For anyone embarking on a job search, it’s good to weigh the pros and cons of using a staffing agency. In industries like manufacturing, which employs 76% of all temps, a large share of full-time jobs start as temp jobs. For that reason, whenever you’re in the market for new temporary employment or even a new permanent job, a temp agency is one of the best ways to get your foot in the door. You may just find that temp work is ideal for your situation.
Advantages of Temp Work
If you’re looking for a long-term steady paycheck, temp jobs may not look like a long-term way to pay the bills at first glance. However, dipping your toe into the pool of temporary work can give you several advantages compared to taking the first permanent employment you can find.
Reasons to Consider Temp Jobs
Why should you consider temp jobs?
- Flexibility. You might not like the first job you come across when you’re searching on your own. Temp jobs give you a chance to try different options in the short term rather than being committed for the long haul.
- Experience. Temporary jobs help you prove yourself in a work environment. Companies are often hesitant to directly hire someone if they have a criminal history or a not-so-stellar job history. The Job Post has developed a reputation for matching the right employee to the right job. Having a reputation as a unique temp agency helps because employers are willing to use their temp-to-hire option when otherwise they might not be.
Control. If everything works out, your employer might buy your contract and offer you a permanent position sooner than the 90-day requirement to work as a temp. Fantastic! At that point, you’re in the driver’s seat. You’ll know if the job is a fit for you, or if you would rather move on and try something else while chalking this one up to short-term experience.
How Using a Temp Agency Makes a Difference
A temp agency is normally the best way to find a temp job that meets your needs and interests. The sheer number of job opportunities that temp agencies can offer usually far outnumber what you will find if you’re applying directly to a company.
A temp job helps you find the right fit
Beyond that, a good temp agency can help you find a position where you fit in, both in terms of skills and your own personal preferences. Maybe you prefer second shift, or you like a fast-paced environment, or you want to increase your skills beyond entry-level. A temp agency will want to know all of those things, as well as who you are as a person, and what’s best for you before they try to place you in a position.
Temp work can help you find the right culture
You also have the ability to try before you buy! As you may have noticed, companies and cultures vary quite a bit for different types of manufacturing jobs — even if the job description is the same. Some companies are super clean, and others not-so-clean. Some employers may have different overtime and work-life balance expectations. These types of situations are much easier to sniff out once you’re on the job. And compared to direct placement, a temp agency is much more understanding of the need to find a good fit for your skills and preferences. In fact, finding the right fit is the specialty of any good temp agency.
A temp agency can save you time
A temp agency can save you time as well. Agencies have contacts with multiple employers that have temp jobs that you may qualify for immediately when you complete the vetting process. Overall, using a temp agency can save a lot of time finding the right job compared to knocking on individual doors or waiting for the right job to fall in your lap.
The Job Post – A Staffing Agency That’s Different
Not all temp agencies are cut from the same cloth, of course. The Job Post is a unique kind of temp agency. Some of the differences include:
A social enterprise of Guiding Light
This means that any “profits” that are earned by The Job Post go directly to support Guiding Light’s programs–programs that give back to the community. Some of the Guiding Light programs include:
- A Recovery Program, an intensive, 4- to 6-month drug and alcohol treatment program designed to give men structure and the opportunity to engage in change.
- Iron House, a sober-living, community-oriented apartment dwelling for men who have gone through the Recovery Program. Residents have jobs, buy their own food, pay their own bills, and engage with each other for support.
Many graduates of Guiding Light programs obtain temporary work through The Job Post. The temporary position often turns into a full-time position and a brighter future.
Giving back to the community
At The Job Post, both employers and employees give back to the community financially, sometimes without realizing it. By partnering with The Job Post as an employer, the staffing fee paid to obtain temporary employees goes back to the community through Guiding Light programs, creating a sustainable circle: rehabilitate, support, get back on their feet, obtain full-time work through The Job Post, profits go back to Guiding Light, and the circle starts over again.
Employees give back by getting off social assistance, earning their own paycheck instead of seeking assistance, and often personally contributing to the community out of gratefulness. Making it from such a disadvantaged situation to a temp job and then full-time work is a major accomplishment!
Additional support for workers
The Job Post supports temporary workers in a number of ways as they re-enter the workforce–by providing work gear, transportation, resume assistance, and more. They require employer partners to pay a liveable wage for their positions and have turned away more than one company that would not provide a high enough wage for their temp work.
Local partnerships
The Job Post also develops partnerships with local organizations like Goodwill to provide career coaching and preparation that gives people who have been convicted of a felony a leg up. The Goodwill Offender Success Program partnership is just one example of how The Job Post is a different type of temp agency, providing opportunities and tools to get back to work.
Using a temp agency can be one of the most rewarding ways to find temporary work that will get you through the short term, or even find a long term position that you truly enjoy. Whatever the pros and cons, giving temp work a chance is one of the easiest ways to invest in your future.
