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Subject:Re: Temps are people too! From:Sella Rush <sellar -at- APPTECHSYS -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 6 Oct 1998 14:47:14 -0700
I've never worked as a tech writing temp (contractor) for an agency, but
prior to going into tech writing I did spend over a year working for several
temp agencies on clerical assignments. Later, working as a writer/editor in
a publications department, I had the chance to work with dozens of word
processing temps.
I enjoyed being a temp, partly because I like variety. I also found it
extremely easy to "blow people away", mainly because I actually showed up
and accomplished something. And because I'm not a lemming, I also tried to
contribute my perspective.
*However*, I do not agree that the face of temps has changed. Once in a
while you get a jewel like Laura, someone you can give a complex job to and
not check up on them every ten minutes. Most of the time you get people who
know their stuff toolwise, but need their hand held for a while before they
come close to being productive (which is expected). Quite often you get
people who simply don't have the tool know-how or other skills, and if
they're nice you give them the benefit of the doubt and blame the agency for
suckering both of us. And occasionally you get someone who may or may not
know the tools but it doesn't matter because their raison d'être is to rack
up as many billable hours while accomplishing as little as possible. This
situation will never change until agencies devote more time to screening and
become more scrupulous about matching skills to needs. And I think this is
true for tech writing temps (contractors) as well as clerical.
Sella Rush mailto:sellar -at- apptechsys -dot- com
Applied Technical Systems (ATS)
Bremerton, Washington
Developers of the CCM Database
