Should I take a temp job?

So, I was laid off back in December and have been drawing unemployment since. I haven't had any luck landing a new job yet, but I have an interview today for a 3 month contract doing Desktop Support. The pay is pretty good and it's the kind of work I want to do, but I'm just not sure. I know contract jobs can be unstable to say the least. I guess I'm afraid that I'll take the contract, lose my unemployment, and then they'll decide to terminate my contract early before I'm eligible for unemployment benefits again. If that happens, I'll be up the creek for sure. What would you do in my situation?

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Comments

skrpune

have you checked on your state's laws regarding unemployment? Each state varies slightly...but you may be able to keep filing for unemployment (but not receiving unemployment) while you're working the contract job. Talk to your local officials & see how it works - I know that in some areas, if you get temp work, you simply declare what income you've made during the week you're filing for, and if it's over $xxx (whatever weekly limit they set) then you don't get any unemployment benefits for that week. Being that this sounds like a known term contract, I'm not sure if this would qualify as temp work or not, but it's worth looking into.

smg1138

I've been trying to find out the rules, but can't get through to anybody at the state unemployment office. A recording always says the call volume is too high and they can't take the call. I live in Tennessee, so if anybody knows, I'd appreciate the info.

Zartanasaurus

smg1138 wrote: »

So, I was laid off back in December and have been drawing unemployment since. I haven't had any luck landing a new job yet, but I have an interview today for a 3 month contract doing Desktop Support. The pay is pretty good and it's the kind of work I want to do, but I'm just not sure. I know contract jobs can be unstable to say the least. I guess I'm afraid that I'll take the contract, lose my unemployment, and then they'll decide to terminate my contract early before I'm eligible for unemployment benefits again. If that happens, I'll be up the creek for sure. What would you do in my situation?

What's the penalty for them breaking the contract prematurely?

smg1138

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

What's the penalty for them breaking the contract prematurely?

I don't think there is one. It kind of makes the whole idea of contracts pointless when they aren't legally binding.

Hyper-Me

Any dollar earned is a dollar well deserved, and it sounds like you could use some dollars right about now.

I say do it.

chrisone

Take the temp job, many employers put "Temp" just as a back door in letting someone go if they dont turn out to be what they were looking for. In other words that temp job will be a full time job after 3 months in my opinion. Go for it , if it meets all your requirements!

keenon

smg1138 wrote: »

I've been trying to find out the rules, but can't get through to anybody at the state unemployment office. A recording always says the call volume is too high and they can't take the call. I live in Tennessee, so if anybody knows, I'd appreciate the info.

I sent you a pm

snokerpoker

I would say take the job if you have no other offers right now and are unemployed. At the same time I would try to research the company a little bit and see if they post a job listing every three months for Desktop Support. I have seen numerous companies do this so their Desktop staff is new every 3 to 6 months that way they always have "temp employees" and don't have to pay benefits. This could just be in the area I live in but I would look into that.

Hyper-Me

keenon wrote: »

I sent you a pm

Everytime I see your avatar at a glance I think its Dr. Zoidberg.