Diaries of a Temp, Chapter Three: The Temping Do’s and Don’ts for 2009
Another chapter from our resident expert on Temping, Lyndsay Rush:
As 2008 goes out in a blaze of glory (not unlike your last career), it seems only appropriate to arm you with some advice for entering the glamorous temping circuit in ’09. These Do’s and Don’ts cover everything from lunch etiquette to office romance. Many of them can also apply to “the new guy” or “the intern”, if you so happen to have those prestigious titles this coming year. Either way, arm yourself with these tips and you may make it through to temp another day. Perhaps even print and laminate this for your temporary desk…it certainly cant hurt.
Not an office friendly snack.
Don’t bring devilled eggs on your first day. Yes that happened to me and no I don’t wanna talk about it
Do prepare a backstory for the inevitable “what brought you here” or “what’s next” questions. Even if you don’t wanna tell the truth, make sure to have some canned answers/BS in your backpocket.
Don’t be offended when people don’t know your name (I lovingly adopted “temp” as my preferred surname for my last 2 month long gig)
Do prepare for the sudden influx of otherwise-ignored employees who are happy for a new victim upon whom to dump all of their secrets/woes/opinions. Become skilled at tuning out while looking interested. (future post on my top overshared moments coming soon)
Do slack off sometimes. You’re getting paid crap and you get to walk away from this project in approx 2 days. And lets be serious, the best way to format the meeting minutes isn’t keeping you up at night.
Don’t be surprised when you perform tasks better than the permanent employees. You’re young and sharp. But DO learn how to mask your smugness.
Do erase all of your photos, resume, cover letter attempts and website history on your last day. You don’t want people up in your biz.
Flirtatious Temp = Town Whore
Don’t be too flirty. Everyone but the person you’re flirting with will hate you. Remember, there are years and years of hookups/hatred/hang-ups/hangouts that have occurred in those hallowed halls. Stay clear of the office drama!
Do develop good radar for people who don’t mind dumb questions. Face it, you’re going to have them and you need to be able to sniff out people who wont mind answering questions like how the label maker works or where the color printer is.
Do remember your past and don’t forget where you’re going. If you hated your past job, think of how great it is to be anywhere but there—even if you’re doing data entry. If you loved your last job, well….ummm…the night is darkest before the dawn? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? Insert cliché’d sympathetic phrase here?
Do maintain dignity. Do everything with a smile and think of what a great story it will be for your friends/kids someday/blog. Also, networking does occur in temp situations. You’re making references here!
Do remember that everyone has had crap jobs. Heck, Jim Carey used to be a janitor at a tire factory, Chris Rock was a busboy at Red Lobster, and Jennifer Aniston was a telemarketer. Things can always be worse and tomorrow is always another day.
Do be sweet to the staffing agency people. I promise they have favorites.
Don’t forget that although temping feels like starting the first day of 7th grade over and over again, it is TEMP work after all, therefore this is only temporary! Temping is kind of like the marines..or a Chicago winter: only the strong survive.
Lyndsay Rush is the creator of Chicago’s finest unemployment blog, Bob Loblaw’s Job Blog.
“Don’t be surprised when you perform tasks better than the permanent employees. You’re young and sharp. But DO learn how to mask your smugness.”
That is so depressingly true. It really hurts when the top person in the office, who’s making $50K+ a year while I’m struggling to buy lunch everyday asks me how to work the copier. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?