I signed up with a temp agenecy because I need money. I went through the interview process, they have my resume, and they have what hours I am available.
They tell me they have “all kinds of stuff” they can post me on. I say “Awesome”because I have bills to pay and kids to feed”. I say “send me whatever you have, I need the work”.
Then nothing. Nada. Zip. For over three weeks.
So, I call. I ask “Where are all these postings you said you had for me?”
They say “Well, you’re overqualified for most of what we have, so we haven’t bothered to contact you.”
Which part of “I need the work” do you not get? I could understand if I said “send me the things I am qualified for”, or if I was looking for something in my field, but I was very clear about the “whatever you have” part.
Jesus, I can work for 2 weeks digging a ditch if I have to! I registered with an agency to help me get over the hump while I wait for something because I don’t want to take a permanent job and then quit because something better comes along!
And to mke things more annoying, they apparently have a clause in the paperwork that says you can’t be registered with another temp agency while you’re with THEM. I guess I should have read the damned thing…
—About to break a contract in order to get one…
This article appears in Oct 15-21, 2009.
how is anybody “overqualified” for a temp job? This is a totally valid bitch IMO
I’ve always suspected that “overqualified” was a eupehmism for being to “old” ie: informed, having better ideas about how to do things, aware of one’s rights, etc. —anyone older than 25 an not obviously exploitable.
It is frustrating, but please don’t lose hope. I wish you the best in your job search.
Since you cant be registered with another agency, apply to a different agency and dont list all of your qualifications, DONT tell either and accept what ever job either of them offer you…….I did this and it totally worked and I got a job immediately.
How long are you stuck with them? There must be a cutoff date. Or, just leave them altogether claiming you found permanent work. Then go to the other agencies that don’t have that clause. When I was temping, I was signed onto two places, gave me more diversity in work. I got a permanent placement from one of my temp jobs, so they are a good resource for finding a job.
Don’t know what to say about the overqualified claim. Sounds like they’re blowing smoke up your ass for some other reason they don’t want to tell you. It’s not like temp agencies are solely for low experienced workers, only. I remember applying at one agency and they sent me a letter denying me stating that they didn’t have work for my area of expertise. Really? I do office work, nothing fancy, just plain ol’ office work, something like admin assistants or a clerk, and that’s what this place specialized in. Guess my two years experience I had at that time wasn’t enough for them. They could at least be honest about why they didn’t want me. I didn’t believe that excuse for a minute.
Actually, you have a Chartered right to earn a living working in your field, clause or no clause. Unfortunately, if you were actually placed by the company who’s had you sign into an exclusivity agreement and they learned you were holding down some other undisclosed job it’s probably just cause for dismissal, but if you’re not actually placed by the agency no contract is going to prevent you from earning your daily bread on legal grounds. No, I’m not a lawyer, just somebody who has worked for a living for a long time. The issue comes up where non-competition agreements are concerned. Even if you sign no business entity can legally or contractually prevent you from working in your field when you’re unemployed.
“Over-qualified” would indicate a potential for long term employment. If it’s unlikely the candidate would accept a full time role as a result of a temporary placement the candidate is unsuitable. Them’s the breaks and that’s the biz. OP, do as Frenchie says. Lie. It’s YOUR daily bread, man! Do what you have to do and don’t let anyone slow you down.
kay you’re wrong as usual.
over qualified = they are afraid if they put you there you’ll get bored and leave and then they’ll have to put someone else there.
and their non-compete doesn’t mean anything if they aren’t giving you work, what are they going to do, let you go for not doing your non-job?
also, some advice from someone who has done a lot of temp work (and i would suspect with the same company) call them once a week, the best day is Thursday, to remind them that you’re looking for something and you don’t care what. they will place you quickly after that.
Why do people not read the fine print? Why do people still bother with temp agencies? Argh.
I’ve had good and bad experiences with temp agencies… mostly good. I have been told I am “overqualified” before even talking to the agency about what I am looking for. The best response is “overqualified only counts if you are trying to find me something permanent, since you are placing me in positions under a month in duration, my overqualifications won’t be an issue”.
People bother with temp agencies, because in some cases, like mine, they lead to full time permanent employment. Get your head out of your ass refinedsugar. It’s better than flipping burgers or bumming on the streets.
BRoc is right; some positions do lead to full time. The objective of a ‘temp agency’ is “recruitment” not seasonal work.
I bothered with a temp agency because I needed a roof and food and nobody else would hire me.
Going back to flipping burgers because you can’t find anything in your field even when you have your degree which you paid a lot and worked fucking hard for, especially after flipping burgers already for several years and vowing to never have to go back to those types of jobs, sucks. I am currently living that nightmare. Would you like fries with that?
Ohh, but I forgot, it’s all my fault… some how. Sorry my dad doesn’t work in the field I work in and can’t pull the right strings to get me a job. I guess all those so-called professionals and previous professors who’ve told me that my cover letter and resume is fine and that I’m “bound to get something soon, just keep at it” (which I still am by the way) must’ve lied to me. Ohh, I know, it’s my negative attitude, isn’t it? Yep, because: A. Since I’m bitching on LTWWB, I must be a negative loser like this all the time, and B. being un/underemployed for the past six months is such a big confidence booster.
Yes, I’m bitter. So shoot me!
Not trying to be sarcastic qpmz, but have you tried the temp agencies? Some office jobs start at $10/hour.
Ever try dumbing down your resume? I know it’s a bit counter productive, but if you trim down the bullshit stuff like what you majored in in university (unless it applies to the job you’re applying for) and what programs you did in university. Try trimming your work experience to your last two jobs. After that, it’s either intimidating to potential employers or just secondary anyways. Avoid words in your resume like “challenge” and “team-oriented” because it’s likely that if you’re gonna be working for a temp agency you’re gonna be doing a job solo. Just some helpful pointers. That’ll avoid “over-qualification” and if they do an assessment to see what job would suit you best, it just looks like you’re a talented worker, and therefore more desirable.
Dr. Fever:
Although I get what you’re saying, in my own experience, “dumbing down” can bite you in the ass, as then there’s nothing to make you stand out from the other 100 people who have similar experience to yours. As long as you’re selective, it *could* work…
For example, if you consistently take courses to better yourself, you should leave those on a resume, because it shows you’re willing to learn and grow.
But if you’ve been in the workforce for 20 years, you could highlight the last 5-10 years and put something at the end of the resume like “experience and references prior to (date) available on request”.
If you are an experienced manager, but aren’t necessarily looking for a management position , you could put that in your “skills” section instead of work experience, that way it’s there but it’s not the first thing your temp placers (and their clients) see.
There are a few ways around this issue, but generally if your temp agency is saying they’re not sending you short-term gigs because you’re overqualified, go find a new temp agency.
I hate to say it BRoc, but 10 bucks an hour isn’t that great. Works out to barely 20 grand a year and temp workers generally have no benefits so….
There are two reasons I can see why employers won’t hire someone who’s overqualified: 1. They know that once something better comes along these workers will leave to take it (which, they’re not exactly WRONG in assuming) and 2. Supervisors might be threatened by the over qualifications of the applicant — in some cases the qualifications can exceed their own so they might feel like that is a threat to their authority/position.
What sucks is the fact that the jobs that pay 10-12 bucks an hour in call centres, administrative support positions, etc… won’t hire someone who’s over qualified, but burger joints and grocery stores are so desperate for workers they will so you’ve got those with too many qualifications working shitty ass service positions and those with less qualifications making more working in an office (which is A LOT better than flipping burgers). It’s pretty fucked up.
Isn’t minimum wage close to $10/h now? What is minimum wage?? $10-12 per hour sounds terrible….I think minimum wage was almost at 6 or 7 dollars when I was in high school 15 years ago!! If it’s not up to $10 by now there is something wrong!!
its like 8.40 now. there is no way it was 6 or 7 when you were in high school if it was 15 years ago by the way, it was barely 6 in 2003
hmmmmm….maybe I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure my first job was $5.75 at least and that would have been 92 or 93…so if it only increased .25 cents in 10 years there’s still a huge problem with the system…
Lori, that sounds about right. I think I was making about $5.45 or $5.65/hr around that same time. The province is look to get min wage closer to $10/hr by the end of next year apparently:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story…
I think minimum wage should be a living wage, but let’s not kid ourselves…a min wage job shouldn’t be a career. It’s for high school students and unskilled labour. Unless we all want to start paying more for hamburgers we shouldn’t hike minimum wage up too high. If our population is over educated for min wage jobs then maybe we are dropping the ball on supporting industries that actually take advantaged of our skilled workforce.
I know the minimum wage in early/mid 1998 was $5.50 an hour. After working 6 years at a certain “local” grocery chain, I was making around what the Highfield centre was starting at, and full time hours to boot which was great for someone broke and fresh out of school. Sadly, 5 years later, the starting wage is actually less and minimum wage has almost caught up. Call centres aren’t what they used to be as far as pay goes, and the applicants seem to be getting younger and younger, likely due to the “competitive” wages.
Ah well, that’s in the past. As for you OP, keep chasing the agency if they have nothing for you. At least they’ll think of you when someone requests an “eager” worker. Good luck in the hunt.
Pretty Kitty, you’re right to a point. But, we’re talking about a temp agency, those reasons wouldn’t apply, because by it’s very nature, the OP is only going to be at a placement a short while. If they’re willing to work at a job that’s below their skill level, that should be the OP’s choice, the agency has got to know that at some point, the probability of the OP getting a permanent job, is likely.
Miles, since your brought it up, I’d like to question the “unskilled labour” tag, that I’ve often wondered about. What is unskilled labour? I think any job requires some type of skill, even if it’s just people skills while taking orders at a fast food counter. To belittle that, isn’t right. I know I always sucked at retail because I was too shy to approach customers, therefore, I had no selling skills, but by the defined label, retail is considered “unskilled”. I don’t think an education or trade training is the be-all to well paid employment. All employment requires some skill that somebody else doesn’t have.
Well, I consider unskilled labour to be that which you can do with limited on the job training and for which you don’t need a degree or diploma. A carpenter would be a skilled lablourer, his assistant who lugs shingles up to the roof is not. A farmer is a skilled labourer while a strawberry picker is not.
You are right that every job has requires some competency and some people are better able to do some “unskilled” jobs than others. But there are always going to be lots of “qualified” unskilled labourers in the workforce to do those jobs, so employers don’t have to offer competitive wages. Also, employers should have low expectations for retaining unskilled labourers for long periods of time. Any unskilled worker who demonstrates aptitude for a given job is usually moved into a position with more responsibility or at least given a raise.
One of the problems today is that people (many of them overqualified) are getting trapped in these min wage jobs because the appropriate jobs don’t exist here. That, I think, is a shame and the fault of the province for not taking advantage of the workforce we have here. Imagine what this city and province could accomplish if all of the people we trained and educated here could actually ply their trades here.
Okay, makes sense. I still think it’s a flawed term, but at least I can see where you’re coming from.
I also agree that minimum wage should be a livable wage. That’ll never happen, though. The government would sooner dole out welfare cheques than require employers to pay decent wages. I’m happy it’s increased a number of times in recent years. Last time I worked minimum wage was 1990, and it was $5, to think that it hasn’t even doubled that amount in almost twenty years, is insane.
TDF…Why did you think they called minimum wager earners “the working poor”
But it is a vicious cycle, pay higher wages, costs go up…, but it seems to me, that even if they don’t pay higher wages the costs still go up !
Temp agencies sign up as many people as they possibly can. That way when they are contacted by a company looking for temp workers, the agency can say that they have a huge number of people in stock. It makes them look better that way.
Not sure about the whole temp thing, but for those with a uni degree and still doing the whole “entry level” burger stuff (qpmz)? NOBODY promised that your education would be the ticket to the good times. If you have a legit complaint about your situation, come on here and explain EXACTLY what your degree is in, and what you are actually looking for in the way of work. I suspect that there is a mis-match between your education and the available jobs here in Halifax. Not getting interviews? you’re applying for stuff that you’re not qualified for, or you’re being screened out because there is a red flag on your resume (employment gaps, job hopper, numerous spelling mistakes, no indication on your cover letter that you have done ANY research whatsoever into the company that you are applying to). Getting interviews but not getting the position? You’re doing something wrong in the interview (not appearing to be answering honestly is a big one).
Come on folks, if you are going to come on here and bitch about not being able to find work in your field, be honest about what the field is, and a little about your background, so that we can either (a) emphathize and sympathize, and maybe even give you some tips on where to look, or (b) tell you that you are full of it and one of those pesky Gen Ys who thinks that the world owes them $75K and 5 weeks vacation to start because they spent a few years at uni. Give me a break.
Get postin’