Staffing Agencies

I see that lots and lots of jobs are advertised as being available via staffing agencies. Is that the direction that the industry is headed and are they reputable?

My biggest concern is benefits. Health insurance is really expensive and it would seem almost impossible to take a position without benefits. How do TE members handle this. Are there agencies that provide benefits, or do you just do your time contracting until something full time comes up?

Suggestion on agencies that won't try and screw me over?

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Nobylspoon

Rearden wrote: »

I see that lots and lots of jobs are advertised as being available via staffing agencies. Is that the direction that the industry is headed and are they reputable?

My biggest concern is benefits. Health insurance is really expensive and it would seem almost impossible to take a position without benefits. How do TE members handle this. Are there agencies that provide benefits, or do you just do your time contracting until something full time comes up?

Suggestion on agencies that won't try and screw me over?

I went through a staffing agency for my job and I have been really pleased with them. They offer a much better medical and dental plan than my previous employer.

Staffing agencies can be hit or miss though. There are some fantastic recruiters out there and there are some real dirtbag ones but my experience working with them has been top notch.

A lot of companies rely heavily on staffing agencies. It cuts down on a huge amount over their overhead, especially for the HR departments. About 90% of my department is a contractor through a staffing agency, many of which have been working here for a couple of years.

colemic

Some agencies offer health insurance, I used to work for Teksystems and it was hideously expensive and VERY crappy coverage - I tore my ankle up playing softball in 2006 and my total out-of pocket (because I maxed out the amount allowed under the policy was in neighborhood of 13K... and I had the middle-tier insurance plan.

Rearden

Nobylspoon wrote: »

I went through a staffing agency for my job and I have been really pleased with them. They offer a much better medical and dental plan than my previous employer.

Staffing agencies can be hit or miss though. There are some fantastic recruiters out there and there are some real dirtbag ones but my experience working with them has been top notch.

A lot of companies rely heavily on staffing agencies. It cuts down on a huge amount over their overhead, especially for the HR departments. About 90% of my department is a contractor through a staffing agency, many of which have been working here for a couple of years.

I'm somewhat surprised since I've heard so many horror stories. Can you post or PM the name of the agency that you were this happy with?

Rearden

colemic wrote: »

Some agencies offer health insurance, I used to work for Teksystems and it was hideously expensive and VERY crappy coverage - I tore my ankle up playing softball in 2006 and my total out-of pocket (because I maxed out the amount allowed under the policy was in neighborhood of 13K... and I had the middle-tier insurance plan.

See, this is the kind of stuff I've heard about and was afraid of. I'll stay away from Tek.

Nobylspoon

Rearden wrote: »

I'm somewhat surprised since I've heard so many horror stories. Can you post or PM the name of the agency that you were this happy with?

It was Technisource.

Countryboi

man i hate stuffing agencies with a passion....their are only a few that i have worked with that i respect.......the rest i just feeding you bs job after bs job and if you dont like the pay or the job is crap they dont call anymore.....but the worse is after the interview you never hear from them again....dude you have been calling me non stop for a week but u cant call and say i didnt get it?

N2IT

Countryboi wrote: »

man i hate stuffing agencies with a passion....their are only a few that i have worked with that i respect.......the rest i just feeding you bs job after bs job and if you dont like the pay or the job is crap they dont call anymore.....but the worse is after the interview you never hear from them again....dude you have been calling me non stop for a week but u cant call and say i didnt get it?

+1

Classless beep holes. I can't stand them, we love you this and that and then nothing. I did have one just recently say sorry we went in a different direction and I said thanks for being classy. For every one person you get a rejection notification you have 25+ that don't. Pure trash.

rogue2shadow

I had a "meh" experience with TekSystems. When they want you, they're your best friend. When you need them, they turn their back on you and ignore your calls (at least my recruiter did). The second part is unprofessional of them but I can see this happening in the nature of the business; they don't want to spend time on someone who isn't going to get the big bucks even if they don't understand the potential of the individual in the long run. With my first dealings with them I was fresh outta college with zero certs and a non-IT degree but I had tons of PC repair/tshoot work exp. In terms of my experience, at the end of the day, it comes down to the recruiter thats representing the company you're in talks with. In my case, being burned kind of soured my view of them but for the next IT pro, their recruiter may be a dream come true. If agencies in your area are able to get your foot in the door by all means try if thats what it takes; in my experience, if I can help it, I will never go through a staffing agency ever again.

On the health benefits side, I may be wrong, but I remember the offerings not being that great.

N2IT

Rearden wrote: »

See, this is the kind of stuff I've heard about and was afraid of. I'll stay away from Tek.

Probably in your best interest. The usually pay a little hire, but with stories like that it makes you wonder

Rearden

The thing that bugs me is this:

If you search on say Dice or CarrerBuilder, etc. for IT jobs, I'd say 8 out of 10 are through a staffing agency.

N2IT

rogue2shadow wrote: »

I had a "meh" experience with TekSystems. When they want you, they're your best friend. When you need them, they turn their back on you and ignore your calls (at least my recruiter did). The second part is unprofessional of them but I can see this happening in the nature of the business; they don't want to spend time on someone who isn't going to get the big bucks even if they don't understand the potential of the individual in the long run. With my first dealings with them I was fresh outta college with zero certs and a non-IT degree but I had tons of PC repair/tshoot work exp. In terms of my experience, at the end of the day, it comes down to the recruiter thats representing the company you're in talks with. In my case, being burned kind of soured my view of them but for the next IT pro, their recruiter may be a dream come true. If agencies in your area are able to get your foot in the door by all means try if thats what it takes; in my experience, if I can help it, I will never go through a staffing agency ever again.

On the health benefits side, I may be wrong, but I remember the offerings not being that great.

+1

One time I had a contracting agency really put in a lot of work for me (Judge) and they helped land me a job. They suggested different tactics for my resume and really offered a lot of confidence. Again this could of been the recruiter I had. Infact my boss who eventually hired me said my recruiter was a real joy to deal with and he wasn't even on their approved contractor list, for that company. I think those people are few and far between. I dealt with a few others and they did nothing but piss me off. Put my skills down and offer weak advice. One suggested I get my MCSE before really applying for IT jobs. Doesn't that sound stupid? Well, it's true and thats not the only example of that. Keep in mind that the recruiter that "recommened" the MCSE was suggesting that for an entry level tier 1 position. Pfffffft..... If that doesn't stink like money and lack of experience I don't know what does.