your salary range, make sure you understand what you are being asked to do before you say yes.
Connie really wanted to work as a paralegal in the entertainment business in Los Angeles. She applied with Metropolitan Staffing Service, because they sent a lot of temps to companies in the entertainment business.
Metropolitan Staffing Service called Connie with a temp job working at a production company. The temp job required someone with acquisitions and mergers experience. Connie felt very confident about the position, and when the service asked her if she had transactional business experience, she wanted to work for the production company so much that she said yes.
When Connie arrived at the production company the next day, everyone on the legal staff was very uptight. They were relieved Connie was there, because they needed a qualified person to help complete a due diligence examination. This meant Connie was under a lot of pressure to perform well.
Connie did a good job organizing the documents, but could not figure out how to assess the significance of many of them. She was afraid to ask for help because she did not want anyone at the company to know she did not know how to get the work done.
Finally, someone from the production company asked Connie for a printout of what she had done so far. Connie confessed that she did not know how to do the work and that she wanted to work at the production company so much she had exaggerated her knowledge and experience to get her foot in the door.
Her supervisor at the production company was furious. He told Connie he would sign her time card for the hours she had been on the job so far that day, but that he wanted her to leave immediately. He said the production company had a very important deadline and that it was critical that the professional technical temp on this job be proficient.
In addition, the staffing service also believed Connie was a lost cause, justifiably fearing that her performance or lack of performance, at the production company would hurt its reputation as a reliable staffing service for the entertainment business. The service was especially reluctant to offer Connie any jobs in the entertainment industry; because it appeared that she would say anything to get a temp job there and might not be a good representative of the service.
Make sure you understand what the service is asking you to do before you accept a temp job. If you get to the job and it is different from what the service described to you, call the person from the service that put you on the job as soon as possible.
