The Temp is a Lonely Hunter

Most people don't know that I worked for a staffing agency. Most people don't know, because I've been too ashamed to admit it. For six months I began to believe I was employed by Quicken Loans, but I never was, I was employed by a temporary staffing agency known as Aerotek. Working for Aerotek has been an experience wrapped in more deceit, mystery and anguish than what I would imagine a love affair to possess. In an effort to get this dark secret off my chest and into the open, I'm going to detail what it meant to work as a temporary employee and why I was so ashamed to let anyone I love find out. Stay tuned.

I would ideally like to start out by sharing what it was like working for Quicken Loans. However, since I never technically worked for Quicken Loans, I will let their web page designated for the Awards and Kudos they've received speak for itself. They've time and time again gotten praise for being such a great company to work for. I can clearly see why too; they invite you in with open arms, their anti-corporate ideology is incredibly enticing to young people and regardless if you work for or with them, they treat you like one of the family. On the flip side, according to Aerotek's website "traditionally staffing agencies were used to provide employees on a short term basis" So I should have entered into the situation knowing that I could be cut and would be cut, at any given moment. But I didn't, so where did I go wrong?

Simple; I just graduated college, I was looking for a career, I applied at Aerotek and was given a job. A real JOB. My first real JOB. During my interview it was made clear to me that I would be working on an open ended contract. This meant there was to be no time limit for my work there. It was implied that if I worked hard maybe, just maybe, I would be hired on through Quicken. This is where I made my mistake. I believed that if I worked hard enough I would be hired in, the gates would swing open, Quicken Loans would adopt me. Even when I started working, began to get to know everyone I worked with, realized they had all been temporary employees for at least a year, I still thought that as long as I worked hard I would be ushered into the greatest place of employment that Detroit has to offer.

That's right, there were others. In fact according to Alexandra Karaer, Director of Research for the American Staffing Association, 2.91 million people are employed by a staffing agency every day. We were the forgotten children...and in our haste to get in, we were blind. Blind to the fact that every month we would lose anywhere from 2-5 temporary staff members who weren't keeping up with the work load, to the fact that despite hard work and dedication not one of us was being hired on, blind to the words "temporary team members are not eligible" at the bottom of every email offering us some cool perk. We just kept working.

Although we couldn't have been that blind right? I know I couldn't have. I told everyone I know that I worked for Quicken Loans! Never did I mention Aerotek, my open ended contract or the fact that at any given time I could be laid off. No, instead all of my friends and most of my family thought I had a career. My dad, my best friend, my little brothers, they were all so proud of me. I couldn't break it to them that my job, my career, was more like a paid internship. That I would most likely not be with Quicken for the rest of my life. I had an answer for everything: no benefits because I was still on my mom's insurance and didn't need them, the people I worked with were just getting laid off, if I worked there long enough I would get a raise and all the other employee perks Quicken advertises that it gives to it's employees. I lied to them, probably because I was lying to myself so spectacularly. Then, I simply got the call.

 I'll probably never forget the day I got the call. This is how you knew your contract was up with Aerotek. Let's say that you were at the grocery store after work at about 7:00 P.M. Let's say you were shopping for a team pot luck you would be having the next day. You would get a call from a 313 number and you would know exactly what it was regarding. Your whole world would seemingly come crashing down around you and you would think of at least 7 people you would have to explain your "being laid off" to. You would answer the phone: "Hi is this ____? Hi ____, this is _____ from Aerotek, I'm calling with some unfortunate news". And ___ would go on to explain to you that your contract has ended. You would be cordial and polite, you would answer any questions ____ had to ask. After all, you've never met ____ and this is probably an incredibly hard job to do. And then, just like that, you are unemployed. You wouldn't be buying anything at the grocery store that day.

In the end I'm thankful for my time at Aerotek. I, like most temporary employees, believe the experience has made me more marketable. I got the experience of working for Quicken Loans, which is an incredible company to work for, or with, or whatever and ultimately I made some really great connections. Right now I'm between jobs, looking for work and trying to be as proactive as possible. My advice for anyone looking to be employed at a temporary company is to know what you're getting into. It is not a scam. Just don't fool yourself, make the most of it and work hard, but don't lie to anyone. Don't lie to yourself and buy a bunch of new things because you have a career now and you can, don't lie to the people you love and tell them that you are in with a great company for the rest of your life and don't lie to the rest of the job seeking world because you're frustrated that you lied so hard and didn't pull it off. At any rate, Quicken Loans is still on my resume....Anyone want to give me a job?

Thanks for listening!

Kyle