Typically, a job search begins with hopping on Google and looking through pages and pages of job listings spread across various platforms. You click through each one, hoping that this listing will disclose the pay, meet your requirements, and won’t already be filled. The tedious process of applying for jobs can go on for weeks or months depending on the job market in your area.
This is a very common situation for job seekers, and it only gets more frustrating as time goes on without successfully securing a job. If this seems familiar, it may be time to start looking at other tools available to make your job search easier.
Staffing agencies, also known as recruitment agencies and sometimes temp agencies, aim to remove some of the stress of finding a job by using their connections to introduce you to employers looking to hire someone with your qualifications.
What is a staffing agency?
Businesses hire staffing agencies to match job seekers with their open positions, avoiding the complicated task of managing listings on multiple websites, sifting through applicants, and coordinating interviews. They will also hire staffing agencies to manage their payroll infrastructures. In this case, while you work for one business, your paycheck will come from the staffing agency.
Staffing and temporary agencies are often thought of as the same, however they offer slightly different services. Temporary agencies offer seasonal and temporary work, sending employees to several different projects within one industry. Staffing agencies offer diverse types of work, such as full and part time positions, temp-to-hire, and temporary work.
Instead of going through the drawn-out process of applying for jobs from home, working with a staffing agency will connect you with appropriate positions that are hiring right now. You have access to positions in varied industries, including agriculture, healthcare, and clerical work.
How does it work?
When employers hire a staffing agency, they specify all their needs. This includes open positions, number of employees needed, timelines, and wages. The agency creates a job description and advertises it for the employer, in some cases reaching out directly to potential candidates that they know might be a good fit.
The staffing agency vets candidates, reviewing their experience and qualification before introducing the best match to the business’ hiring manager. The employer’s hiring manager then reviews the candidates provided by the staffing agency and makes the final decision on who they wish to hire. For temporary work, job seekers will go to short-term or seasonal projects, filling interim roles for multiple companies rather than just one.
The staffing agency takes care of most of the logistics for the employer. It completes any necessary paperwork, manages employment taxes, and coordinates payroll. The employer pays the staffing agency the fees for their assistance and the wages for the employee. The staffing agency then pays the employee’s wages directly to them.
Is it bad to get a job through a staffing agency?
Finding work through a staffing agency provides you with work experience that looks great on a resume. It gives you inroads to your preferred career field and allows you to test the waters before you fully commit to a certain type of work. You have opportunities to build up your own contacts within industries that you may not otherwise have had access to. Even so, we do occasionally come across hesitation when job seekers consider partnering with a staffing agency.
While there can be some downsides to using a staffing agency, you can easily combat them by choosing the right agency for your needs. There are two key factors in deciding if a staffing agency is right for you.
- The agency works with a large number of companies.
- This ensures that there will be a wide array of job availability. Agencies that only work with a few small companies may not have enough access to open positions year-round, leaving you uncertain about when they will be hiring or when the next opportunity for work will appear.
- The staffing agency specializes in your desired field.
- A staffing company can have all the openings in the world, but if they don’t have plenty of contacts in your desired industry, you’ll find yourself waiting for the right job to come along. Before signing on with an agency, look through it’s available jobs and what types of companies they work with to make sure they meet your expectations.
The next big obstacle we see has to do with payment structures. Sometimes, people don’t want to try working with a staffing agency because they think that agencies will take a cut of their paychecks. This is a common misconception about how staffing agencies function.
An hourly rate for each position is already established by the hiring business before the job is advertised. If you were hired directly by that business and not through a staffing agency, that hourly rate would likely remain the same, while the fees charged by the agency would go towards the expenses of advertising the position, screening applicants, paying taxes and insurance, and managing the employee’s payroll. This means that the staffing agency does not take from your wages, but rather takes their payment from the business.
Employees hired through a staffing agency will have the standard paycheck withholding, the same as all other jobs. This includes Social Security and state and federal income tax where applicable. These are fees imposed by the government, not by the staffing agency.
Staffing agencies can be an excellent resource for job seekers.
The right staffing agency will present you with opportunities you would not be able to find on your own, including jobs that aren’t being advertised anywhere else. You will have access to reliable, immediately open positions looking for someone with your qualifications. You can avoid the frustrating application process, no longer wasting your time applying to positions that have already been filled. Broaden your experience within your desired industry and enjoy the flexibility of knowing that your staffing agency has plenty of readily available prospects for you.
If you’re in Idaho and seeking employment, take a look at our job board to see what we have to offer.
