How I Look for Work as a Temporary Employee
I work at a construction site as a temporary employee.
I imagine that most people who work as temporary agency employees are affiliated with a single agency and take on jobs referred to them by that agency, but my situation is a little different.
I make a point of staying in close contact with several staffing agencies that I can always rely on.
The reason is that if you’ve established relationships with multiple staffing agencies, you can hear about the job openings each agency currently has available, which gives you more options. The assignment I’m currently working on was also ultimately chosen from among candidates proposed by three staffing agencies.
However, to take this approach, a relationship of trust with the staffing agency is essential. I make a point of exchanging information with them not just when I’m looking for work, but at all times; when I am job hunting, I’m completely honest about the fact that I’m applying to multiple companies simultaneously, and I make sure to keep them updated on my progress.
A regular employee of a general contractor, or a temporary worker?
Every now and then, I hear employees at general contractors looking at the temporary workers and saying, “It looks like things are better over there (for the temps).” I guess that’s just the “the grass is always greener on the other side” mentality.
But I get the feeling that the overwhelming majority of people say this just on a whim—they just want to escape their current situation, regardless of whether they’re temp workers or not!
Let me be blunt: even if you quit your current job at a general contractor with that mindset and sign up with a temp agency, you’ll probably get a fair amount of work—but you’ll inevitably end up thinking, “I really do prefer the stability of being a general contractor employee after all.”
Even when considering compensation as a criterion, temporary work involves periods when you may be out of work, so things don’t always go exactly as you’d like. What’s more, if you don’t have the necessary skills, you might not even receive any job offers at all.
This isn't to say that one is necessarily better than the other—whether you're a regular employee at a general contractor or a temporary worker—but if you prioritize benefits, it's probably safer to stay on as a regular employee. That's because you can count on a steady income and bonuses, and as long as you don't make any major mistakes, you can keep your job within the organization.
I can't do that myself, but I don't condemn that way of life! I think it's fine for everyone to live their own way.
Guidelines for Temporary Employees
As a temporary worker assigned to various job sites, you need far greater skills to adapt and meet any demand than you would as a salaried employee at a typical general contractor.
Even among construction sites run by the same general contractor, work procedures can vary significantly. The emphasis placed on design documents, construction drawings, and construction management also differs, as do corporate cultures and common practices.
While this may seem obvious to someone who has always worked for a single organization, when you work as a temporary employee and gain insight into the inner workings of various general contractors, you begin to see the differences between them, as well as their respective strengths and weaknesses. Learning about and understanding those differences, and then identifying the best course of action from among them, is the true thrill of being a temporary employee.
However, many people within the organization are convinced that their way of doing things is the only way! While this presents an opportunity to learn various methods, it’s also a challenge. Even when you feel that a decision is clearly wrong, you’ll likely find yourself struggling with how much you should set aside your own judgment to follow those instructions.
If you’re the kind of person who finds joy in learning new things—such as technical skills or work methods—then this might be a good fit for you. However, if you’re not interested in adapting to changing circumstances, you’ll likely find yourself at a loss and unable to make the most of your abilities, even if you work as a temporary employee at various general contractors.
To work as a temporary employee, the first and most important thing is that you have to be able to do the job. Please keep this in mind above all else!
Furthermore, no matter what your position may be, as long as you have the ability to take the initiative and act on your own—rather than simply being told what to do—you can be confident that a way forward will open up.
