plus 1, Temp work helps job seekers find permanent spots - Asbury Park Press

Temp work helps job seekers find permanent spots - Asbury Park Press

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Many of the newest jobs these days come with an expiration date.

Facing economic uncertainty, many companies in this economy have turned to temporary staffing agencies to meet work demands without taking on costly health-care benefits and state-mandated unemployment and worker's compensation payments.

Temporary help has been "the main driver of job growth" in the professional and business services industry during the past 18 months, according to a February report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The professional and business services industry added 546,000 jobs in the U.S. in that time and, in New Jersey, temporary employment services added jobs while other industries cut staff. Analysts say that could mean companies using staffing agencies to provide temporary help soon might bolster their own payrolls.

"As companies gain confidence in their business and see opportunities for growth, they typically first employ workers from the employment agencies, which include temporary workers," New Jersey Bureau of Labor Market Information analyst John Ehret wrote in an outlook report released in November. "As employers' business, as well as confidence picks up, the "temps' tend to be hired as "permanents.' "

Temporary or contract assignments can be a good way for workers to make money, learn new skills and get in the doors of companies that someday might hire them directly, said Koleen Singerline, senior vice president of The Wyckoff Group of Snelling Staffing, Eatontown. There are opportunities in a variety of fields, from entry-level work to temporary openings that require experience, she said.

Companies work with temporary staffing agencies to supply them with short-term labor, sometimes for specific projects, three-month trial periods or to fill in for employees on maternity leave. Singerline said arranging help through an agency can be less expensive and bring better candidates than direct hiring because agencies work full time to interview and identify the best candidates and then assume the required payroll taxes.

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Rod Donovan, owner of Donovan Personnel Services in Middlesex Borough, which focuses on engineering jobs, said hiring and firing can be an expensive, time-consuming and disruptive process for companies, and some companies find using temporary workers a smoother alternative.

He said workers should be open to contract employment because it can lead to a company ultimately hiring them directly.

"If you're doing a good job, no one wants to see you walk out the door," he said.

One of Donovan's manufacturing support technicians was making around $20 an hour on a temporary basis starting in September, and then became a "direct hire" in February.

Derrick Williams, a 23-year-old resident of the Somerset section of Franklin, said working through a temporary staffing agency quickly helped him find additional work hours, and provided him with the flexibility to take classes to become an electrician.

When Williams wasn't satisfied with his part-time hours working for another company, his uncle suggested finding work through a temp agency. So, Williams stopped by the East Brunswick office of Snelling Staffing Services.

The same day as his Snelling interview in July, the company called him about an opportunity at Samar Distributors in Edison. Williams has been working in the warehouse since then, preparing and checking orders. He was working full time at Samar until he started classes in October, at which point he switched to part-time hours. He plans to find work as an electrician once he completes a nine-month course.

"I just went in . . . filled out the paperwork, did the interview," he said of his visit to the Snelling office. "That same day, they called me about Samar."

His supervisor, Samar warehouse manager Eddie Sabino, said he typically turns to Snelling for temporary workers to help handle orders after Samar's annual showcase in February. Samar has 18 employees, plus about six temporary workers through Snelling. Of the 18 Samar employees, about four started as Snelling temps, he said.

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"It's like a hiring process, the way we use them," he said.

In the Edison Labor Area, which comprises Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex and Somerset counties, the New Jersey Bureau of Labor Market Information saw staffing at employment agencies rise by more than 800 in the first nine months of 2010, even as the professional and business services industry on the whole lost more than 11,000 jobs in the same period.

"Despite the decline . . . staffing at employment agencies rose due in part to companies contracting for temporary workers," analyst Michael Dugan wrote.

Singerline said many companies view using temps as "a way to feed their pool of people from which they will hire" and to see whether an employee fits in with a company's culture.

"People see who fits," she said. "Some people will kind of excel in that environment and those are the people they will end up hiring."

The trial period goes both ways, she said.

"I think that workers are realizing that, "If I'm going to commit to a company, maybe a good thing for me would be to see what are different companies like?' " she said.

She said some temporary workers like the change, and for people entering the work force, temporary jobs could be a good way to learn different skills.

Applicants who are interested in working for agencies often can fill out applications on their websites to be entered in their database of potential hires. In some cases, applicants will be tested on their proficiency with software programs and other skills.

But Singerline said applicants should realize Snelling is not looking to find jobs for the people who apply. Rather, it is trying to supply companies with the workers they need. She said applicants should continue searching on their own, but that working through a temporary staffing agency can help applicants find as many opportunities as possible.

Sue Ennis, Parsippany branch manager for Manpower Staffing, said the office has about 80 people on assignment in a variety of jobs, including administrative assistants and employees doing data entry and light industrial warehouse work.

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"A lot of folks during the recession came in to us because they lost their jobs," she said.

Stephanie Bostic, Philadelphia Metro Area manager for Kelly Services, which includes a branch in Cherry Hill, said the agency has found temporary or contract assignments in manufacturing, lab support, legal projects and pharmaceutical packaging. She said temporary employees should "treat this as if it were potentially a full-time opportunity" and include cover letters with a brief employment history.

Elaine Damm, co-owner of Cherry Hill-based Accu Staffing Services, said the company sometimes can reassign employees after a temporary job ends. About 3,000 people work for Accu Staffing each week, she said. Accu Staffing employees can get vacation and holiday pay. The company directs employees to an outside organization for health insurance.

She said applicants to temp agencies should take the application and interview process seriously.

"Dress the part. Bring in a resume. This could be such a huge stepping stone for somebody's career," she said.

And she said Accu Staffing has seen an uptick in hiring, which traditionally is a positive indicator for the economy as a whole.

"Good economic times are ahead," she said.

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