Re: Working for a subcontractor

["Egan, Mary" <EganM -at- discovercentrus -dot- com>]

Lisa, 

It sounds to me like you're "Temping" (that's what we call it here in the
U.S.).
A subcontracter, indepedent contractor or freelancer is someone who owns
their
own equipment, negotiates their own deals and sets their own hours.  In the
US, 
there are Temporary Agencies that specialize in connecting people with
positions
on a temporary basis.  It could be a week, a month or a year.  You are
permanently
"employed" by the Temp Agency, but you don't have a full-time job with the
company
that you are assigned to on a short-term basis.


>I think you have misunderstood a part of what I've written (sorry, I know
my 
>English is far from perfect -  I am not a native speaker...). When working
for 
>a subcontractor, we do have permanent jobs and we're working full-time
every 
month, and we always get the same amount of salary per month. I guess it's 
just the company that sends us to different companies, gets more or less 
money monthly, depending on the deal, not us...(Luckily...). So I'm not
singing 
any deals with companies, but the company that has hired me, does...Hope
this 
became clearer now.

In the Temp world... you are a commodity.  You're a talented commodity...
but
nonetheless... you are a product that the Temp Agency provides for the
company
that you are assigned to on a temporary basis.  You don't have the same
voice
as a full-time employee in the company because you don't have to time spent
with
the company.  You're a temporary solution to a problem.  


Maybe it's just that in the country I work in - and come from (Finland) -  
we don't (yet) have this long experience of contractor work (in general). It

seems as if the hiring companies really haven't realized it that people who 
work for subcontractors are talented individuals also (they seem to 
associate subcontracting work with work that doesn't require any training or

experience). 


As far as the respect issues, those people who don't show respect to temps
probably don't show it to other full-time employees either.  THey're just
rude and insecure.

I spent over a year being a Temp because I decided to get out of a 12 year
Broadcasting career and wasn't quite sure what to do with the skills I had 
developed (they seemed too niche to that business).  So I signed up with
a temp agency and tried quite a few different assignments.  This was a
costly
but valuable lesson.  I had to pay my own health insurance which 
was HUGE.  The Temp agencies (in the US) are in the business to make
money...
so they're not always motivated to match you up with the right position.  I
was once assigned to an insurance company who thought they were getting
someone
who could do actuarial work!!!!!   Not EVEN on my radar screen.  Imagine how
mad
I was at having faced the pressure, tension and dirty looks from co-workers
who
thought I wasn't doing my *job* (which I wasn't) because the agency threw me
into something just to get their fee!!!!  Also, Temp Agencies don't foot the
bill
for your training.  That's something you do on your own OR while you're on
assignment, 
you learn while you're there.  I had to opportunity to play around with
Quark while
on assignment once.  I never used it again, but it did give me a basis to
judge how
I like other graphic programs like PhotoShop or Corel when I was on other
assignments.

Believe it or not, I actually WORKED for a temp agency as a recruiter for a
brief time.
I hated it.  My heart totally went out to the folks shlepping into the
office trying to
put on a good face.  You never know they're whole story and my boss was very
judgemental
of their motives.  I had to get OUT.

The up side to temping is that you can try many different things and not be
*fired*.
I discovered that I would never work in insurance nor the financial world
(the writing
is too dry). 

It sounds like you want to be full-time with one company and that's great.
Keep temping
AND look for something full-time at the same time.  Temps can get great
references because
they meet so many people.  But don't (no matter what they tell you) believe
that a 
temp job will become permanent.  Many times a temp is brought in to manage
down costs.
They don't want to foot the bill for a full-times plus retirement and
benefits... so they
temp the position out.  

Good luck.  Keep looking!

Well, I think that 'moving on' can mean different things for different 
people. I feel that I have better opportunities for moving on when working 
in a single company where I know I'll be  staying a long time - that means I

have more time to consistently  develop documentation. And I think that 
documenting really  complex products really does require a TW to stay there 
for more than just a couple of months, even a year. I want to be a 
specialist in an area, and I want to learn to know the product well, too. 
Also, I like the idea that I can sit at the same table and same meetings 


Mary V. Egan
RFP Coordinator
Centrus



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