In this day and age, jobs come and jobs go. Mostly, they go. I’ve been downsized twice, which is about average for my age. Some call it right sizing, but when your colleagues left in the office go from working 40-50 hours per week to 50-60 hours per week, I’m not sure there’s anything right about it.

The first time I was unemployed due to a company-wide lay-off, it was for 10 full months. It felt like 10 years. I was too concerned about the lack of income to be productive at home. I could have washed all the windows and walls, canned veggies from the garden (after I’d planted one), and so much more. Ten months wasted. For 1/2 of that time, I was working with five temp agencies seeking employment. That part did work.

Then I was employed for five months as a temp. I was hired into a fantastic job with great colleagues, okay benefits, and amazing work. I enjoyed every minute of it. Until the company sold when I’d been there for just over a year. This time most of us were given three months of reprieve: We became 1099 employees and were guaranteed work for three months. No benefits, but at least three more months of a paycheck. This time, I went to the temp agency immediately. We were barely five minutes out of the meeting, and I renewed my resume with the temp agency that found the job. At the end of the three months, I had a new job.

Three months as a temp and now I’ve been here four and a half years. The company is going through changes. Soon, I will find out if I am calling the temp agencies again. I pray that I nor my colleagues will have the need to do so. If the axe does fall again, after my first two experiences, I have no hesitation calling the temp agencies once more.

I work at a local food pantry one-night a month and a free store two-nights a month. Most of the unemployed there that I talk to say they have great experience. Yet, the thought of working with a temp agency is not desirable to them. First, there is the misinterpretation that they are for factory work. The second is that they only find jobs here and there that are short-term. In reality, a temp agency is what you make of it. At one agency, I found only a few day jobs. At another, I’ve found two long-term jobs. (There’s NO such thing as permanent anymore.)

So, I hope to be updating soon with no worries about my current job – I do enjoy it. But if I am updating this with the “opportunity” to seek a new job, we’ll find out what those temp agencies are up to these days.

Morale of the Story: Keep your resume up-to-date, and try out the temp agencies – before they’re a last resort.