Temping in Atlanta

May 11, 2006 7:13 AM

I need advice on temping in Atlanta. I relocated to Atlanta from Boston a week ago and would like to start working as soon as possible. I've been sending out resumes, but haven't had any bites yet. I have a lot of professional administrative experience and have previously worked for colleges and public television. I've had experience with less than great temp offices (Office Team) and would like to know if anyone could suggest a good place to try.

I would like to try and focus my search on media/arts/creative or non-profit organizations. My cost of living has been drastically reduced from what it was in Boston so I'm not expecting my past $41K salary to be the norm down here. I'm just starting to get anxious about not having a source of income. I also feel that temping would hopefully introduce me to the goings on of this city I now call home.

posted by Constant Reader to Work & Money (4 answers total)

Can you be more specific about what kind of work you've done in the past or are looking for now?
posted by mdiskin at 8:37 AM on May 11, 2006

We have all the typical temp agencies around here -- Randstad, Spherion, etc. The company that I work for always gets temps for AA work from Randstad -- my understanding is that they are pretty widely used. Depending on what you bring to the table skills-wise, you might find AA work with a consulting firm -- I know that Accenture and Bearing Point are both in town.
posted by Medieval Maven at 8:44 AM on May 11, 2006

Back in the day, I used to do a lot of work thru Aquent. (So long ago, they were called MacTemps at the time!) Like you mention, I thought it was a great way to experience different parts of the city, different companies and different people -- and get paid for it too. Not sure what type of work you want to do, but in general, I would suggest sending your resume to all of the temp agencies. If anyone asks you to pay a fee to sign up, don't do that... that's the mark of a scammer. Otherwise, just wait and see who responds to your resume. Can't hurt to offer yourself out as a freelancer too -- lots of companies are happy to hire people directly and save the agency fee. Again, I suppose that varies according to the line of work.
posted by spilon at 12:26 PM on May 11, 2006

Mutltiple agencies. Phone them, don't just send a resume for temp work. Which agents are best is totally dependant on location. I had excellent time with Office Team, 10 years ago, in Milwaukee.
posted by Goofyy at 3:59 AM on May 12, 2006