EMPLOYMENT Temp jobs open opportunities for permanent posts

Seeing temporary workers in action helps employers screen potential hires.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Sharon Robinson had never really thought about working at a temporary job. But the Plainfield, Ill., woman was forced to consider it after her husband was transferred to the Chicago area from Plymouth, Mich., almost two years ago.
"I had worked [in Michigan] in human resources, but I was having trouble finding a job in my field when we got to Chicago," Robinson recalled.
Robinson had also worked as a substitute teacher, so she asked Kelly Services, a temporary-job placement firm, about a temp job in the educational field. But she didn't have to settle for her second choice. "I told [the Kelly interviewer] that my first love is HR, so she told me about a human-resources opening at Petco in Joliet," Robinson said. "I said, 'Yeah, show me the way.'"
That temp job filled by Robinson in August 2001 turned into a permanent job four months later, when she was hired as a full-time assistant in Petco's human-resources department.
"They liked my work so much that they decided to create a full-time position for me," Robinson said. "I wouldn't change a thing about my job."
'Foot in the door'
Success stories like Robinson's aren't exactly commonplace in the temp field. But with the unemployment rate rising in April to 6 percent and the Labor Department reporting that the economy shed more than 48,000 jobs in April alone (124,000 were lost in March), employment experts are encouraging those who don't have jobs to consider a temp position, because it could lead to a permanent job.
"It's absolutely a foot in the door," said Linda Paulk, president of Snelling Personnel Services, a Dallas-based job placement service.
"With so many people unemployed, people need to take the temp positions, because those are the positions where you can network and learn a new business," Paulk said. "And if you're doing a great job as a temp, companies will think about you when they're hiring full time."
"A lot of the businesses we work with want to 'try before they buy,'" said Mike Farrell, a branch manager for Gurnee, Ill.-based Manpower Associates, which recruits employees for technology, engineering, chemistry and health-care companies. "But it also gives the employees a chance to feel out the company, so it works both ways."
Businesses in need
Agency officials say there continues to be a demand for temp workers to fill health-care, information technology, secretarial and light manufacturing jobs. And there's always a demand for temporary workers to fill seasonal retail jobs during the busy holiday periods.
Employers say they appreciate the "temp-to-hire" process. "You're paying a premium to the job placement agency for finding the worker, and that can be 15 to 20 percent of the person's salary," said Mike Kelly, director of human resources for Durham, N.C.-based Liggett-Vector Brands, a tobacco manufacturer.
"But the advantage is that you get pre-screened candidates," Kelly said. "The cost of hiring wrong is much higher if you don't go through an agency that can do some screening for you."
Still, temporary positions, like permanent jobs, are also stagnant in today's economy. There were just under 2.7 million so-called "help supply service" jobs (which included temporary positions and the staffs of temporary agencies) listed by the U.S. Department of Labor in February.
That's roughly the same amount of temp jobs reported nationally at the same time last year, and many fewer than the annual average of about 3.5 million temp positions that were filled in 2000.
Although a lot of people prefer temping, government statistics show that 52 percent of nonpermanent employees would have preferred a full-time position.
"We have a large number of employees who want things like benefits and prefer the permanent status," Farrell said.
Enjoying the freedom
Others, however, like the freedom of a temporary position. Farrell said, "Some employees like the contractor or temp lifestyle because it offers them more flexibility and the opportunity to move from company to company."
Snelling's Paulk thinks temp workers will be the first ones considered when companies end their hiring freezes. She suggests that temp workers use their time wisely.
"I suggest that they continue to display the strongest of work ethics and willingness to serve, flexibility, eagerness to learn and get the job done," Paulk said. "And they should consider this to be their audition for a permanent job."
Other employers say that it's important for a temp worker to become actively involved with office culture, which can help them land a permanent job when one is available.