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Temp Jobs - what are temp jobs? by Scott Boyd

So you want a temp job, huh?

I spent 3 years in temp jobs before I got into web design and it's not the glamorous lifestyle all the glossy magazines make it out to be.  Ah no wait, that's life as a porn star.  Let's not go into that.  Moving swiftly on....

In a temp job your daily routine is fairly set.

You go to work, you do your job (which will usually consist of doing the same thing over and over again), then you go home.

You might get into a larger organisation which offers a flexi-time scheme (you have to work 35 hours a week, and between 10am and 4pm - so one day you could work till 6pm so you can leave on a Friday at 4pm to go to the pub!), which is quite handy at times.

There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to temp jobs though:

Advantages of temp jobs

• Useful way of gaining experience in different areas of business.

• No long term commitment to one company.

• Usually get flexible hours.

• After a few temp jobs (where you prove yourself to the recruitment agency), getting some more temp jobs is pretty easy.

• You meet lots of different people.  The social life can be good if there are a lot of temps in one company.

• If you get a temp job after graduating, you can impress lots of people with your skills!

• If you do impress lots of people, one of them might offer a decent permanent job.

• Not a bad wage (not great either!) (£5.50 upwards per hour) for what you are doing.

Disadvantages of temp jobs

• No job security.

• Larger companies may treat the office furniture better than they treat you (they paid more for the office furniture!).

• No sick pay (well there is, but you have to be off for a certain amount of time and provide a doctors note).  If you're only off a couple of days with a cold or something, you don't get paid for those days.

• No benefits package.  No holidays.

• Going from assignment to assignment, you have a tendency to be bumped onto emergency tax, which whips off 25% of your pay for the first few weeks.

• You may have gaps in employment on a regular basis.

• Mostly dull and unchallenging work (although if you make an effort to ask for more, even the most dull job can be a good learning experience).

• You can get fired (excuse me, "have your contract terminated ") without any notice at all.  You have very little employee rights as a temp.

• Recruitment Agencies are unlikely to find you permanent work if you are on a temp job through them (they make as much as you do from your assignment!).

• You will get the feeling, time and time again, that you can do your managers job better than he or she can.  And you're probably right!  But the minute you tell them, you will be fired have your contract terminated.

• What started out as an attempt at getting experience may turn, without warning, into a career.  Continue striving towards your ideal job, or you'll be a temp forever!

At the end of the day it's a mixed bag!

The benefits lie for the people who haven't got the experience they need to do what they want.  You use temp jobs as a means to give you a step up (ie, get the experience, get the skills, get the references).

It's good for people who's ideal job is office based.  If you can get in at the ground floor in a company that operates in the industry you want to work in, then you're laughing!

Temp jobs can start people off in their career and can be good for those who want flexible hours.  You really have to make your own mind up though.

Good Luck!

Regards

Scott Boyd - Webmaster and Founder - Jobseekers Advice

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