Thank you for your letter. Let me respond...

I feel I’ve said this before, but just in case I have not or it’s been a while: there are many different types of staffing agencies.

Some offer day-to-day work.

Some offer temporary or contract-only.

Some offer contract-to-hire.

I work for the latter. Our clients are looking for long-term employees for their positions, so the contractor's time with our agency is essentially a probationary period where the client is gauging whether or not the contractor will be a good fit. That being said, if production slows down, the first people who are cut are, unfortunately, contractors. It is the nature of the beast. Obviously, employers are first going to cull the herd with those that have attendance issues, quality issues, attitude issues, etc., but, if things get slow enough, even the good contractors get let go.

When we advertise a position, we are transparent about the fact that we are an agency hiring on behalf of a company, offering contract-to-hire positions which could result in long-term permanent placement. We aren’t explicit about the potential challenges tied to being a contractor (see above paragraph), but the implication is there.

We recently received an email from a candidate that touched on several of these issues. He sent the email shortly after we sent him a perfunctory “Thank you for Applying” at the start of an application process that, based on a cursory review of his resume, was going to lead absolutely nowhere. I’m going to share the email (in bold) with you, along with some internal thoughts (which will be in italics) from Yours Truly as I read this email.

Note: I will not be editing this email for proper spelling, grammar, or punctuation. This is au naturale, people.

I assume you are a staffing agency correct?

Yes, that’s why it states we are X company hiring on behalf of Y company. Also, there should be a comma after “agency”. Further, you applied with us, so why did you do that if you didn’t know what you were doing?

Meaning like any other, if the client isn't satisfied, they cancel the contract or are looking for the position on a temp basis?

Yup. As indicated by the 'contract-to-hire' wording.

No offense, but staffing has ruined my ability to find reliable work because the gaps and the on-and-off jobs make me look like a job hopper, and I don't need any more job hopping

Why do people insist on starting sentences with “no offense”? Isn’t that code for deliberately trying to cause offense? It’s the same with incorrect use of the word “literally”. Sheesh.

Also, staffing has not ruined your ability to find reliable work. If you're looking for stable work, don't apply to a day-to-day or temporary-only position. If there are gaps or a lot of job-hopping, you are either applying to short-term positions with no opportunity of permanent placement, or you suck at your job.

Also, “Job hopper” and “job hopping” need hyphens. And you forgot the period at the end of this far-too-wordy sentence.

I need stable work with no " Your a great worker, but" ... we are downsizing, we are going with someone who's a better fit. We are looking for a more well-rounded candidate.

First off, “your” should be “you're”. Unfortunately, as I stated above, sometimes even the good contractors are laid off when work slows down enough. It is what it is. However, if a company is “going with someone who's a better fit” after you've been working there for a time, then there's a problem with your work, attitude, or attendance. If they are “looking for a more well-rounded candidate,” then you probably didn't read the list of requirements posted on the job and just applied without considering whether or not you meet those qualifications.

Which, to be fair, any self-respecting staffing agent should have also figured out in the first five minutes, so maybe there is a bit of judgement on whomever hired you as well.

I have heard it all, because

Argh! Never shall there be a comma before or after a “because”!! Did you learn nothing in ninth grade English??

during the pandemic, I was forced into situations to survive where staffing and temp work was (were) all that was available, and staffing was only doing what was best for themselves.

Yes...and no. We are companies that need to make money, not non-profit organizations. If our clients limit/close their positions, we do need to figure out how to keep our own companies going. If we don't have enough people working at our clients, we, too, could end up closing down, so we need to ensure we are meeting our clients' expectations with the people we place to fill their openings.

During the pandemic, our clients (specifically) continued to operate at a somewhat normal level because the products they produce are extremely important. The workers [contractors included] were considered 'essential workers,' and continued to work throughout COVID. That being said, when a client opened a position, they were very specific on the type of experience they wanted to fill that position (mainly, stable, relevant experience to lessen the strain that training a new person would put on the production team). If we wanted to fill that position, we had to comply, or the client would look at another company who would adhere to their requirements. Like any company during that time, we needed all the work we could get. If you did not meet the list of requirements the client set forth, we were unfortunately unable to consider you for that position.

Best of luck, but I don't trust any staffing agency

What is it with you and not putting periods at the end of your sentences?

Also, why are you wishing us the best of luck when you were the one applying for the job? And, most critically, why on God’s green earth are you applying for work through a staffing agency when you don’t trust staffing agencies?

[Sidebar: We are very aware of the dates surrounding COVID. Staffing agencies with a focus on production see the labor market trends far ahead of other industries. I'm not going to get into the nuts and bolts as to why, but the world of recruitment can really nail down when recessions are coming and going due to the nature of the work. So, when you tell us you were unemployed because of COVID from X date to Y date, we'll know you're full of the brown smelly or not. Maybe I'll write another blog post on the ridiculousness of some people and their “COVID unemployment” dates, but that's a whole ‘nother thing.]

Maybe I should write my own letter back. It would go something like this:

Dear Sir,

We enjoyed your letter. It provided us with some much-needed time for self-reflection as we mourned your lack of trust in choosing not to work with us. It gave us the opportunity to discuss all of our wrongdoings and how they've affected you as we reviewed your absolute shit of a resume and wondered amongst ourselves at how you managed to get all of those short-term jobs given how much of an idiot you obviously are and your complete inability to hold any kind of stable employment to save your soul.

Best Regards,

Yours Truly

Keep 'em coming, people, and make my day!