anyone ever worked a temp-to-hire position before?

[purbeast0]

i'm just curious if anyone has worked one and your opinions on them.

i'm currently in the market for a job and have an offer i'm contemplating big time, however i've never done temp-to-hire so the "unstability" of fulltime kind of feels risky to me.

the temp portion is for 6 months.

initially, with the contract hourly rate i will be making $16k more than I currently do.

the fulltime rate they are giving me right now, as in they hired me fulltime this day, is $10k less than i'm making. however, the actual salary isn't negotiated until a few months prior to the perm position coming up, so basically 4 months into the contract i negotiate it, and historically, this company pays higher than their initial rate they give. as well, they have been giving signing bonuses. additionally they have great benefits, including a yearly profit sharing bonus, which is historically 20% of your yearly salary.

and on top of that, i will be moving my career into a better direction, doing web app and mobile app development. right now i do desktop client based java, and the future of java is web/mobile stuff. and i have no professinal experience in it, so skill wise, it seems like a no brainer.

however, the whole 'temp' part seems risky to me. i will actually be an employee of the temp agency, so i will have w2. i also will be able to get health insurance through them. right now, my wife and I are covered on mine. however i think if i were to do this, for the temp part, i'd go solo and she could go solo with her company, since we have no kids yet. however, i will have no paid vacation or holidays, but one good thing i think is that i contractually cannot work more than 40 hours a week.

according to the recruiter, who is actually a friends brother and i worked with him in highschool, the company is just new to this whole fulltime thing, and they don't have a huge HR staff or anything yet. so that is the reason they don't hire directly fulltime.

so i am kind of in a pickle right now and am going to be discussing this with my wife tonight and see what she thinks about the situation at hand. i was just wondering if people have any opinions on the temp-to-hire positions through experiences as well.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I've done temp-to-hire. My experiences have been pretty good. It gives you a good opportunity to connect with the people at the orgnization, so you can see if you're a good fit (and they can see the same). On the plus side, if it doesn't work out, you have a connection with a temp agency who can provide you assistance finding another job. It ups your networking potential in that regard. But it does suck not having the guarantee of full-time employment (and having to file paperwork with the temp agency every couple weeks is an annoying extra step).

Still, it sounds like it's a good opportunity. If the only thing stopping you is the title, don't worry about it. As long as you can make connections with the people in the office, they're going to want you around when it comes time to negotiate your contract, and most people don't get the option to renegotiate their deals 6 months into a position.

 

[OOBradm]

I am working one of those right now.

I graduated in 2008 with a comp sci degree. Worked my first job for a little over 3 years, and then started looking. Found a new company I loved, but since they weren't sure totally confident about hiring me full time for the salary I asked for (and they said my experience level was somwhere between a junior and senior position, which they weren't used to dealing with), they offered a 6 month "trial" period.

And ironically, My old job was doing client side C#, and my new job is web/mobile dev. I thought the exact same thing you did.... web/mobile is the future.

I took it at the beginning of February, and we've already agreed its a good fit for both of us and we're doing the paperwork now to transition me to full time.

So, it worked out for me. I say if you like the opportunity, go for it.

 

[pyonir]

I've done it twice and both times worked out fine for me. The temp agency had a deal for 2000 hours worked...so however long that takes. The last company I worked for, they wanted to take me on full-time without the temp agency so they "bought out" the remaining hours with them. I really don't know how all that works (an employer could probably better explain that) but it worked well both times for me.

 

[JulesMaximus]

My current job was temp to hire. I've done it a couple times and both times it has worked out well for me.

 

[MixMasterTang]

I would get a feel for the company to see if they are just backlogged with work and wanting to catch up by hiring an extra hand for 6 months, or if they expect to have a full time position at the end of the 6 months. It's going to be a slight risk either way, because companies can put in hiring freezes at anytime or even have layoffs, etc.

 

[rudeguy]

I've done it twice and both times worked out fine for me. The temp agency had a deal for 2000 hours worked...so however long that takes. The last company I worked for, they wanted to take me on full-time without the temp agency so they "bought out" the remaining hours with them. I really don't know how all that works (an employer could probably better explain that) but it worked well both times for me.

I had this same experience. I don't know the exact number of hours but the company did pay to hire me earlier than normal. It was a great learning experience even if things didn't work out for me in the end.

I would prefer to not do it again but for the right job, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

[purbeast0]

Well thanks for the replies guys it actually settles my nerves a bit hearing these first hand experiences.

 

[purbeast0]

I would get a feel for the company to see if they are just backlogged with work and wanting to catch up by hiring an extra hand for 6 months, or if they expect to have a full time position at the end of the 6 months. It's going to be a slight risk either way, because companies can put in hiring freezes at anytime or even have layoffs, etc.

well in my field (software dev) usually it can take quite a bit of time to even get up to speed and being productive, so i strongly doubt they would go this route. i know the company trying to land me the position is also trying to do it because they will benefit from it and make money, but i actually know the guy personally trying to land me the job and he has nothing but good things to say about them, as well as stories of them placing people there prior.

the experience as well is something i need to transition into as well, or at least want to, since pretty much EVERY java job i see out there wants web app experience, which I have none. and this is for more of a mid/senior position as well.

chances are if they still have the opening i'm going to take it.

 

[yllus]

I did this last year (January) as well - typically the company I was contracted to would let the one-year contract expire and then offer full time employment. They cut it short and offered me FT after four months.

Mostly that was because I'm awesome, but it's also because companies are very cognizant right now of the value of locking up quality developers in Web and mobile (I've got ten years on the Web side, and now about eight months in mobile). Don't worry too much about it.

 

[purbeast0]

I did this last year (January) as well - typically the company I was contracted to would let the one-year contract expire and then offer full time employment. They cut it short and offered me FT after four months.

Mostly that was because I'm awesome, but it's also because companies are very cognizant right now of the value of locking up quality developers in Web and mobile (I've got ten years on the Web side, and now about eight months in mobile). Don't worry too much about it.

cool thing, good to know. i have 5 mobile apps out on the markets for iOS and Android, so I'm somewhat familiar with how it works. although, all my apps pretty much use the same framework i created for the first one, but i've made tweaks and stuff along the way.

 

[Demo24]

I just did this actually. They hired me through the temp agency around the end of January and even though it was technically going to be a 3 month period (thanks to the asshats that worked there before me screwing it up), they offered me the job and brought me on full time earlier this month. Only downside for me being I had no benefits and it was effectively hourly pay so any day or time I had to miss came right out of my paycheck with no real way to make it up.

The reason my employer ended up doing this was because the previous few people ended up being somewhat disastrous in the workplace. This being a government job it's harder to fire people, so I was hired through temp first to ensure I would be a good fit and if so it was easy to bring me on, if not then they could simply decide not to renew with the temp agency.

It was kinda nice getting paid weekly though

 

[Farang]

I'm a tech recruiter. Sounds like you trust your recruiter, unless he/she is shady any role they pitch as temp-to-hire basically has an FTE req behind it. Meaning they need an FTE hire, and have decided to approach it with a contract-to-hire arrangement with the staffing company. You see this a lot in software development because finding the perfect skill match is tricky, for both sides, and an interview process isn't thorough enough to ensure a long term match.

Personally I would be perfectly comfortable with this setup because I'm good at what I do.

 

[purbeast0]

I'm a tech recruiter. Sounds like you trust your recruiter, unless he/she is shady any role they pitch as temp-to-hire basically has an FTE req behind it. Meaning they need an FTE hire, and have decided to approach it with a contract-to-hire arrangement with the staffing company. You see this a lot in software development because finding the perfect skill match is tricky, for both sides, and an interview process isn't thorough enough to ensure a long term match.

Personally I would be perfectly comfortable with this setup because I'm good at what I do.

yea when job hunting recently, i've noticed there are a SHITLOAD of temp-to-hire positions available, as well as contracts. i figure it is just the industry now a days.

so you are saying though, that unless they pull me on full time, then the recruiters won't get paid by the company they are placing me in?

 

[Farang]

yea when job hunting recently, i've noticed there are a SHITLOAD of temp-to-hire positions available, as well as contracts. i figure it is just the industry now a days.

so you are saying though, that unless they pull me on full time, then the recruiters won't get paid by the company they are placing me in?

While on contract, the recruiter and staffing company get paid on the markup of your hourly rate. i.e. you're paid $45, they bill $80. I won't get into a lengthy explanation of this but no, you don't deserve $80/hr (a common reaction when people find out their bill rates).

Conversion terms are determined by the staffing company and their client. i.e. 400 hours and 10% of annual salary. Financially speaking, a company decides when to convert you based on the conversion schedule they have agreed on with the staffing company. It may make more fiscal sense to wait another month, for example, to make you an offer.

A direct hire recruiter is paid in a one-time fee, usually 20-30% of annual salary.

 

[purbeast0]

While on contract, the recruiter and staffing company get paid on the markup of your hourly rate. i.e. you're paid $45, they bill $80. I won't get into a lengthy explanation of this but no, you don't deserve $80/hr (a common reaction when people find out their bill rates).

Conversion terms are determined by the staffing company and their client. i.e. 400 hours and 10% of annual salary. Financially speaking, a company decides when to convert you based on the conversion schedule they have agreed on with the staffing company. It may make more fiscal sense to wait another month, for example, to make you an offer.

A direct hire recruiter is paid in a one-time fee, usually 20-30% of annual salary.

ah okay, i gotcha.

and i understand about the billing rate - i'm currently a government subcontractor so i know all about that heh.

but what im also wondering, is, for the temp agency, does it benefit them much more if i'm hired fulltime once the temp time is up, other than the markup they were receiving the time i was working on contract?

 

[Farang]

ah okay, i gotcha.

and i understand about the billing rate - i'm currently a government subcontractor so i know all about that heh.

but what im also wondering, is, for the temp agency, does it benefit them much more if i'm hired fulltime once the temp time is up, other than the markup they were receiving the time i was working on contract?

Within, generally, a <6 month time frame, it does benefit them. Like I said they get a fee based on your annual salary, according to a conversion schedule they've worked out with their client.

After, generally, >6 months, their client can convert you for free.

The entire time you are on contract it benefits them, as they are billing hours you work. The longer you are on contract the more money they make.

I wouldn't get too caught up in this though. The consulting company is going to do right by their client, for future business, and a good recruiter will do right by you, because you're probably a small percentage of his total business and he wants to sleep at night. While it stings to lose a COB (consultant on billing) and I want you to keeping billing hours for me, I'm glad it worked out and you got a full-time offer. I might try to push you being on contract out a couple weeks or something at worst.

Also generally speaking--the temp agency wants the contract-to-hire to work out. If it doesn't their client just paid, for example, 3 months for a contractor to come on who didn't work out as a FTE hire. Now they have to start over, search for someone else, and pay another 3 months for a contractor to see if he works out. They'll be upset with the temp agency.

 

[AreaCode707]

Farang's answers are dead on, so I don't have much to add. I do often recommend temp to hire for people that are starting their careers out or changing lines or work or trying to get their foot in the door at a particular company. It's one of the easiest ways to start out on your career goals. As long as you know you perform well, you are generally quite safe stepping into a temp to hire role.

 

[DCal430]

I know someone who started off at his current job as a part time temp for I think around 3 months. He was working 30 hours a week, when he was hired as an actuarial employee full time, his hourly pay didn't increase, but because he was now full time his total pay increased by around 33%. Also really nice was the temp agency he was working through didn't have benefits, no health benefits and no paid time off. When he became an actual employee of the company he got comprehensive healthcare, 3 weeks PTO a year, plus some other benefits. So it can work out well.

 

[purbeast0]

ok thanks for these replies. it really calms my nerves as far as taking the jump.

i think i am most likely going to do it because i think career wise it is a great move. my current company took me on board with 0 professional JAVA skills, and I came in and tore shit up and am now a senior engineer.

so i think getting my foot in the door doing web application development when i have no experience, and getting paid at a good rate, is a good idea for me to do it career wise.

i will be w/out PTO, 401k, and paid holidays for the first 6 months, but my pay increases by $16k, so I think it will be okay. plus i can just max my roth IRA instead of putting money to my 401k over those 6 months.

so chances are i'm going to make the jump.

thanks for the info.

 

[RossMAN]

RossMAN says do it.

 

[purbeast0]

RossMAN says do it.

wow ... my thread got RossMAN to speak, I feel honored.