Temping agencies in London

July 14, 2005 7:37 AM

Can anyone recommend a temping/job agency in London? Also, any advice on how to approach finding a job when you're a new graduate with zero work experience (and a crummy degree) would be gratefully received.

(I'm predicting I won't get that many specific recommendations, but suggestions of how to tell agencies apart would be just as useful)

posted by cillit bang to work & money (13 comments total)

What did you study and what area of work might you prefer?
posted by skylar at 7:50 AM on July 14, 2005

I did BSc Media Technology. I'm interested in TV (or live event) technical production, and I also have quite serious computer programming skills I could do something with (C/Mac/Web).

At this point though I'm more interested in anything that pays actual cash money than I am starting my career.
posted by cillit bang at 8:02 AM on July 14, 2005

I'd advise that you volunteer for say, 4 to 6 hours a week in the field you wish to be in. You'll get experience, references, and contacts, and it might even lead to paid work.
posted by orange swan at 8:02 AM on July 14, 2005

Can you type? (looks like it) Can you spell? (again, seems so). Are you polite? Organised (ish)? A secretarial agency might want you. Phone a few, go in and register, take their tests, they'll find you something suitable.

Pay is usually not bad - £8/h or so if you go for central/City agencies (though the City ones usually like fancy powerpoint skills, ugh) and up to £12/h if you go for specialist agencies (legal, medical, etc). £12/h is equivalent to about £25K/year if you work full-time.
posted by altolinguistic at 8:07 AM on July 14, 2005

on the other hand, you might be better off selling your programming skills. Wish I'd had some of those in my temping days...
posted by altolinguistic at 8:08 AM on July 14, 2005

I was under the impression agencies weren't really interested in people with no experience. Is that not true?
posted by cillit bang at 8:54 AM on July 14, 2005

The best money in temping in London (with basic administrative skills) is in the City. Call the HR dept of any of the bigger financial institutions/investment banks (Deutschebank, Morgan Stanley, UBS etc) and find out which temp agency they use, then sign up for it.

This advice holds for any area you're interested in, btw - when I first got to London I wanted to work in media, so I found out which agency the BBC used and was working there within 3 days. It's a great way in and very easy.
posted by widdershins at 9:43 AM on July 14, 2005

As for the experience part - most agencies will take you on, but whether you actually get assignments depends on a number of factors. Number one is perception. Are you/do you give the impression of being punctual? Well organized? Polite? Efficient? If so, they will give you a shot.

For same-day assignments (which is probably what you'd start out with if you don't have any experience), most of the time what is really needed is a body - someone to answer the phones and occupy a chair, really. The key to getting the assignment is to be eager for it - so call in every morning that you are available, that way you stay fresh in their minds and they know you're keen. Temp agencies' biggest problem is finding reliable people - once you've proven that you are indeed reliable, you're good to go.

Once you have your first assignment, make sure you're professional and helpful. The agency will receive feedback about you and if it's positive, you'll get better and better assignments.

Also, if you want to add to your skills, ask the agency to let you take their training modules. Back in the day, that's exactly how I learned Excel and Powerpoint (beyond just fiddling with them). Once you've established a rapport with the agency you'll find that it is a great source for general job help and information - they can help you improve your resume as well as possibly provide good contacts within the areas you do want to work full-time. I've had nothing but great experiences temping.

I've moved around a lot and the first thing I do in every new city is sign up with a couple of agencies. Now that I think about it, I even got my current job through a temp agency, 4 years ago. Good luck!
posted by widdershins at 10:13 AM on July 14, 2005

Any reason why you're not considering a permanent position? Many big companies have graduate programs that you can get paid low money to get some experience with a good name.

Otherwise try Jobserve, but IT contracting usually (in my experience) implies higher skills and experience to justify the higher rates.
posted by quiet at 11:45 AM on July 14, 2005

widdershins, I'm in the same position as the poster, or at least will be when I graduate next year. You couldn't e-mail me the agency that the BBC uses could you? My e-mail is in my profile.
posted by iamcrispy at 12:52 PM on July 14, 2005

Widdershins advice is good. You can also do courses from training organisations in microsoft office. Word and Excel are the most important for basic jobs.

It's good to be in a position where you can take week or day long assignments to get your foot in the door with the agency. Turn up in a suit, and try to develop a personal rapport with the agency person, and ask for that person by name when calling. Visit the agency in person to ask about work as well as phoning.

But...Consider if you really want to do office admin. I have been doing it for a few years after a creative degree. I'm trying my best to get out of the temp trap. It slowly eats your mind day by day.

You could think about getting a skill to make money for yourself, or a fun job like shop work while you work on your career.
posted by lunkfish at 1:18 PM on July 14, 2005

iamcrispy, it's been about 10 years, so there's a good chance the BBC has changed agencies, but I believe at the time it was Alfred Marks.

But really, just find the number for the HR dept and call and ask. If you explain that you're looking for short-term employment (even if you're not) and would like to spend the time working at this particular company, they usually have no problem giving out the information. In my experience, they've even given me suggestions for who to ask for and areas that might be looking for help.

And cillit bang, heed lunkfish's warning. Temping is great for decent money while you're figuring out what you want to do - but beware getting stuck and not getting work experience in the field you really want to work in...
posted by widdershins at 1:50 PM on July 14, 2005

If you are looking for something to get you by until you find your perfect job and are happy with doing admin work, try Crone Corkhill. I believe they are based near Green Park and we get good feedback from the temps (especially as it pays quite well).
posted by floanna at 2:31 PM on July 14, 2005