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Temporary opportunities are on the rise for blue-collar workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), temp jobs in warehousing and manufacturing will grow 77 percent from 655,000 jobs in 1996 to nearly 1.2 million workers by 2006.
The good news for budding temp workers is that responsible but relatively inexperienced individuals may be able to snag these positions. "The main factors we are looking for in candidates have to do with attendance and reliability," says Mark Bumgartner, site manager in charge of warehousing jobs at Manpower in Nashville. "If you can present yourself as dependable and able to get to work on time, you've got more than half the battle won."
Future needs include shipping and receiving clerks, forklift drivers, material handlers and packers, according to Bumgartner. The BLS projects that plastics and rubber products manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, and pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing will also grow.
Job Seeker Checklist
If you want to land a manufacturing or warehousing temp position, you need to be prepared. Follow these guidelines:
- Create a Resume: Good references and a list of your in-demand skills may put you a step ahead of the competition, says Bumgartner. Document your qualifications, experience and education in a resume.
- Get an Education: Today, most positions in warehousing and manufacturing require at least a high school diploma or GED. Computer skills may also be required. For instance, being able to key information to prepare material for shipping or use a scan gun will make you a more attractive candidate, suggests Bumgartner.
- Assess Your Appearance: How you present yourself should never be contingent on the type of job you're applying for. Always appear groomed and orderly, and present yourself as professionally as possible.
- Sign Up with More Than One Agency: Multiple agencies working for you will increase your steady assignments as well as your chances of finding a temp-to-perm situation. Each agency may require you to go through testing and screening procedures. These assessments may focus on your observation and attention-to-detail skills or repetitive-motion exercises and understanding numerical sequences.
One Day at a Time
If you need a job immediately but don't have every item on the above list checked off, talk to your temp agency about daylong assignments. With companies streamlining their permanent staffs and trimming labor costs, day-labor jobs are becoming more plentiful.
"Sometimes people are simply looking for work to keep the bills paid between jobs," says Stacy Birk, spokeswoman for LaborReady Inc., a Tacoma, Washington-based, day-labor agency. Because neither end commits beyond one day, workers have the flexibility to work as often as they wish. "None of these jobs are meant to be long-term, but they can provide certain workers with ready cash, which is often paid at the end of the workday," Birk says.
In some cases, day jobs are easier to secure than longer assignments. Many day-labor temp agencies do not have stringent prerequisites or require testing.
Short or long-term, warehouse and manufacturing temp opportunities are open to diligent, dependable workers. Position yourself correctly, and you could be cashing in on employers' needs.
