Life of a temp...

awkwardamanda

Well-known member
I’ve been working for a staffing agency doing temp jobs for about two years. I feel stuck.

I finished university a long time ago and then got stuck in retail for too long. Job searching is brutal. My biggest hurdle was that my only potential references were the people I was still working for. And you’re not supposed to let your employer know that you’re job searching. Then again, they should know many of their staff are students and will likely find other jobs after graduating. Lucky for me the store eventually closed and that forced me to put more effort into job hunting. And I was able to ask two supervisors to give me a reference.

After nearly two years of hell, I got in with a staffing agency. They’ve kept me reasonably busy. I didn’t want to keep job hunting on my own at that point. I was so fed up with it so I thought I’d just take the opportunity to get some work experience, and hopefully something would go permanent eventually. Hasn’t happened yet. Some jobs last a day. Some last a few months. It’s gone fairly well.

The problem is I mostly do reception. Ugh. I hate phones. And yet somehow I’ve managed to be good at them. I’ve got the fake it till you make it thing down pat. I can act polite and friendly even though I’m really just quiet and aloof. Mostly I hate making calls. That can cause some anxiety. Answering phones isn’t so bad, but I still don’t like it. I’m happier in jobs when I’m not answering phones or dealing with people.

I also get bored easily. I’m a math major. I want to be crunching numbers and playing with spreadsheets. I’d like something more mentally stimulating than what I’ve been doing. The job I first applied for was more like that, but it’s mostly been stick to what you know. I realize I will likely have to just settle at some point, but I don’t want to settle for reception.

I went to one job doing data entry at a large financial institution. Data entry is nothing special either, but at least I was away from a front desk for three months. And there would have been career potential for once, but it was only a term during their busy season.

So anyway, I recently got sent to an interview for a job that’s coming up, but once again, it’s reception. It’s a term for a few months, but they’re hoping for someone permanent eventually and that’s where I have a problem. I’d do it anyway if it was just a term, but it’s a poor fit in the long run. I’m too much of an introvert and I’m likely to get bored. The interviewer basically said, you see everyone, they’re gonna stop and talk to you – if you’re more reserved it’s probably not the job for you, unless you can fake it. I’m capable though, because I can fake it. I just won’t be happy. I discussed this with the recruiter and she assured me I wouldn’t have to accept a permanent offer. It’s a term for now. It’s hard to know if there’s any long-term career potential without trying it out, but I kinda doubt it. I feel like I’m wasting my time and theirs if I don’t expect to like it. It seems okay at best. I’d be relieved if they picked someone else because I wouldn’t have to make the decision. I want to say no, but then I could turn it down and not work much for a while.

At this point, maybe I’m being too picky though. Like, maybe I should just take what I can get because at least I’d have a full time job. I’ve been doing this awhile and I’m starting to doubt anything half decent will ever come up. It feels like reception is all I’m good for. If I had a permanent job, at least I could move out. But then, I’d likely feel unfulfilled and just end up depressed.

Or maybe I should be looking on my own, but I feel stuck for the same reason I felt stuck in retail. Those references aren’t exactly relevant anymore. Plus, I haven’t kept in touch with them and it’s super awkward to call up someone you haven’t spoken to in ages asking for a favour. I’ve been to a lot of temp jobs but, a) I didn’t stay anywhere long enough for a reference to mean much, b) I can’t exactly use the agency’s clients while I’m still working for them, and c) I didn’t ask anyone anyway, for reasons a and b. While I was applying for jobs, I pretty well expected that I’d take what I could get, and then get bored in a couple of years, but be stuck just like before.

So, I’m just floating from job to job, hoping the next one is better and works out, but it never does. Not sure it ever will.
 

Megaten

Well-known member
Im kinda in a similar situation. I went and got a biology degree, but found out the hard way that unless I planned to go into grad school or something medical, I was gonna have a hard time. At least in my local area. A lot of employers near me want people with experience or at least a Masters. I got into the temp agency stuff too, and maybe its because Im a guy, but they kept giving me factory work. I spent most of my Summer packing underwear into boxes. I dont think youre being picky, you just want to do something that deals with what youre good at. Otherwise it feels like wasted potential. Its the main reason Im back in school trying to turn this degree into an actual job and not just a general field. Hopefully this works out or I dont know what Im gonna do with myself.
 

awkwardamanda

Well-known member
Im kinda in a similar situation. I went and got a biology degree, but found out the hard way that unless I planned to go into grad school or something medical, I was gonna have a hard time. At least in my local area. A lot of employers near me want people with experience or at least a Masters. I got into the temp agency stuff too, and maybe its because Im a guy, but they kept giving me factory work. I spent most of my Summer packing underwear into boxes. I dont think youre being picky, you just want to do something that deals with what youre good at. Otherwise it feels like wasted potential. Its the main reason Im back in school trying to turn this degree into an actual job and not just a general field. Hopefully this works out or I dont know what Im gonna do with myself.

The experience thing is an issue regardless of what you studied. Everyone wants relevant experience. The experience I'm getting isn't directly related to what I'd like to be doing. General office experience is a start though. Lots of people do work that's not really related to their education. That's okay because there are skills you can take way from school that may be indirectly helpful. But, some people would like to work in the field they studied, while others don't care so much. At the right company (this is key), something like reception or data entry could be a good foot in the door.

And you kinda touched on something I didn't mention in my post above, which is (perhaps unintentional) sexism. This isn't just an agency thing, but the reality is that some fields/jobs are male-dominated while others are female-dominated. At my agency, you have to separately apply for labour (i.e. factory) work or office work. Some apply for both. More men than women apply for and do labour work. But men are often stronger and more likely to want to do labour work. I think it's fairly even for office. However, this is only a guess, but I doubt too many guys get sent to do reception. That's stereotypically a female job. It's likely mostly women who apply for reception jobs. And somehow I doubt many young men are encouraged to take a reception job and work their way up. No, they'll start with some other entry level job instead.
 

Megaten

Well-known member
The experience thing is an issue regardless of what you studied. Everyone wants relevant experience. The experience I'm getting isn't directly related to what I'd like to be doing. General office experience is a start though. Lots of people do work that's not really related to their education. That's okay because there are skills you can take way from school that may be indirectly helpful. But, some people would like to work in the field they studied, while others don't care so much. At the right company (this is key), something like reception or data entry could be a good foot in the door.

And you kinda touched on something I didn't mention in my post above, which is (perhaps unintentional) sexism. This isn't just an agency thing, but the reality is that some fields/jobs are male-dominated while others are female-dominated. At my agency, you have to separately apply for labour (i.e. factory) work or office work. Some apply for both. More men than women apply for and do labour work. But men are often stronger and more likely to want to do labour work. I think it's fairly even for office. However, this is only a guess, but I doubt too many guys get sent to do reception. That's stereotypically a female job. It's likely mostly women who apply for reception jobs. And somehow I doubt many young men are encouraged to take a reception job and work their way up. No, they'll start with some other entry level job instead.

Yeah unfortunately men arent encouraged to do that. Which I find frustrating. Im not a heavy manual labor type guy. Even the job Im working towards now is geared towards women. I almost did nursing but I cant handle all the patient interaction.
 

awkwardamanda

Well-known member
I reluctantly took the job. I was hoping they'd like someone else better but I guess not. I agreed to a term but there is no way in hell I would want this job permanently. It's only been a few days and I can tell already I'm gonna get bored. I spend the bulk of my day just printing and sorting invoices. Yeah, cause that's why I spent six years busting my ***, trying to learn math.:kickingmyself: I feel like my mind is going to waste. The only upside to this job is that at least it's work for a while. I can't even see it being a good learning experience. There is definitely no career potential here.

I was on my way to the bus after work today and I spotted a guy from university who I had a huge crush on.:shyness: (And by "had" I mean I'm still a nervous wreck around him years later.) He has a good job at the above mentioned financial institution. Only half-decent job I've been to and I had to deal with that tease. I was so afraid of bumping into him. I didn't want to have an awkward conversation and admit to being the lowly temp. Then again, I would have liked to hear more about his job. There were a few near misses (like today) but I would have just froze if I had been face to face with him. I'm jealous of people like him - intelligent people who manage to find career success.
 
Last edited:
Top