Ask the cubicle expat: Finding a temp agency

June 19th, 2007

Aimee writes: I just finished reading your book and loved it! It’s been going around my office like crazy. I was wondering, since you’ve lived in Seattle (and so do I!) if you could tell me if there are any temp agencies that specialize in placing people to do writing? Or is there a way to find temp agencies with different specialties?

Aw, thanks, Aimee. A couple temp agencies in Seattle that have multi-week or multi-month contract gigs for writers: Filter/Talent and Big Fish. A couple bigger agencies that have more tech-oriented gigs for those with geek experience: Volt and Sakson & Taylor (aka S&T Onsite). Also Resources Online has freelance gigs for writers with a tech background. (I have worked with some of these agencies but not all of them, so please don’t take my mentioning them as a blanket endorsement. Also note that I’m more familiar with the kind of Seattle temp agency that puts you on a multi-week contract or a freelance job, not the ones that call you at 7:30 a.m. and say, “Can you come in today?”) More on finding agencies in a moment…

Getting a call back: It can be hard to get an agency to pay attention to you if you merely submit a resume through their web site, so make the extra effort to connect with someone there. Go to their office sometime to drop off your resume, chat up the receptionist, and ask to meet one of the recruiters, who you should then charm mercilessly. Or ask everyone you know if they have a contact you at your dream agency and ask them to make an email introduction (or just email the person using your friend’s name). Or get on a local listserv like DigitalEve or SeattleWritergrrls and ask the list if anyone has a contact at your dream agency they wouldn’t mind sharing. Even if you have a contact to work, you have to follow up — not daily, which is annoying, but every couple weeks (give it at least three tries before you call it quits). Otherwise, you may never hear back from these resume-inundated people.

Finding other agencies: If my list of agencies doesn’t float your boat, or you don’t live in Seattle, here are a few ways you can find additional agencies near you. I’m assuming you’ve already asked everyone you know if they have agencies to recommend; if not, do that first. Because you do want to go with an agency that people you know and trust have nice things to say about. Other ways to track down agencies, listed in order of my preference:

• As mentioned earlier, join a free local listserv like DigitalEve or SeattleWritergrrls, both of which have branches in other cities and accept out-of-town members. Ask the list for recommendations. You will probably also see a number of actual temp jobs posted to these lists each month by agency recruiters who subscribe to the list(s).
• Go to a couple of schmooze parties to hobnob with other industry pros. See Mediabistro’s events page and ILoveSeattle.org for ideas. Ask people you meet for their thoughts on local agencies.
• Post your question in the Mediabistro forums. You will probably get an earful.
• Look on job sites like Seattle24×7, SimplyHired, PayScale, Monster, CareerBuilder, Vault, etc. Agencies will list their longer-range contract gigs (three months or more) there. In Seattle, these will often be high-tech.
• See what you can dig up on Yelp. I tried this and noticed that (a) lots of local temp agencies were listed, and (b) some even had reviews by other temps. Bonus!
• Look in the Yellow Pages (print or online) or do a Google search on “Seattle temp agency” and “Seattle temp agency writers” (you can also replace “writers” with “editorial” or “creative”).

Breaking into the tech sector: In Seattle tech is of course king, and people ask all the time if they need to get a tech writing or editing certificate at UW in order to land this work. I don’t have one; then again, I fell into tech work 15 years ago, and from there, slid right into the dotcom world in San Francisco. I doubt the certificate will land you any jobs (you’ll still have to look for them after you nab your certificate), but it may help familiarize you with and train you in the wonderful world of high-tech writing and editing. In other words, it should give you some skills and boost your confidence.

A couple ways you could transition from low-tech to high-tech writing sans costly certificate:

• Get some freelance or temp experience writing about various business sectors, either as a journalist or a copywriter: real estate, finance, sales and marketing, manufacturing, whatever. From there, writing about telecomm, web, or software products is a natural leap — it’s just another business sector.
• Get into the fold of an agency like Filter/Talent and then ask them to try you out on a small tech project. Once they know and love you and see that you can write about anything from coffee beans to bat guano, they’ll be more likely to give you your first big tech break.

If anyone else has tips about Seattle agencies, breaking into tech writing, or finding a temp agency in general, feel free to chime in. And if you have a question for the Cubicle Expat, ask away.

Entry Filed under: Ask the Cubicle Expat