Hey folks. Looking for a j-o in/around center city, and it's getting to the point where I'll have to start tossing the resume out to recruiters/emp. agencies. Was wondering if anyone had any experience (+/-) with any particular agency in the city?

cheers.

Its absolutely impossible to find a job here in the summer.

Don't know what kind of job you're looking for but if you do office work, Kelly services is a great place.

Most good employers hire Kelly people to "try them out before buying" because it's too much trouble to fire people if they don't work out.

They have a website where you can search jobs. LK

Did you work with anyone in particular in their office? Can you recommend a friendly and involved recruiter?

thanks,

Yes, Kelly is good for office work in Center City, and they can pay well, depending on who the client is. CIGNA paid a nice hourly rate; an elementary school paid several dollars less per hour. Pay rates depend on the position, too. Executive secretaries and assistants get more than receptionists.

Todays Temporaries used to pay at the end of the work week - I haven't worked with them in the last few years so I don't know if they still pay on that schedule. It was my favorite agency because at the end of the week, you had the money you'd earned sooner than at most other agencies who usually mail or distribute your check the following week.

I also worked for Unique Advantage (UA) who took over the University of Pennsylvania temp supply from Todays. If you want to trial run working at UPenn, you most likely would go through UA. (Penn also has "limited service" type jobs where you pretty much work as a direct Penn temp - no benefits, but you are on the Penn payroll. Just FYI.)

Whichever agency you work for, make sure that - no matter what the Agency tells you - you get your timecard signed by someone, preferably the person assigned to sign your timecard BEFORE you leave the client's office for the end of your work week. One agency called me to the agency office - told me to drop everything and just go there - it was the last work day of that week. The client had NOT signed my timecard. I had to wait two weeks before the agency finally got the client to give them a signed timecard for my time there. Neither the agency nor the client had expressed dissatisfaction with my work before my sudden dismissal and the subsequent hold on my earned money.

Recommending an agency is tricky because how well you would/could do with any agency partly rests on how well the agency staff likes you. Social chemistry can make one agency seem outstanding for one person but not for another person. On the other hand, agency staff can turn over quickly so ... if you found an otherwise perfect match, go back to that agency later and the staff might have changed so that those who interviewed you, those people might not still be there.

Good luck finding a job in the City. Lots of activity and good eating awaits you.

D7ana