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Subject:Re: Temps are people too! From:Jane Bergen <janeber -at- CYBERRAMP -dot- NET> Date:Tue, 6 Oct 1998 19:11:17 -0500
Laura Lockhart said:
> Thank you, Mike Uhl, for coming to the defense of the
> unsung temps out =
> there. Several years ago I gave up a "permanent" job as a
> documentation =
> editor for a consulting firm (which will go unnamed)
> because the money was =
> lousy, the hours were lousy, and the stress was unbearable.
> I eventually =
> found myself in the temp world, where, if I may be so bold
> to say, I often =
> blew away the people I was working for. I'd even get calls
All of which kind of proves the point of the original message. If you
"blew away" your supervisors, then you were clearly an
exception....not the norm. Many (if not a majority of) temps are temps
because they a) want experience, b) want no personal investment in the
job, or c) are killing time while they look for something else. That's
not to say that any of those reasons are bad....but employers just
need to understand the game up front. If a temp really is a go-getter,
trained in use of several tools, works well with minimal supervision,
and takes a real interest in the job, then great. But remember that
he/she is not getting benefits, perks, or anything else, either. It
works both ways.
And by the way, we should make it clear that "temp" does not equal
"contractor"! Big difference.
