Another day in the life of working for a temp agency.
Below is one of our great freelancers losing control.
First she needed extra computer trianing which we accomodated her with then she couldnt work no longer than 9 hours a day because she was burnt out BUT really needs the training because she really wants to job. SOOO we get her the extra training and just when you think all is fine and dandy-this is her email to me...LOVE THIS JOB
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Hi Jennifer,
This sounds great. I will meet Lauren at the specified location at 4 pm.
I have one concern regarding the the office space. I am currently in a room with a window and al of the cad designers are moving into a new room. I saw the new space and I am concerned because there is no window. I am wondering if this can be addressed. I would be much happier if there was a way to create space for me with more natural light. I get really depressed in spaces like that and don't want it to become an issue and affect my work.
Regan was concerned that the space was acceptable and it was one of the things we addressed during the interview process, but if feel as though it is more appropriate to bring it to your attention.
Best,
Kimee
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
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I SIT IN A FREAKING 5X5 CUBICLE AND AM LUCKY IF I GET TO GO OUTSIDE NEVERMIND HAVE A WINDOW TO LOOK OUT OF, SUN OR NO SUN I SAY I WE GIVE HER THE SUN, SPOTLIGHT, FLASHLIGHT ETC AND IT STILL WONT BE BRIGHT ENOUGH FOR HER. I THINK ITS REALLY SHE WHO IS DEPRESSED
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Another One Bites The Dust
Trying to find people to do candidate data entry is not as easy as it seems. First you have to be able to be a mind reader, then be able to decipher hieroglyphics' so you can enter the notes properly and fill in the missing blanks. It can be frustrating!!!
I sometimes feel like I work for 2 separate companies. There is no consistency between our freelance and fulltime teams. I swear that people who have been working here for over 2 yrs you ask them something and its like "huh" "what"
Who's going to steal who's candidates!!! This bullshit is ridiculous. I mean we are suppose to be a team. What I want to know is that I interview all day long and don't get a $200k salary but yet one of our fulltime recruiters does and barely assesses anyones skills? And has a VP Title..I should be SR VP. I could just put a resume in our database and say I met Joe Black today and he works for XYZ looks great-very bookable. Uhm ok, but what "exactly" does Joe Black do?? Women's? Men's? Design? Graphics? Sales? How about we elaborate a little more so I don't have to get out my desk, go looking for you while you are on your 2 hour lunch break and say can he sketch into illustrator? Does he know Webpdm? Because it was on his resume but not checked off in the candidate skills section.
Dollar and a Dream people, Dollar and a dream!!!!
I sometimes feel like I work for 2 separate companies. There is no consistency between our freelance and fulltime teams. I swear that people who have been working here for over 2 yrs you ask them something and its like "huh" "what"
Who's going to steal who's candidates!!! This bullshit is ridiculous. I mean we are suppose to be a team. What I want to know is that I interview all day long and don't get a $200k salary but yet one of our fulltime recruiters does and barely assesses anyones skills? And has a VP Title..I should be SR VP. I could just put a resume in our database and say I met Joe Black today and he works for XYZ looks great-very bookable. Uhm ok, but what "exactly" does Joe Black do?? Women's? Men's? Design? Graphics? Sales? How about we elaborate a little more so I don't have to get out my desk, go looking for you while you are on your 2 hour lunch break and say can he sketch into illustrator? Does he know Webpdm? Because it was on his resume but not checked off in the candidate skills section.
Dollar and a Dream people, Dollar and a dream!!!!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Penmanship
I only like to blog about the amazing stories that go on in my office. And this one is great! I cant believe they get better and better. I mean I honestly cant even make up these stories. Its great!
A client calls in and needs a sales person for a show she is having. She doesnt want to pay more than $25 and her daughter is a recruiter and she knows the markup is %80. Uhm then what the hell are you doing calling an agency! Have your daughter find you sales people in fashion. She thinks thats alot of money. I personally work the gift shows and i make $150 a day which comes to $15hr, sometimes less if i work longer hours. (this is tax free and its for my old boss who i adore plus its fun)
Now mind you this woman needs 2 sales assistant for 2 days only so shes really only paying a total of $400 which really isnt that expensive thats the normal hourly rate if you didnt even go through an agency, maybe even more. If you want a true salesman.
As a matter of fact WE are losing money.
She wants someone cute this that and we send over 2 great candidates. Now she wants to see their handwriting skills. Do they have neat handwriting? Is she for real? I mean come on lady-I guess i need to order my first grade penmanship book and do writing tests in the office.
After all the back and forth, Mandy sends her samples of the candidates handwriting and this is her response:
Hi Mandy, Please advise if you get this, as my computer is acting wierd today.
Teresa's handwriting shows me ( I took a course on handwriting analysis many years ago with one of the masters) - that she is intelligent, generous of spirit, and creative. Fortunately, she also knows how to spell.
I like you mucho.
Regards,
Janie
****NOTICE HOW SHE SPELLED WIERD! I GUESS HER COMPUTER WAS ACTING WEIRD!!!***
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Breakfast Special
Happy Mornings!
Oh how I love the mornings especially when I have to get up at 6 and catch the 6:41 am train. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a morning person, I can barely drag my ass out of bed to make it to work on time at 9:00 am well lets say I stroll in at 9:15 am. I love love love to sleep. Ask the bf he will tell ya.
Anyhow the big boss has a breakfast meeting once a year at 8 am, so I cant say no to him so I comply and get up early to get all the stuff set up along with our office manager. Well he has this breakfast last week that was suppose to be for 20 people. I order bagels, get fruit platters, muffins; drive in to the city to set up the whole she-bang and guess what ONLY 4 people show up.
And I mean its not like foods going to go to waste, some people in this office I swear have 2 assholes and if its for free they have 3.
Anyhow he ends up this week having another breakfast meeting-which means another 6 am morning for me- for only 7 people, so we buy a little more than enough food for 7 people and guess how many people show up? 15!! Can you believe it?? So I have learned my lesson better to be safe then sorry and order the bakers dozen. Got to go-meeting is adjourned and I am starving!
Oh how I love the mornings especially when I have to get up at 6 and catch the 6:41 am train. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a morning person, I can barely drag my ass out of bed to make it to work on time at 9:00 am well lets say I stroll in at 9:15 am. I love love love to sleep. Ask the bf he will tell ya.
Anyhow the big boss has a breakfast meeting once a year at 8 am, so I cant say no to him so I comply and get up early to get all the stuff set up along with our office manager. Well he has this breakfast last week that was suppose to be for 20 people. I order bagels, get fruit platters, muffins; drive in to the city to set up the whole she-bang and guess what ONLY 4 people show up.
And I mean its not like foods going to go to waste, some people in this office I swear have 2 assholes and if its for free they have 3.
Anyhow he ends up this week having another breakfast meeting-which means another 6 am morning for me- for only 7 people, so we buy a little more than enough food for 7 people and guess how many people show up? 15!! Can you believe it?? So I have learned my lesson better to be safe then sorry and order the bakers dozen. Got to go-meeting is adjourned and I am starving!
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Receptionist Crohn's
Again my question is...Why is it so hard to find GOOD help these days!
I just don't get it. Don't people have good work ethics anymore?
Is working 9-6 SUCH a tragedy? Or how about just try showing up to work?
I mean I would never think of calling out sick.
(Don't get me wrong I have done it-who hasn't?) But to be honest on those days that I called out sick I had this tremendous feeling of guilt overcome me that its pointless for me to even stay home..I don't even enjoy myself.
I have been with my company for over 5 yrs and have rarely called in sick. I have shown up with a bad cold, back hurting and hung over and looking green but I managed to make it through the day.
We have a receptionist who since the week she started working here has called out sick the first week. She has Crohn's disease..OK I get it your sick, you couldn't mention in the interview that you have a gastro problem? Perhaps we would have had second thoughts on hiring you? You bet your ass we would have.
Sooo she has this Crohn's thing maybe because of her heritage? (see below) Or maybe her diet? Who knows! Should I blame my big fat ass on my Puerto Rican heritage? Or how about I like to junk food and lots of it.
She smokes and drinks more than 10 cups of coffee a day..And then she wonders why her stomach is bothering her
I am not a doctor but I do have some stomach problems myself which makes me a little knowledgeable in that area.. I do know that you shouldn't SMOKE and drink 10 cups of coffee a day. She has been here maybe 3 months and has been out 2 weeks already..No joke. Part Crohn's and part neck problems. The neck problems are the kawinky dink because your a freaking receptionist of course your neck hurts.. get a head set.
Sooo our search continues to find someone who doesn't have stomach problems, can make it to work and doesn't smoke and maybe doesn't have a bad attitude.
For those of you who would like to know about Crohn's here's a little info:
What is Crohn’s disease?
Crohn’s disease is an ongoing disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive tract, also referred to as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Crohn’s disease can affect any area of the GI tract, from the mouth to the anus, but it most commonly affects the lower part of the small intestine, called the ileum. The swelling extends deep into the lining of the affected organ. The swelling can cause pain and can make the intestines empty frequently, resulting in diarrhea.
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease, the general name for diseases that cause swelling in the intestines. Because the symptoms of Crohn’s disease are similar to other intestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis, it can be difficult to diagnose. Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation and ulcers in the top layer of the lining of the large intestine. In Crohn’s disease, all layers of the intestine may be involved, and normal healthy bowel can be found between sections of diseased bowel.
Crohn’s disease affects men and women equally and seems to run in some families. About 20 percent of people with Crohn’s disease have a blood relative with some form of inflammatory bowel disease, most often a brother or sister and sometimes a parent or child. Crohn’s disease can occur in people of all age groups, but it is more often diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 30. People of Jewish heritage have an increased risk of developing Crohn’s disease, and African Americans are at decreased risk for developing Crohn’s disease.
Crohn’s disease may also be called ileitis or enteritis.
I just don't get it. Don't people have good work ethics anymore?
Is working 9-6 SUCH a tragedy? Or how about just try showing up to work?
I mean I would never think of calling out sick.
(Don't get me wrong I have done it-who hasn't?) But to be honest on those days that I called out sick I had this tremendous feeling of guilt overcome me that its pointless for me to even stay home..I don't even enjoy myself.
I have been with my company for over 5 yrs and have rarely called in sick. I have shown up with a bad cold, back hurting and hung over and looking green but I managed to make it through the day.
We have a receptionist who since the week she started working here has called out sick the first week. She has Crohn's disease..OK I get it your sick, you couldn't mention in the interview that you have a gastro problem? Perhaps we would have had second thoughts on hiring you? You bet your ass we would have.
Sooo she has this Crohn's thing maybe because of her heritage? (see below) Or maybe her diet? Who knows! Should I blame my big fat ass on my Puerto Rican heritage? Or how about I like to junk food and lots of it.
She smokes and drinks more than 10 cups of coffee a day..And then she wonders why her stomach is bothering her
I am not a doctor but I do have some stomach problems myself which makes me a little knowledgeable in that area.. I do know that you shouldn't SMOKE and drink 10 cups of coffee a day. She has been here maybe 3 months and has been out 2 weeks already..No joke. Part Crohn's and part neck problems. The neck problems are the kawinky dink because your a freaking receptionist of course your neck hurts.. get a head set.
Sooo our search continues to find someone who doesn't have stomach problems, can make it to work and doesn't smoke and maybe doesn't have a bad attitude.
For those of you who would like to know about Crohn's here's a little info:
What is Crohn’s disease?
Crohn’s disease is an ongoing disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive tract, also referred to as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Crohn’s disease can affect any area of the GI tract, from the mouth to the anus, but it most commonly affects the lower part of the small intestine, called the ileum. The swelling extends deep into the lining of the affected organ. The swelling can cause pain and can make the intestines empty frequently, resulting in diarrhea.
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease, the general name for diseases that cause swelling in the intestines. Because the symptoms of Crohn’s disease are similar to other intestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis, it can be difficult to diagnose. Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation and ulcers in the top layer of the lining of the large intestine. In Crohn’s disease, all layers of the intestine may be involved, and normal healthy bowel can be found between sections of diseased bowel.
Crohn’s disease affects men and women equally and seems to run in some families. About 20 percent of people with Crohn’s disease have a blood relative with some form of inflammatory bowel disease, most often a brother or sister and sometimes a parent or child. Crohn’s disease can occur in people of all age groups, but it is more often diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 30. People of Jewish heritage have an increased risk of developing Crohn’s disease, and African Americans are at decreased risk for developing Crohn’s disease.
Crohn’s disease may also be called ileitis or enteritis.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Manners!! Do they still exist??
Manners! Where have they gone
Does anyone have manners anymore? I sometimes wonder? Do we just forget about them? Or the older some people get the ruder they become!!! At 32 yrs of age all my mother has to do is still give me that same look she gave me when I was 4 yrs old and I still shrivel down in my seat and say very softly to her "sorry!" and never mutter another word.
Snowstorm recovery...well things are somewhat back to normal today! I shouldn't really say back to normal because our company stayed open till the bitter end unlike every other company in Manhattan who closed early. Although I did leave a half hour early so I could get home and see my valentine! But when I got to Penn Station I was swarmed by other commuters looking to get home early as well-only to find trains were delayed big time. Yeh Snow!!
Today I came into the office to find out we had another in-house training sessions for one of our clients who needs to train their design team on illustrator and do not have the proper set up to train 10 people at a time. Anyhow one of the students/designers training was an Asian guy who was nothing but a pain in the ass from the moment he walked in the door. At first I thought the receptionist was exaggerating because she tends to be a bit snippy-but she was not (exaggerating that is). He shows up a half hour late, then wonders around our office, and then proceeds to the conference room to partake in the training!!! Ok sooo during training the designers' get a break in between, before the break he asked our receptionist 3 times for coffee, when she finally gave him a cup of coffee it wasnt filled to the top because she was brewing another pot, he turns to her and says "that's it?" It wasn't enough coffee for him. Then during break he complained that he was hungry. I heard this and brushed it off. Then he was in our kitchen-I happen to be there as well. Our owners of our company are nice enough to supply our kitchen with a bunch of healthy snacks, yogurt, pretzels, fruit, cheeses etc. And this guy has the audacity to complain that our "oranges" looked like they were 80 years old-as he said "they look like old lady" in his asian accent.
So I politely turned to him and said.."Well they are NOT oranges! They are tangerines! Have you never seen or had a tangerine?" and then he says "that look like this? ha ha ha" I then said "Well I don't know what to tell you! You don't like our coffee? your hungry? and now you are complaining about our "ORANGES!!! Your out of luck arent you!!!"
I felt like telling him to F&*K himself this is a place of business not a god damn deli and that he should have bought his own fn lunch. I just walked away because I knew if I said that I might have gotten into a lot of trouble.
Some people you give them an inch and they take a yard.
Heres a good rule of thumb my old highchool shop teacher taught me whenever we/I acted up in class, me it was usually for talking or laughing at other kids causing trouble and my laughing egg-ing them on!
He swore to us that we would remember it for the rest of our lives, and boy he was right!
The three C's my code will be
Cooperation, Consideration and Courtesy!
I will write this ryhme 10 times and surely behave myself next time!
(I of course had to write this a few TOOO many times as you can see i have it memorized)thanks mr kopelman.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Candidate Coordinator
Happy New Year to all! Its been a while since I have blogged in but needless to say I have to add to my agency drama.
So we had this new gal working with us.A young plump 19 year old gal named Wednesday (we nicknamed her Pugsley)who was into acting and drama. Just recently moved here from Texas to NY. I should have known from the beginning that she was a bad seed. Especially when she got kicked out of her apartment after a month. Storyline: One of the girls she lived with just happen to take her rent money and run off-never paying the landlord. Call me a skeptic but come on the landlord throws you out after not paying for one month. I would think he would give you at least 2 weeks to pay whats owed.
Anyhow my boss thought of giving her a shot, thought she was good because she came from a big family and children from big families fight to get to the top. (not this one) From the moment I met her I was appalled. When I was 19 I took direction and I took direction well. If someone told me to correct something I corrected something with no questions asked. If I made a mistake I would be deeply embarrassed and felt like entire office knew. But this gal??? Boy oh boy was she the pick of the litter. When she first started working with us, she was freelancing for us as a trial run. So of course she was a superstar and mature for a 19year old- in the beginning. But image wise, at first she was dressing ok-and then it went all down hill. I thought drugs or something because she would come in here, smelling awful and dirty looking, thank god she didn't have to deal with candidates, only internal people. Her fingernails I think had some fungus on them which were nauseating to look at. Looked like they were eaten away-like shriveled yellow raisins.
So one night at oh lets say around 5:55 pm, 5 minutes before I am about to leave along with every other freaking person who works in Manhattan on a Friday night. She tells me that my boss hasn't signed her timecard and she needs to get paid. I was like your telling me know?? I don't know what to tell you. But being the nice person that i am (sometimes) I said let me look into it for you. I understand at that age you want money to go out and party, shop etc. So I call the "other" agency and try to follow up. Now at this point she is giving ME an attitude because the timecard wasnt signed..what the f?? Is it my fault that you hand this to me at 6pm Fri. night. I call the agency and leave a message because they too are gone at 6:00pm..So she leaves. I bump into Wednesday a few minutes later on the street and give her a run down as to my phone call--looks me in the face and says "thanks"in a sharp snooty tone and walks away from me-I yell at her "whoa! whoa! I am not done speaking with you", she about faces and turns around and we continue the conversation. I tell her who I left messages with and I am sorry that I couldn't get an answer for her. I then try to make small talk which I can see by the look on her face that it is killing her. so I let her go on her merry way.
Back to the office:
Any time I correct her or ask her something she yes ma'ams me which I am thinking is a Texan thing or she's just being quip with me. and gets mad when told to do something. All along this entire time she's with us my boss thinks she's doing a fantastic job. Oh she's sooo fast and soo quick. I am like what cloud are you on. this chick is on the net pretty much most of the day and then takes home the work-which we think is getting done. I cant say anything because I am not her boss-so I tell the office manager who addresses her internet usage.
We find out that weds is now pregnant and is going to be leaving us in a few weeks. So my boss is off again to find someone anyone who is happy to do boring data entry. Wednesday tells my boss that she has everything under control and that all is caught up etc etc. Now at this point she is just on the net ALL fn day long, and sits at her desk eating burgers and reading a book?? Go figure ok well its lunch time but at least sit in the kitchen eat your burger and read. I guess the everyday burger is the pregnancy cravings. Anyhow my boss finds someone to take her place and weds has one day to train this gal-who thank god is clean, together and on point. In one day she pretty much picks up a the basic data entry skills. Well Cindy who has taken weds place is cleaning up her new desk (weds old-which was nasty-the hazmat team should have been bought in to clean house) and finds piles and piles of unentered candidates in her desk drawers. I am talking months of unentered work. I am completely appalled that no one, not even myself caught on to this and how she pulled the wool over our eyes is beyond me. The sad part is my boss said to me I asked her if everything was done and she looked me dead straight in the eye said "yes!" I cant believe she lied to me. Well believe or not she did and this is what happened. Thank god for Cindy who is quick and efficient and in no time we were able to catch up and get everyone up to date! Yeh Cindy. And thank god Wednesday is gone
So we had this new gal working with us.A young plump 19 year old gal named Wednesday (we nicknamed her Pugsley)who was into acting and drama. Just recently moved here from Texas to NY. I should have known from the beginning that she was a bad seed. Especially when she got kicked out of her apartment after a month. Storyline: One of the girls she lived with just happen to take her rent money and run off-never paying the landlord. Call me a skeptic but come on the landlord throws you out after not paying for one month. I would think he would give you at least 2 weeks to pay whats owed.
Anyhow my boss thought of giving her a shot, thought she was good because she came from a big family and children from big families fight to get to the top. (not this one) From the moment I met her I was appalled. When I was 19 I took direction and I took direction well. If someone told me to correct something I corrected something with no questions asked. If I made a mistake I would be deeply embarrassed and felt like entire office knew. But this gal??? Boy oh boy was she the pick of the litter. When she first started working with us, she was freelancing for us as a trial run. So of course she was a superstar and mature for a 19year old- in the beginning. But image wise, at first she was dressing ok-and then it went all down hill. I thought drugs or something because she would come in here, smelling awful and dirty looking, thank god she didn't have to deal with candidates, only internal people. Her fingernails I think had some fungus on them which were nauseating to look at. Looked like they were eaten away-like shriveled yellow raisins.
So one night at oh lets say around 5:55 pm, 5 minutes before I am about to leave along with every other freaking person who works in Manhattan on a Friday night. She tells me that my boss hasn't signed her timecard and she needs to get paid. I was like your telling me know?? I don't know what to tell you. But being the nice person that i am (sometimes) I said let me look into it for you. I understand at that age you want money to go out and party, shop etc. So I call the "other" agency and try to follow up. Now at this point she is giving ME an attitude because the timecard wasnt signed..what the f?? Is it my fault that you hand this to me at 6pm Fri. night. I call the agency and leave a message because they too are gone at 6:00pm..So she leaves. I bump into Wednesday a few minutes later on the street and give her a run down as to my phone call--looks me in the face and says "thanks"in a sharp snooty tone and walks away from me-I yell at her "whoa! whoa! I am not done speaking with you", she about faces and turns around and we continue the conversation. I tell her who I left messages with and I am sorry that I couldn't get an answer for her. I then try to make small talk which I can see by the look on her face that it is killing her. so I let her go on her merry way.
Back to the office:
Any time I correct her or ask her something she yes ma'ams me which I am thinking is a Texan thing or she's just being quip with me. and gets mad when told to do something. All along this entire time she's with us my boss thinks she's doing a fantastic job. Oh she's sooo fast and soo quick. I am like what cloud are you on. this chick is on the net pretty much most of the day and then takes home the work-which we think is getting done. I cant say anything because I am not her boss-so I tell the office manager who addresses her internet usage.
We find out that weds is now pregnant and is going to be leaving us in a few weeks. So my boss is off again to find someone anyone who is happy to do boring data entry. Wednesday tells my boss that she has everything under control and that all is caught up etc etc. Now at this point she is just on the net ALL fn day long, and sits at her desk eating burgers and reading a book?? Go figure ok well its lunch time but at least sit in the kitchen eat your burger and read. I guess the everyday burger is the pregnancy cravings. Anyhow my boss finds someone to take her place and weds has one day to train this gal-who thank god is clean, together and on point. In one day she pretty much picks up a the basic data entry skills. Well Cindy who has taken weds place is cleaning up her new desk (weds old-which was nasty-the hazmat team should have been bought in to clean house) and finds piles and piles of unentered candidates in her desk drawers. I am talking months of unentered work. I am completely appalled that no one, not even myself caught on to this and how she pulled the wool over our eyes is beyond me. The sad part is my boss said to me I asked her if everything was done and she looked me dead straight in the eye said "yes!" I cant believe she lied to me. Well believe or not she did and this is what happened. Thank god for Cindy who is quick and efficient and in no time we were able to catch up and get everyone up to date! Yeh Cindy. And thank god Wednesday is gone
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