Documenting and Conducting Yourself for Employment Eligibility

Have you heard about the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986? The act holds two important provisions for employers:

1. Employers are prohibited from knowingly hiring illegal aliens. This re quires employers to verify that a prospective employee is eligible to work in the United States by complying with the Employment Verification System.
   
   
2. Employers may not refuse to hire or discharge an individual because of his or her national origin or citizenship status.

As your prospective employer, your temp service will ask you to complete a 1-9 form created by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Then the service will verify your eligibility to work after someone has examined the necessary documents you have provided.



Save yourself an extra trip and demonstrate your efficiency by bringing these items with you on your initial visit to a service. Every service must ask for them.

Conduct yourself in a professional manner during your interview.

Your meeting with the temporary service representative is very important. Temp service personnel are trained to make quick judgments about your ability to do the job and represent them well to their clients. The person you meet with is usually the same person who will call you to send you on your assignments.

Services may refer to this individual by any of the following names: assignment manager, temp manager, temp dispatcher, temp counselor, employee representative, and so on. In our writing, we will use the term assignment manager (AM). Most interviews take approximately twenty minutes, although professional/technical personnel may require an hour or more.

Shake hands firmly and smile. Your AM is already doing a quick check in his/her head as to what clients your own personal image is best suited for. Your AM will ask you why you are temping and what kind of work you are looking for. Here is where your practice pays off. Don't answer with an "I don't know"; instead, respond intelligently and firmly with an answer you have already given some thought to. Maintain eye contact when you are speaking, nod to show you understand, and don't fidget nervously.

What They'll Ask You

Here are some questions typically asked of prospective temps:

1. Have you ever temped before, If yes, for how long and with which service(s) Did you like your assignments?
   
   
2. If you’ve never temped before, do you understand how temping works?
   
   
3. Why are you seeking temporary work?
   
   
4. Do you have any time or scheduling restrictions?
   
   
5. What are you looking for?
   
   
6. Is there anything you specifically don’t like to do?
   
   
7. Are you prepared to take some skill assessments (tests) today?
   
   
8. Where have you worked previously? What did you do?
   
   
9. How late/early can I call you? Will you have any transportation problems?
   
   
10. Can you give me the names of employers and/or personal references?, Is there anyone else you can recommend to temp for us?

Someone once said that the nicest part of temporary work is that there is generally no waiting. In other words, people at your temp service won't say, "We'll be making a hiring decision by Monday." Instead, they usually ask, "Can you start today or tomorrow?" In contrast to typical job interviews, you are rarely asked about your greatest achievement or what your strengths or weak nesses are. Temp services tend to hire on their perception of your ability to be reliable, responsible, to not do inappropriate things at a client's place of business and your overall appearance.

What to Ask Them

At a point when you feel the interview is near an end, ask the AM questions about working with their service. Your inquiries might include the following:

1. What kinds of assignments do you specialize in?
   
   
2. Who are some of your major clients?
   
   
3. What rate can I expect for my skills (The temp service will probably offer a range here? Ask what qualifies you for the high end of the range.)
   
   
4. Can your service keep me busy?
   
   
5. What is the length of a typical assignment?
   
   
6. Do you offer any skills training? If yes, is it free or will I have to pay for it?
   
   
7. What is your vacation policy?
   
   
8. Is there a medical and hospitalization plan? If so, how is coverage paid? Will it continue if I have a break in my assignments?
   
   
9. Do I get paid for referring other temps?
   
   
10. How and when am I paid? Are paychecks drawn from a local bank, or are they mailed from another city (This can affect how quickly your checks may be cashed.)
    
    
11. What is the policy if the business where I am working on assignment wants to hire me permanently?
    
    
12. Can I expect seniority bonuses or merit raises for good job performance?

What you find at your interview at a temporary employment service may be summarized on the form.

We recommend that you register with a minimum of two services: One to be your primary employer, the other as a backup to ensure that you are kept working. If your interview goes well, the service may ask you to wait a few minutes in their reception area so they can see if they have any assignments you can be set up for immediately. It is not unusual for a new temp to be unemployed on a Monday and working on a Tuesday. A good service will put you to work right away so that they won't lose you to the competition. If you don't hear from your new service after a day, call. In fact, most temp services say they want temps to call them. As one temporary industry staff member told us, "The squeaky wheel gets oiled... or the temp who keeps calling in gets the job."