Tired of being a temp

Hey guys,

I've been a temp for this company that I work for since last September. They have extended my contract several times and say that they're happy with my performance. My current contract ends in about a month and a half. I've approached my supervisor about them keeping me permanently and he said he'd try to get me in but he can't promise anything. That was 2 months ago. Since then from time to time he tells me that he's trying to make a case for me with his managers but it's still in the air.

The reason why I'm posting this is that I'm getting really depressed. I like my job but I really can't be a temp anymore. I have no breaks and I'm just getting so stressed out about it. Every week seems to be getting worse and worse.

I talked to one of my friends about this and he suggested that I speak to my supervisor and tell him that I'd like to stay with a company but not as a temp. If they can't hire me until the time my current contract expires then I'll leave and start looking for a permanent position elsewhere.

What do you guys think I should do?

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Comments

dynamik

I wouldn't threaten to leave before your term ends, but I think it would be good for you (if finances allow you to go without work if things don't work out) to say that you would like to keep working with them but that you're no longer going to pursue temp work after your current contract is up.

Zartanasaurus

Get your resume in order and start applying for new jobs. If you don't get one, you don't get one. If you do, your current company had their chance to bring you in.

Dr IT

Well trust me , iexcatly can understand how u feel - coz i also had the same issue until recently......

Well i would advise you to brush up ur CV and start applying for differnt jobs... moreover keep remindingyour manager ( but not pi$$ing him off) by saying how your contract saga is running and bring your productivity level down .....(i mean the stress )

You should have a idea of the permanent employment status depending upon how convinincing your Mgr is if u think is is throwing a load of same old tosh ( saying economy , etc etc ) then you clearly know - it aint happening..

all the best good luck

loss4words

Thank you very much for all your replies.

I have started looking for work in the beginning of last month and have been going to interviews. I had to tell my supervisor what I was doing since I have to ask him for time off everytime so I think he has an idea on what's on mind. To my surprise and disappointment he was totally OK with it and lets me take time off everytime I ask for it.

...but then again he knows how terrible I am on interviews, so maybe he's not expecting me to find anything

loss4words

Hi guys,

Sorry to bump this thread but this is really bothering me and I need some advice. So in 3-4 weeks is the end of my contract with this company. I had an improptu short conversation regarding my job with my manager and he said that there were no plans about discontinuing my contract although he's not the person who makes the final decisions about this stuff. I briefly told him about my worries and that I need something permanent which he met with "I know, I know". I didn't mention that I was thinking of leaving if I wasn't perminantly hired but he knows that I've been going on interviews.

Initially my friend whom I've been telling all this to told me to just come out to my manager before they decide what to do (like this week) and tell him that if they won't hire me I will leave the company once the contract expires. Now he's saying that I should wait until they decide on what to do with me and if they aren't hiring me but extending my contract I should just tell them that I'm only intersted in permanent position and will not stay for another contract. His reasoning is that if they won't hire me now they probably are just not interested since I've already been with them for over a year.

I just wanted to see what you guys think about all of this. I'm probably just letting it get to me too much but I'm so tired of being depressed about this. Thanks for any replies.

Zartanasaurus

loss4words wrote: »

Hi guys,

Sorry to bump this thread but this is really bothering me and I need some advice. So in 3-4 weeks is the end of my contract with this company. I had an improptu short conversation regarding my job with my manager and he said that there were no plans about discontinuing my contract although he's not the person who makes the final decisions about this stuff. I briefly told him about my worries and that I need something permanent which he met with "I know, I know". I didn't mention that I was thinking of leaving if I wasn't perminantly hired but he knows that I've been going on interviews.

Initially my friend whom I've been telling all this to told me to just come out to my manager before they decide what to do (like this week) and tell him that if they won't hire me I will leave the company once the contract expires. Now he's saying that I should wait until they decide on what to do with me and if they aren't hiring me but extending my contract I should just tell them that I'm only intersted in permanent position and will not stay for another contract. His reasoning is that if they won't hire me now they probably are just not interested since I've already been with them for over a year.

I just wanted to see what you guys think about all of this. I'm probably just letting it get to me too much but I'm so tired of being depressed about this. Thanks for any replies.

You have another job lined up?

mikej412

loss4words wrote: »

I just wanted to see what you guys think about all of this.

Unless you already have another job lined up, or lots of money saved up, you probably don't want to burn any bridges or rock the boat too much.

Read your contract -- while it may be for a set amount of time there is usually a clause where either party can end it with the proper amount of notice. If you don't have another job lined up before the end of this contract -- what would you do if you tell them it's either permanent or the highway and they say "bye bye?"

If the job isn't bad, keep it and work on some Certifications that complement your experience and will make you more tempting out in the job market.

Do you get plenty of exercise? If you feel stressed or depressed, join one of those cheap fitness clubs and take out your frustration and work out your anxiety on the exercise equipment.

tpatt100

Way I see it is if your manager knows your looking you would have been hired on already. Or he cannot hire you on and thinks your replaceable.

loss4words

Hey guys. Thank you for all your replies.

No, I don't have another job to go to if I leave. It's just that I've grown so depressed over the time that I'm working there and it's not getting any better. I think tpatt100 is right when he says that my managers that I'm replacable, but at the same time I know that I've gotten a lot of good feedback from the clients and that they've been happy with me.

A lot of times I would come home after work and I can't concentrate on anything, much less studying. Again, thanks for all the replies. I really appreciate any feedback.

mikej412

loss4words wrote: »

It's just that I've grown so depressed over the time that I'm working there and it's not getting any better.

I still say control what you can (education, certifications, and preparing yourself for your NEXT job) and don't worry about what you can't control (getting hired permanently at this job).

But maybe you'll feel better if you talk to Eliza

What's so hot about being an employee? I've had contracts that have lasted longer than all my "employee jobs" except for one. Is the pay better? Are the benefits that fantastic or do you need the group health insurance? I would ask about job security -- but in today's economy that really isn't much of a selling point.

loss4words

Thanks, Mike.

I guess having a permanent job means better financial stability and that's something that is really important to me right now. Also they pay for permanent worker's college education and that's a really huge plus for me. I love the workplace and I like what I'm doing there but I hate being a temp. This always bothers me but I guess for now I have no other choice but let it be how it is and see what happens.

Turgon

loss4words wrote: »

Hey guys,

I've been a temp for this company that I work for since last September. They have extended my contract several times and say that they're happy with my performance. My current contract ends in about a month and a half. I've approached my supervisor about them keeping me permanently and he said he'd try to get me in but he can't promise anything. That was 2 months ago. Since then from time to time he tells me that he's trying to make a case for me with his managers but it's still in the air.

The reason why I'm posting this is that I'm getting really depressed. I like my job but I really can't be a temp anymore. I have no breaks and I'm just getting so stressed out about it. Every week seems to be getting worse and worse.

I talked to one of my friends about this and he suggested that I speak to my supervisor and tell him that I'd like to stay with a company but not as a temp. If they can't hire me until the time my current contract expires then I'll leave and start looking for a permanent position elsewhere.

What do you guys think I should do?

I think you should stay exactly as you are. If you leave now you might not work again for months. The economy is in the crapper right now and may stay there until 2012 or later. Banking and the military should probably get through it but main street is really, really struggling. Try and take a longer term view. You have a job now and that will make you much more employable to somebody in the future. Companies will look favourably on someone who has kept in work during the downturn when hiring next year as many other applicants will be out of work due to layoffs, company collapse and shrinking contracting markets. This should open some opportunities up for those still in work. By way of an example many skilled network designers are scrabbling around for support contracts now on low rates because project budgets are cut so there's less work for skilled data centre design. A year out of design working in support managing firewalls will not help these candidates when they want to return to the design fold as hiring companies like to see continuity there. The best job advertised on the UK boards this week was $750 per day Senior Architect role at a bank. I spoke to the agent and without seven years fulltime experience designing and delivering complex datacentres for major banks and telling me and Mike what to do all day you dont get put forward. So tough requirements right now as its a buyers market, but I think they will have to relax a bit later next year and here's why..sadly we will see many decent IT professionals forced out of the market completely because they just cant get any work. So, the future belongs to those who can stay in the game. Try and see what you can do outside of work to re-energise yourself and hang on to that job for now while you are looking around.