Working With Staffing Agencies To Improve Your Resume
Staffing agencies are a great way to find employment quickly and build up your experience especially if you are a recent graduate or want to diversify your experience. There are some draw backs to working with employment agencies which we will touch on but in my opinion the risks outweigh the benefits greatly. Not all staffing agencies work the same way and a few ones tend to give the staffing industry a bad rep.
How do Staffing agencies work?
Staffing agencies work with a variety of different companies to whom they supply employees to either on a temporary basis or directly acting as an outsourced Human Resource Department. Depending on the needs of the companies they work with temporary positions can last anywhere from a few days to months and even years.
Companies love to work with staffing firms because it reduces their costs dramatically. They do not have to post job descriptions, take time reviewing resumes and interviewing. They do not have to pay benefits to employees, payroll taxes, injuries or unemployment once the contract ends. Besides the cost savings the real benefit comes from being able to try out employees to see if they are a right fit and have the option of hiring this person on full time after a certain am amount of time has passed.
The way a staffing agency makes money is that they operate on margins. For example let’s say that you got an administrative position through a temporary agency and they are paying you $15 per hour. The staffing agency actually charges the company roughly anywhere from 30 to 60% more per hour, so they may charge the company $21 per hour that you work there. They keep the $6 profit per hour. Before you start whining and complaining consider that they are taking all the burden of injuries, taxes, and unemployment.
Benefits of working with Staffing Agencies
Staffing agencies have strong relationships with big companies and can quickly bypass the traditional recruitment process and get us a foot into the door. Microsoft, Amazon, Google are all famous for using staffing agencies and that is just here in Seattle. It’s easier to get temporary positions with these firms than it is to be hired on through traditional channels. A few months even if it is a short term contract can do wonders for your resume and your career path.
Having a temporary position on your resume is normal nowadays and will not be a red flag if the position is short. On the other hand if you got a position through normal means and you spend only a few months there it would look really bad.
Strong experience builder, having a few contracts at a few different firms can quickly build up your experience with reputable companies which can be leveraged to gain that position that you really want.
Once a contract concludes you are eligible for unemployment which is a peace of mind and should relive the anxiety of a temporary position.
You can be hired on permanently after your contract is finished. During those few months the employer can assess your performance, how you get along with everybody and your potential. At a certain point its costs less to hire a person then to keep them on through a staffing agency so this is a great way to prove yourself and get a permanent positions afterwards.
Disadvantage of working with Staffing Agencies
The main disadvantage is the lack of benefits, most staffing agencies do provide benefits but the plans are not very comprehensive and they will be deduced from your paychecks. Most people opt not to choose a benefit plan.
The company can terminate the contract at any time, meaning that they can tell you that a contract will last for six months but the truth is that this is not set in stone. A project could complete before time, the company might not want to spend the money etc.
You may not be hired on afterwards. This is always a though one especially if you like the position and the pay. I can tell you that next time around you are very likely to be hired on again for this company or the company may even request you to come back.
Our next post will include how to work with staffing recruiters to make sure that they present your resume and market you above everybody else. An in-depth guide on working with staffing agencies to strategically leverage a staffing agency to build up your resume and your career path. To receive a notification when our guide is published simply fill out the form below.
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