New Job Help

[newtofl]

I am on a temporary assignment that was supposed to last 1-3 days but I have been here for about 4 weeks.  At first the job was great, I had lots of work and some of it was challenging for me since I have not used Excel as much as I have been doing.  I really like challenge in my jobs.  

On my first day here, my supervisor asked if I was looking for a permanent position and we talked for quite sometime and he said he would like to bring me on and he would get back with me.  Since then he has mentioned that fact several times until recently.  Over the past several days, the supervisor has been out of the office leaving me with virtually no work causing me to surf the internet (he told me this would be fine when I had down time) and causing me to leave work early losing time and money.  Today he came back in the office and I had just one minute with him, asked if he had something for me to do. He said I will get back with you in a half hour.  Well it has been about 2 hours with nothing and I am still on the internet.  Before I went on the internet, I surfed the company website, typed an old presentation to make myself look busy - now there is nothing.

Like I said, I would really like to stay at this job as long as there is work to do most of the time.  Can anyone give me advise as to what to say to boss so that he understands that I am willing to do any type of work and would like to be busy and the fact that I would like to get hired, what is the status?

I hope I did not "talk" too long and made myself clear.

Thanks for your help

Susan

[msmarieh]

Make an appointment for 1/2 to an hour with your boss. Explain exactly what you said: that you love working there and would love to take the next steps towards becoming a full time employee but that you have some concerns about if there is sufficient workload for you. Ask if they have plans to expand the position at all. Also, you should look around to see if there are some areas where you could proactively help (such as reoganizing a mail room, reorganizing a file area, putting together an updated staff directory, updating department web sites, etc.). Be sure to mention any areas you are interested in where you feel you could contribute.

Good luck.

Marie

[newtofl]

Marie,

Thank you for your help. I will definately make time to meet with boss.  I have asked several times if anyone needed help.  When I do so, they tell me there is nothing, then they send me home.  Most of the time, I wait until close to the end of the day, so that I have at least 30 hours in a week (for financial reasons).  

The people here are so nice and it is definately a position I would like to stay with, but I hate being bored.

Thanks again

Susan
 

[msmarieh]

I understand quite well. I worked temp for five years (and loved it).

I remember one job in particular where they freely admitted they had no work but they had to have a body sitting at the desk. It was awful. I did everything I could think of to generate work and ended up bringing in software manuals to read (one of the ways I became the computer expert I am - LOL). Nowadays if it happened, I would use the time to write articles for publication or do some of the other personal (but still professional) tasks that I need to work on. I would also do computer tutorials on software packages (there are free ones on the internet).

Don't just ask them for stuff to do. Look around and try to find projects on your own to volunteer for. Here's some examples, but put your thinking cap on and try to find more of your own. It's the first thing I do when I start a new job, so that I can find ways to "leave my mark" on a position.

- "Hey, how about if I alphabetize all your magazines in your department library for you?"

- "These mailbox labels are all faded and crossed off. How about if I make new labels for you?"

- "Have you ever thought about a company newsletter? I'd be glad to put together a draft of one if you were interested."

- "Would you like me to put together a lunch and learn training session on macros/forms/whatever the company would benefit from (and whatever you are comfortable teaching)?"

- "Shall I go through and summarize the magazine articles for you from your reading stack?"

- "How about if I set up a tickler file for you to use to track upcoming events?"

- "I see the policies and procedures manual looks a little out of date. How about if I go through and review it for obvious updating?"

Does the desk have a desk manual that tells people how to do the job?

Is the phone list up to date?

Are commonly used fax numbers preprogrammed into the fax machine?

Do their files have a master file index? When is the last time the files were purged? (Obviously this only works if they can give you easy guidelines, like archive everything older than "x" date.)

Is the org chart up to date?

Are the addresses/phone numbers/contact names in the company database up to date? If not, offer to go through and call the companies to verify the correct information.

Sometimes we need to show that we are able to be proactive. I can tell you that is how many MANY of my positions evolved into doing unique and special projects that I was interested in. I actively looked around for niches that they didn't even know needed fixing or creating.

You should also consider that if the work has slowed down that much, they may be seeing if it picks up or considering cancelling the offer of a permanent position. Could be your boss doesn't want to raise the issue, especially if he feels like he promised it to you and now has to rescind it.  

[gee4]

If this assignment is through an agency, I would contact them and ask them to find out what is going on, on your behalf.  If you are directly employed by this company, then you have to sit down with HR or whoever and ascertain if there really is a need for you.

[raindance]

Gee is quite right.

There are two issues here.  The first is the workload in your temporary assignment.  The contract is: you attend the offices of Company X for a certain number of hours and they pay you.  Whether or not there is work to be done in that time is up to Company X.  If they state the number of hours/period of hours, say from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, to the agency, then you are entitled to be paid for those hours. Your part of the contract is to BE THERE at the company offices - not to ask for or look for work (although only someone who is remarkably lazy or stupid would sit at a desk doing nothing when there is work to be done, but don't get me started - I've had a temp do just that!).   The provision of work is for the company to decide, and once it is provided to you, then you should carry it out.  If there really is no work to do, then you may wish to speak to your agency consultant and ask for advice.  Remember, of course, that the agency earns fees from you "being there" at the offices of Company X, so the fewer hours you are present there, the less money they will earn.

Secondly, there is the matter of offers of permanent work.  I would advise you to send a memo or email to the person who spoke with you, stating your interest in any openings, how pleased you are to be considered for a permanent post, and stating you would be pleased to receive information about any vacancies/the vacancy the person has in mind for you.  Once you have received a reply, then you should inform your agency.  By rights, if you are offered a permanent post, they should receive a fee from your new employers.  At least, that is how it works in England.