My Love/Hate Relationship With Temp Agencies!

Locating talent is never easy, and sometimes you get caught in a jam and need a person ASAP.  On those occasions temp agencies fit a perfect void.  The issue arises the moment you find a person you love, and now you have to make the decision to hand over your first born to take on this new person full time.  In some instances it is a no brainer, but some times this "finder fee" can become ridiculous.

My latest love/hate story comes in with a creative person I brought on to fill.  The person they provided was amazing, which is very rare.  We worked great together, but before I could get her an offer her dream job came in and took her away.  But, I was left with a glimmer of light; her new position was only part time.  So I called the temp agency to see if I could still call on her direct for part time project work just to hear, "yes, but it will all need to run through us."  Translated, "Umm, sure but you better believe I am going to get a piece of the action if you do it!"

My jaw dropped when I heard this.  Then to top it off, I was told that they have the ability to charge me for using her for up to 6 months after leaving the temp agency.  This was just the icing on the cake for me.

So the question is raised, is a temp agency a good or bad thing for new grads to mess with?  Granted you get a ton of experience, and potentially access to people like me you would not normally have, but what about the downfalls?  

- Did you lose the opportunity for a great job because of the huge fee us employer's have to pay for you?

- Did you temp agency not present you correct, and now you are in a role you have no business being in?

- Or worse, did a company want you, but when they went to negotiate the fee get stuck, and had to take a different candidate because it took to long to deal with the agency?

These are the questions I have for people who go down the temp path straight out of college.  Personally I suggest getting yourself into a good internship that does pay, and hit the streets working anywhere you can to build up your experience and portfolio.  I know in my eyes that kind of person would show me a lot of drive, and be able to demand a lot more salary from me than anyone else.

To Your Success & Prosperity!