Jump On Board
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Chapter 8:The Passion of the Temp |
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Written by Brandon Weatherly
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Hello friends. Welcome. In last week's column I'll admit I was getting a little "Love they neighbor." I do read your emails. However, good advice is good advice - especially coming from your humble author. But while suggesting you buddy up to those who may help you, I don't want to say that you should be buddying up with whoever you happen to meet.
It's important to reiterate that my tact is about taking advantage of the times when you're at a place where you'd like to become a permanent employee. I'm against anything that will exploit you as a Temp. Drop me a line at
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if you think this is the case. You should know if you're being exploited, but if you're not sure - I can help.
Now I could blame last week's fleeting benevolence on finally seeing the latest installment of RAMBO. Think about it people! In every movie the guy's a Temp - thrust into the middle of one conflict or another, fighting the good fight, his weapon a bow and arrow or high-caliber machine gun instead of a keyboard and a parking pass in need of validation. Or it may have had something to do with the angst generated by countless, repeated, teary-eyed listenings of Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" that particular afternoon while I wrote to you. Just 99 cents on itunes and you're right there with me. Now that I think about it, I should have entitled this column "Against All Temps." Or perhaps the whole episode was the culmination of multiple epic hangovers.
It's not easy to approach someone for career/future work help when you're temping. But you have nothing to lose. A temp gets used to working at different places on different days - but remember that the people you are working for do not. Permanence breeds complacency. They're used to the same personality plugging away for them day after day. The absence of their "go to" is traumatic for them. You doing good work will leave a mark - as much in terms of your competence as in their knowledge that none of their precious day to day went wrong. Calls were made, lunch was had, calendar was printed. Having accomplished that, you should:
Rule #11: Ask your superiors for informational interviews/career advice. Again, this only works if you're temping in an office or for someone that does what you would like to do. I usually like to ask someone after I've temped for them (near the end of the assignment), if I can have 20 or 30 minutes of their time to chat about career and the like. People as a rule love talking about themselves – and a big part of your job when temping is to sell yourself (it also helps you to maintain your sanity if you have the knowledge that your efforts may lead to something greater).
Keep a running list of questions as you temp to use as later ammunition. Ask them about their "path" (how they got where they are). I have never once been turned down for one of these talks. Sometimes they suck (like an awkward blind date in a place that doesn't serve alcohol) and I can't wait until they're over, but there's always the chance that you might glean some insight from it. Plus there's always the possibility that they'll take you to lunch. Keep track of your temp boss' email address so that you can stay "in touch" with any questions you may have in the future. Especially if they're cool and you feel a connection with them. And by "in touch" I mean asking them for a recommendation if you're up for a job with that company or for someone they have a relationship with.
As a matter of fact - keep a list of the email addresses for the people you interface with who might be able to help you out, act as a reference, etc. It's a great excuse to set up drinks with people that you might not normally interface with. Such a practice has paid off for me numerous times both in a business sense and a social one.Speaking of a social one, I'm off to my local watering hole for watering - see you next week!
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About Brandon
Brandon Weatherly is commited to relating the assistant experience as it really is. Currently he's a temp. He thinks it sucks. Email him at
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