Temp Agencies – No
Agencies do not directly find their prospects better jobs than you can get in a full-time job search. But if you don't have the experience that companies are looking for in the positions you want, and no one's willing to hire you in positions to develop that experience (definitely a problem for many in today's tough job market), agencies may be the place to develop the experience along with your skills through short and long term assignments.
I started temping as a 20 year old in 1999 and got thrown headlong into temporary assignments as a receptionist, administrative assistant and file clerk for an agency's clients. These roles led to more advanced roles in print production management, accounting audits, file management, finance and employee training, often within the same assignment. Each role led me to learn either a new set of skills, or to adapt to the needs of a new environment.
Compare this to an admin who starts with a company, learns a set of skills for one role under one department and then holds that role for several years. Though the admin's expertise at his/her job is more advanced, and new skills do get developed over the years as needed or when promoted their work experience is more limited and typically one dimensional.
Should that person get laid off, transitioning to a new job may prove far more difficult. This person's limited scope of experience makes it more difficult to find a good fit with another employer. If they're not fortunate enough to know someone who can get them another job somewhere else, they are on their own facing the burden of proving to skeptical hiring managers that they are worth hiring over dozens of other more qualified or adaptable employees. Hiring managers see their relatively limited scope of experience and shy away from them in favor of workers with more diverse skillsets, or other similar workers whose specialized skills better fit the requested role.
Working for an agency does pose disadvantages at the same time. When a temp applies for permanent roles, hiring managers may not be fond of a temp's work experience, associating agency employees with an unreliable fly-by-night mindset. This can be overcome by developing a relationship with individual agencies and working long-term assignments through them for 2-3 years. This stable relationship on your resume can help offset the stereotypical image of temps as flakes.
One other issue: Agencies pay a reasonable wage for assignments once you gain experience, and give an employee flexibility to take time off once an assignment finishes, but most don't provide paid leave or health benefits. It's usually up to the employee to save for periods of unemployment and procure their own health insurance. The freedom can be a benefit, but you'll need to be responsible with your money when you're working and making decent money. Once you have experience, you can request a minimum rate that allows you to comfortably meet your expenses and save some money every month so that, if your assignment ends and there is no other work, you can survive until the next job.
But in the long run, especially if a person puts in years of solid assignment and project work with a single agency, can complete several long-term assignments for key clients, or gets hired on by a client full-time and provide one or more years of quality service, their acquired skills and experience improves their chances of netting the career they want in the long run. Like any career path, what you get out of working with an agency is a matter of what effort, discipline and development you put into your roles.
If you're fortunate enough to land a permanent position out of school that offers you the opportunity to grow diverse skills and move up the ladder without risk of a quick layoff, that's terrific. If you are lucky enough to have developed such a wealth of experience and connections before being forced to find a new job, that's also terrific. But in today's job market, many people aren't so lucky. If you're looking to establish credibility and can't find an employer willing to give you the chance you need, an employment agency may be your best bet to get your foot in the door and grow your skills and credibility.
