Tag: Hiring Advice

Temp Agency Tips: How To Impress a Staffing Agency

WAI Staff
A businessman hiring a female applicant

With so many job seekers flooding the job market today, employers are seeking assistance from staffing agencies to help them sort through the market and fill open positions. When you apply for a job online, you are likely responding to a posting from a staffing agency or a recruiter. It’s more important now than ever to understand your options and knowing how to apply to a temp agency. 

When using a staffing agency during your job hunt, you should make an effort to impress staffing agencies. To do so, you need to know what to say when calling a temp agency and how to treat the person on the other end of the line. Considering questions to ask a staffing agency beforehand can be the difference between an impressive interview and a misfire.

Because the market is saturated with job seekers, employers are choosing to use staffing agencies to hire more temporary or temp-to-hire employees than to hire permanent employees directly. While staffing agencies can operate similarly to a typical human resources department, they specialize in finding the right person for the right job — and weeding through all the wrong resumes. Make sure you have what it takes to impress a staffing agency with these expert temp agency tips!

1. Speak With Respect

If you’re wondering what to say when calling a temp agency, you should let respect be your guide. Job seekers tend to believe that since they are not speaking directly with a hiring manager from the company they want to work for, they don’t need to turn their A-game on for their contact. Yet staffing agency interview questions can make up the bulk of interviewing experiences. To impress staffing agencies, you should treat every interaction like an interview.

A recruiter at a staffing agency serves as the initial screener for an open position. If you want to be considered for a job with their client, strive to make a good impression on the recruiter. When coming up with questions to ask a staffing agency, feel free to ask for clarity on any parts of the process you may be unsure about. Make sure you speak professionally, honestly and politely with any representative you encounter from a staffing agency. Treat them as you would any other hiring manager in a job interview. If you can’t impress the staffing recruiter, you’ll never get to turn your charm on for the hiring manager.

2. Follow Instructions

This is one of the most underrated temp agency tips and the most important. Hundreds of people can apply to the same job posting daily, so staffing agencies typically try to screen candidates before even viewing their resumes. For example, a job posting might say that all interested candidates must include a cover letter or a salary requirement with their resume. If you don’t include the requested paperwork or information, you could be immediately disqualified without your resume even being viewed. Following instructions is the bare minimum requirement to impress staffing agencies. If you have any questions about how to apply to a temp agency, it’s better to ask than risk making mistakes.

Whether you receive a response to your resume requesting more information or a recruiter asks you to call them at a particular time, the best temp agency tips dictate that you do your best to follow all the instructions you receive. Temp agencies and recruiters are busy — the best way to impress staffing agencies is to show respect for their time by following their instructions. Staffing agencies usually won’t waste time talking to someone about a position if they have proved they cannot follow basic directions. If you are choosing questions to ask a staffing agency, do not ask for information they have already provided in their application request.

3. Be Enthusiastic

For job seekers planning on how to apply to a temp agency, our next temp agency tip is to be enthusiastic. If you receive a call from a staffing agency and you are interested in the position they have, show them! Passion and excitement for a particular role are easy ways to impress staffing agencies. Staffing agencies won’t want to send a candidate on a job interview with their client if they don’t sound enthused about the position.

Some staffing agency interview questions are tailored to gauge the enthusiasm of potential applicants for positions. While you don’t want to be overly eager, what you say when calling a temp agency lets them know whether you want a position — passion will usually impress staffing agencies. Enthusiasm shows you are willing to commit to the interview process and would accept an offer if you received one.

It’s also a vital temp agency tip, to be honest with a recruiter if you aren’t interested in a position. They won’t want you to feign enthusiasm only to turn down an offer at the last minute. This may result in difficulty getting interviews if you plan on applying to a temp agency in the future. All staffing agencies prioritize trustworthy candidates who follow through. If you hope to impress staffing agencies, consider what questions to ask them to help you know if an offer or organization would fit your circumstances. Be straightforward with the staffing agency about precisely what you want and need in a position. The more honest you are with them, the more they can help you.

A candidate expressing enthusiasm

4. Be on Your Best Behavior

If you do end up temping with a staffing agency while you wait for a full-time position, treat each temp assignment as you would a permanent position. A positive attitude and taking initiative are two temp agency tips that go a long way towards impressing the staffing agency and employer you’re working for. You could potentially be considered for a full-time position should one become available.

Even if this temp assignment doesn’t help you gain a full-time position, you might do well enough on the job to impress the agency that placed you. As a result, they’ll want to continue working with you and put you on more assignments, saving you from having to keep planning on how to apply to a temp agency. The staffing agency will be more inclined to consider you for any permanent opportunities they have, emphasizing the importance of impressing staffing agencies.

On the other hand, if you treat a temp assignment as just a way to make money, and have no respect for the client or the agency you’re working for, they will be less inclined to work with you in the future. Take that opportunity to formulate questions to ask as you deepen your relationship with the staffing agency you are currently employed.

5. Making the Most of Staffing Agencies

Staffing agencies aren’t just an excellent tool for employers; they also help job seekers with successful employment. You can explore temp agency tips, guides to impress staffing agencies and employers, and tons of advice to help you find and keep a job. Ensure you take full advantage of an agency’s services because they could be the key to helping you find your dream job.

Strategies For Getting Employees To Buy Into Their Jobs

WAI Staff

According to some estimates, the cost of disengaged employees can be as much as $550 billion a year. It’s no wonder, therefore, that U.S. businesses are urgently committed to finding ways to get employees to buy into their jobs and to reap the benefits of full-on employee engagement.
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How to Prevent Employee Turnover

WAI Staff
Employee feeling stressed while working on a laptop at her desk.

Key Takeaways

  • Employees often exhibit warning signs before resigning, giving employers time to intervene.
  • Retention often improves when organizations address compensation, communication, flexibility, and growth opportunities.
  • Preventing turnover starts with better alignment in hiring and ongoing engagement. 

The process of hiring the right person for the right position often takes a significant amount of time, which most companies cannot afford. For employers focused on how to prevent employee turnover, the challenge is both hiring well and retaining qualified employees once they’re on board.

Consider an employee earning $22 per hour, a common hourly wage for today’s administrative and office support roles. When you factor in recruiting, onboarding, and productivity, the cost of losing that employee can easily exceed $15,000 before accounting for benefits or overtime.

If your organization has experienced repeated turnover in recent years, you may be actively looking for how to prevent and minimize the effects of employee turnover that you might be experiencing, such as operational disruption.

If your organization has experienced a rash of turnover in the past few years, you may find yourself searching for a way to identify and prevent this trend from continuing.

Why Are Long-Term Employees Important?

First off, why should companies want to retain long-term employees? Well, according to Gallup research, businesses with highly engaged, long-tenured employees see up to 23% higher profitability and significantly lower turnover rates than less engaged workplaces. Long-term employees understand internal processes, client expectations, and company culture, making for less operational friction.

Four Clues to Help You Detect an Employee’s Potential Resignation

Your employees may be sending you clues — whether consciously or unconsciously. Here are four signs to help you identify any issues looming with employees you’d love to keep on staff:

  1. Decreased participation in office culture. If you notice that an employee increasingly avoids after-work gatherings, team-building exercises and holiday parties, you may consider it a red alert that he or she is considering leaving your company. On a smaller scale, an employee may simply stop participating in staff meetings and other strategic planning activities. Knowing how to keep employees engaged is a big part of a working retention strategy.
  2. Decline in quality of work and performance. A decrease in productivity is one of the main effects of employee turnover that we see in companies that don’t address potential problems with employees. It often reflects frustration or disengagement, which may result from distractions while considering their options or from a way of silently letting you know their intentions.
  3. Increased absences and leave requests. Whether due to illness or personal days, your first hint that an employee feels dissatisfied may be directly reflected in an increase in absenteeism.
  4. Poor attitude and less cooperation. Employees set on leaving — especially if they feel slighted somehow — may withdraw beyond social events or team-building opportunities. An employee who is ready to jump ship may become less willing to help fellow employees with projects or may become irritable with co-workers and management.

Four Tips to Help You Avoid Employee Turnover

If you’ve picked up on your employee’s hints that they are considering leaving your organization, there are some ways you can help prevent this unwanted employee turnover.

  1. Assess your compensation and benefits package. Competitive pay and benefits remain one of the most effective ways to boost employee morale, especially when rising costs make retention more challenging. 
  2. Maintain an open-door policy. You’re not a mind reader, but you do want to know what is going on with your employees to keep them as happy as possible. Sometimes employees just need to feel heard, but these sessions also give you the opportunity to search for reasonable and meaningful solutions to avoid staff turnover. Open communication allows you to address concerns early, a critical step for employers focused on how to prevent employee turnover, before dissatisfaction escalates. 
  3. Offer more work flexibility. Consider allowing staff members to telecommute for a set number of days each week, or explore a compressed schedule that gives them one weekday — or even half a workday — off each week. Providing better schedule flexibility is another proven way to boost employee morale.
  4. Provide challenges. When employees feel like they are stagnating, they are likely to become bored and dissatisfied. If you believe your employee has become bored and needs more challenges, work with their manager to find new projects or responsibilities

Find the Right Employee from the Beginning

Sometimes, the key to reduced employee turnover lies in the hiring process. If you’ve recently lost an employee, we may be able to help you find a long-term replacement for your next hire.

At Whitman Associates, our experienced and dedicated recruiters work closely with candidates to learn more about their background, education, experience, skills and goals to see how well they align with your needs. Our approach is designed to support employers focused on how to prevent employee turnover with the right hiring process.

Call (202) 659-2111, or submit a request form for temp to perm or permanent placement services today.

Top 8 Reasons Seasonal Staffing Works

WAI Staff

Many occasions require human resource teams to look outside the confines of traditional staffing to fulfill optimal productivity. Thanks to plenty of ingenuity in the employment staffing arena, there are unique and adaptable solutions for just about any need, such as seasonal staffing.

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An Unexpected Transformation: How To Move From Temp To Full-Time

WAI Staff

In 2018, employers have greater access than ever before to an incredibly large pool of candidates. As a result, an increasing number of employers are embracing the luxury of taking their time to find the perfect new team member via hiring people on a temporary basis prior to offering permanent, full-time employment. While this may seem disappointing for those seeking full-time employment, that doesn’t have to be the case. As David Shindler, an employability specialist, explains: “It’s a two-way street, as employers can see how you perform and how you fit in. I know of people who have had jobs created for them as a result of the impact they have made.”

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Choosing Quality References

WAI Staff

You had a successful interview and you have a job offer pending, but in order to complete the process your new employer wants to check your references. If you have questions about how to choose the right references to lock in that offer, look no further! We’ve answered some basic questions to help you provide the best references possible.

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Interview Body Language

WAI Staff

To prepare for a big job interview, most job seekers spend the majority of their time planning what they will say. While what you say is extremely important, you shouldn’t forget that how you look and present yourself in a job interview holds substantial weight in the eyes of hiring managers. Learn how to display proper body language in a job interview by reading our tips below:

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How to Help Your Children Find a Job

WAI Staff

If you’re a parent, you probably understand that there’s a fine line between helping your children do something and doing it for them. While you want to do anything you can to help them achieve their goals, you also want them to learn how to be independent and how to work for what they want. Whether your high school student is looking for a summer job or your recent college grad is applying for his/her first full-time position, read our tips below to learn how you can help your child land a job without finding one for them.

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Who’s Getting Hired?

WAI Staff

Have you ever gone on a job interview where you feel like things went well, but then you don’t receive an offer? Instead, the hiring manager tells you, “You are a strong candidate, but unfortunately we chose someone who was a little more qualified for the position.” In this situation, you are probably dying to know who that other candidate was and what they had to offer that you didn’t. Below, we have created the “perfect candidate” – the person who walks into a job interview and wins over the hiring manager every time. Here is what the perfect candidate has to offer:

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Asking Questions at the Interview

WAI Staff

Asking questions in an interview will definitely enhance your prospects of obtaining a job. Many people get so nervous in the interview setting that they do not ask questions. Others may feel that by the end of the interview, the employer has answered all of the questions. It is essential that you ask questions! This shows the employer that you have researched the job and that you are interested in the company.

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