Anyone who's watched "The Office" knows who Ryan, aka "The Temp" is. However, not many people really know what a temp is.
Ryan Howard starts of the show as a temporary worker placed in the office of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. and has a rather odd, working relationship, with his boss Micheal Scott. Micheal thinks highly of Ryan, even considering him a close friend, despite his later rise to corporate, takeover of Jan's position, and then fall from the high life of New York City as he's arrested for fraud.
Well, this past summer I got a taste of the temp life, you know, minus the fraud, and the awkward boss.
A few months ago, as I was standing outside the entry to an art gala for a local non-profit, I was approached with the question "What are you doing this summer," and immediately I said "looking for work," because what else is an acceptable answer for a freshly graduated 18 year old, who's got a college tuition bill sitting on their desk? Plus it was true, I needed the money and something to do. To which I got surprised, with the suggestion of registering with a local temporary work agency.
Most people, when looking for work, apply to the obvious chain fast food restaurants, retail stores, and really any place with a "help wanted sign." I had spent the past month doing just that, applying anywhere with a "help wanted" sign, to no avail. However, this idea of being a temp sounded appealing, and I immediately shot them a "hello this is me, here's a resume" email, and got a surprisingly quick response, and before I knew it, I was on my way to being a temp.
However, I quickly learned a few realities about the #templife.
You're not necessarily going to be in an office.
This is one of the things that was hardest to explain to people. When someone asked me about my summer employment, I'd be like "oh, I'm a temp," and they'd say "what's that?" Then you have two choices: explain it, or just say "I'm like Ryan, from the Office," which is what I did with most people. The thing most people don't realize though is, that you're not always in an office placement.
Most of my placements so far have been odd, but exciting. For a while, I was a bounce house attendant. One of my mentors told me "that's the kind of job you'll talk about when you're famous," and hey, who knows? I just hope no one finds pictures of me red as a lobster from sunburn, collecting balls on top of a life sized Hungry Hungry Hippos game.
The pay is ace.
Seriously, never realized the benefits of work like this. Most jobs for unskilled, 18 year old girls pay around minimum wage, but working as a temp, some of my jobs were paying a few dollars above the minimum wage, which is helpful when you might be working less hours than a minimum wage job.
You have to be time flexible.
Depending on your work assignment, work days might be spread out kinda funny. I've worked a lot of weekends during the summer, which isn't always a bad thing. However, you might just get lucky and get an assignment that brings you back often, or several days a week.
You hope that they'll keep requesting you.
Part of being a temp, is that you're probably under the payroll of the temp agency, and because there's other employees they could send out, if the work client doesn't like your performance, they'll request someone else, or vice versa, you could get requested. One of the first few people I met working through my agency said that he was getting requested all the time by our current work assignment. All the more incentive to work hard, every shift, so that way hopefully you'll get more work!
Be willing to get your hands dirty.
Again, since most people think that temps are mostly for offices, I didn't think going into this I would encounter some more dirty jobs. Even with my bounce house work, I didn't think I would get dirty at work; but when you're standing in the sun, and moving equipment and taking things apart, you get pretty gross. After a while though, you don't mind it as much, after you still feel very accomplished and that shower feels all the better.
It's a very different sort of job, but it's worth it.
I'm extremely thankful for the chance to work at a temp agency, which is something I've never thought I would say. Temp work isn't always easy, but it's really cool the opportunities that open up, and the experience and perspective you'll gain.
For me a moment that made it worth it, was cleaning a stadium, and looking at the sidelines. I was thinking about how someday I'll be down there, covering the game, because I'm working towards a career in photojournalism. But part of working towards your goals, and growing as a person, is learning to open yourself up to new possibilities. Cleaning that stadium, I saw a different type of work that has to be done to make a game a much happier experience for everyone.
I know what it's like now to work jobs that maybe you never thought you'd do, and that sometimes are really hard, but make you feel really accomplished at the end of the day. I've learned a bunch of new skills and had lots of new experience. I've met some very different people from diverse backgrounds and learned to put myself out there more.
Plus, while most of my work assignments have been short term, I know for some people they get assignments that are work-to-hire, where you work, and hopefully the company decides to take you on as an employee, just like Dunder Mifflin did with Ryan. I think that for anyone who's looking for work, part time, or full time, a temp agency is a great place to start, to get yourself out there and working.
Just remember, don't commit fraud, or date anyone like Kelly.
