How to Temp with Confidence

In searching the internet for resources to pass on to our readers. I found this great article on eHow.

How to Temp with Confidence
By lbothell, eHow Member

Whether you temp (or do contract work) by career choice, as a stop gap to finding a permanent position, or as a fill-in between classes, you can be a temping ace. With the ups and downs in the job market, your attitude and professionalism will determine whether or not you get called for the best temp jobs. You need to represent your agency favorably and to encourage both commendations and callback opportunities.

Step 1
Know why you are temping and be excited about it. If you hate temping, it will show. This separates the ace temps from the forgettable ones who don’t get callbacks. Some of the strongest temps are those who have chosen the flexibility and variety that temp life offers, while the more challenged temps project that they are filling in until they can get a ‘real’ job. Temping is a free education - more than that, you actually get paid to meet potential employers, engage in different types of business, and to learn whole new skill sets.

Step 2
Do what you say and say only what you’ll do, so you can offer reliability and professionalism. No assignment is too low or menial if you choose to accept it. If you believe the pay is much too low or the commute is too far, don’t accept the assignment. If you really can’t stand certain kinds of work or a specific environment, don’t accept the assignment

Step 3
Know your limits and keep it professional. If you accept an assignment that doesn’t prove to be all that you hoped, never let the employer see your disappointment. Never pre-terminate without discussing the situation with your agency rep so that s/he can ease the client’s transition to another temp. This will help the employer keep production going, and your agency will preserve a valuable client.

Step 4
Be prepared going in. Prepare your own sheet of basic questions for the first ten minutes you spend with the client supervisor. You’ll look confident and competent if you verify your schedule, the locations of amenities (water, coffee, restrooms), assignment information (like who will sign your timesheet), and specifics of the job itself. Keep notes on the equipment you use, any passwords you are given, and contact names. Present your timecard well before the end of the working day on which you need it signed. All this will help you look more organized and professional than the client expects.

Step 5
Add value for your client. Do the job you are given, ask for more, and fine tune whatever you do. For instance, perhaps you are given a computer and a phone, plus an old or messy phone list of department contacts. Redo the phone list - primarily so you can actually use it. However, leave a clean copy for the original employee, and forward a copy to your agency for the next temp. Draft a few procedures and task expectations for the next temp, and fax or e-mail a copy to your agency for their records (and keep one for your own). In slow times, use available tutorials and resources to learn new skills, and test them on more complex tasks. Finally, use your slow time wisely with educational and business-oriented research and reading. If you are ever queried, you can say (and truly mean) that you are brushing up so you can do more.

Step 6
Promote yourself. When you get a compliment, ask the client to pass it on to your agency. This is easy to do if you explain that such calls help your agency know they are serving the client properly, and will help make successful matches on future assignments. After you leave, send a brief thank-you card to the supervisor you worked with, with the agency’s contact information. Check in with your agency and note that you would like to see any callbacks awarded with a higher pay rate - especially if you received compliments and/or assignment extensions. (As a side note, please keep in mind that DISCOVER STAFFING does not establish the pay rates for our positions; the individual client does. We will do what we can to get a more competative pay rate for our good employees, but often that amount is not our decision.)

Contact DISCOVER STAFFING to learn more about the temporary positions we staff.

North Fulton Area: alpharetta@discoverstaffing.com
Gwinnett Area: gwinnett@discoverstaffing.com