Employers can be sympathetic to temp workers’ job search

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Dear Joan:
The problem I am writing to you about is one that seems to have occurred quite often lately. I am working as a temporary employee and looking for permanent work. I send out many resumes during the week. Because I am a temporary employee and work for many different companies, I can only give my home phone to be called for an interview. Many of the companies want to have phone interviews and I find it hard sometimes to have a private place in the offices I am working in to return calls. I can not call at lunch because the person is usually out at this time. I was wondering how I should handle this situation.

Another problem that has occurred lately is when I return a call and get an interview they want me to come almost immediately. If I can not come in within the next two days, they don't want to see me. I don't think that is very professional. Don't these companies want people who are working? Do they only want people who can sit home and can interview anytime? If they hire a person who takes off their job at a moments notice, won't that person take off the new job at a moments notice or don't they care.

Answer:
I'm sure many employers who are reading this agree with you. In fact, they are looking for people with your sense of loyalty to your employer-even a temporary one- and a solid work ethic. Here are some ideas:

Discuss these situations with the temporary agency for which you work. Ask them for some advice about what would be appropriate with various employers. For example, in the past, I have had temporary employees who I knew were actively job hunting and we discussed this before they started. If they had an interview, I was willing to let them leave a little early or use a private office during the day to do a phone interview. The temporary employee was grateful and offered to come in early the next day. Although not every employer will be able to allow this, it doesn't hurt to explore the possibility.

When you are trying to set up an interview with a potential employer, it could work to your advantage to say, "Even though I'm a temp here, I don't feel right about using work time to interview with another employer. Is it possible to do the interview during the lunch time or later in the afternoon?"

Most employers are understanding about a candidate's schedule and commitments. However, they also expect you to make accommodations for them if they are going to extend the opportunity for an interview.

Dear Joan:
When I read the Help Wanted section of the paper, many ads indicate " competitive salary" or similar terminology. The ad also requests a resume and an indication of my "salary requirements" or "salary desired."

Is this a realistic question to determine how much an employer will have to pay to fill this job, or is it a ploy by the employer to weed out applicants who are too expensive?

Answer:
Most employers are stretched thin when it comes to finding time to fill positions. Often the Human Resources Department is short-staffed or non-existent. Sometimes busy managers are trying to squeeze these interviews into an already overloaded day. By asking for your salary requirements they are attempting to save you both time. For example, recently I was helping a client fill a key position. The want ad asked applicants to send their salary requirements. Everyone followed that request but one. However, her resume looked like a good fit. I called her for an interview and neglected to ask her for this information. We went through the entire interview and she was getting quite interested in the job. When I asked her what her salary expectations were, she stated that they were $20,000 higher than the job paid. We both felt disappointed.

Most employers have checked out what the market value is for the job they are filling, so it typically isn't used as a tactic to figure out what they will have to pay.

The next time you send a cover letter with this information, one approach is to do some research on your own to estimate how much this position is likely to pay. Consider the size of the company, the industry, responsibilities and the experience level they are seeking. Use your network to do some informal checking or consult a professional organization in that field. Then state a general "ballpark" amount such as, "I'm looking for a salary in the mid 30's." The risk is if you look too cheap, you may look inexperienced and if you look too expensive they will never call. The research will help but in the final analysis, you must decide what amount you think is right for you. 

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