Job hunting question

[redbird]

Is there anything special I should do with my resume, or in the job-hunting process, because the current job is through a temp agency? I've been in the same place for six months now, but if someone calls the personnel department there, they'll probably be told that my employer has never heard of me, because technically I work for Lloyd Staffing, not PCH. (It's possible Andrea would say "Oh, yes, Vicki, I know her", but I can't count on that, and she might not be the one to get that call.)

Comments

[sraun]

I have done something like:

Jan - Jun 2000: XYZ Corp (assigned from Temps, Inc)

It hasn't actually mattered so far - my last three jobs I got by coming in as a temp (not a temp-to-hire!), and getting hired on as a regular employee. And then stayed for several years. So I write my resume as time at Company X, and include 'started as temp for {period} before being hired as a regular employee'. If a new employer asked about the discrepancy, I'd point at that sentence then point them at the temp agency.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I would list the temp agency as your employer, and if you haven't signed some sort of non-disclosure agreement with PCH, then list them as the client/assignment in the body of the write-up. Potential new employers who just want to confirm your employment over that time should be contacting the Temp firm, not the client. If you want to use someone in PCH as a reference, then list them by their direct contact information amongst your references. Around these parts, a certain Redmond-based, internationally known software firm does tend to require NDAs, and so when listing experience temping with them, one usually has to refer to them by coy descriptions, but that may be less common in other industries.

[wilfulcait.livejournal.com]

I'd second the above suggestion -- figure out exactly who at the current employer you would like to be your reference, get their okay, and then put their direct contact information down. All that the temp company can say is that you showed up regularly and nobody complained -- they can't speak to the quality of your work or the pleasure you give those around you as a co-worker.

[bugsybanana.livejournal.com]

What I have on my resume is "1999-2000 New York Board of Trade (through Accountemps)." Then I guess you can offer either your supervisor at the company or the temp agency as a reference, whichever is better. Or both.

[volund.livejournal.com]

What I've done is listed the temp agency as employer, citing the client I worked for in the beginning of the description: "Postemps ... Temporary position in the Electronic Publishing Department of a major insurance firm (AXA/Equitable)."

(You might think, what with the economy being in the toilet for some time now already, that we'd be seeing more of this type of resume entry, and be more used to it ...)