Questions about temp jobs

[lizerdbits]

We're hiring where I work and one of the candidates has several jobs that are just a few months and in one case one month. When asked about it she said they were temp positions which I know from my last job hunt were often for 3-6 months sometimes with the potential to become permanent.

So I'm wondering how likely it is for someone who repeatedly doesn't seem to get hired permanently or for very long? Sometimes you just stay until the project/contract is finished and they don't have any opportunities to hire you permanently, so obviously no matter how good you are you have to find something else. The whole temp agency thing was new to me when I was looking in the summer of 2006 so I'm not familiar with how likely it is to have about 6 jobs in 3 years. But the fact that someone's longest employment stint was 14 months was a little disconcerting.

Any thoughts? This is biotech, so it may depend on the industry.

[Ptah]

1. Not all temp jobs turn into permanent hires.

That's why they are temporary.

If the person has the skills, I say give her a chance.

[lizerdbits]

4. She was our favorite of the 2 interviews today

I think it will be her references, they will say if her work is good. As I noted below her last job ended in Nov. 2007 so we shouldn't get a fake 'get her out of our lab' reference. We also have 2 more candidates this week and there are 2 slots.

[TZ]

2. Sounds like you have a

"Dan" candidate there (remember him?). I know you are well aware of my history...But for the benefit of all..I'm at my fourth position in less than 2 years...Its possible this person has not found the right fit and/or bad luck with places who don't want to hire permanently. I also know from my temping that some people just really like temping...they don't get bored....:)

on edit: how come you didn't come to MOI stuck in temp hell directly with this question, ha? (okay feeling insecure tonight)...:hi:

[lizerdbits]

3. I was lucky to find anything that wasn't a temp job

It seriously was the only one that wasn't temp, even most of the PhD positions are temp.

That's what I'm trying to figure out since I know it's possible to not have the positions become permanent. Since the temp agency thing is relatively new to me I'm trying to figure out how often it happens that people don't seem to get hired permanently over and over- obviously it happens to people with reproducible results. It's certainly not always a factor of ability. A lot of the temp jobs are boring and repetitive so she may have decided to not stay after the alloted time. I'm not the decision maker (my boss is) so I personally won't talk to her references to discuss the quality of her work. And since her last position ended in Nov. 2007 it's not like she'll get a glowing reference by someone who wants to get rid of her.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. It is not at all unusual for a temp exmployee to change jobs every few weeks

and to spend years being assigned to jobs that have NO potential at all for permanent hire.

That's why companies use temp employees.

Your apprehensions are - if I might be allowed a bit of metaphor (simile? analogy? I've been drinking, so I don't know) - like blaming a guy who hies from Mexico for not being German.

[Yavin4]

6. It Depends on the State of Your Particular Industry

If demand for employees is high and this candidate wanted to work permanent, then you should think twice. I have a mixture of temp and permanent assignments on my resume, but I worked permanent for the past two years.

Ask her references why this candidate was not offered a permanent job.

[Generic Brad]

7. Maybe the agency stinks, not the employee