To Recruit or not to Recruit: Temporarily Indisposed

To Recruit or not to Recruit: Temporarily Indisposed

Being a traveller at heart means sticking with a permanent job can often be tricky. A background in band booking and venue management makes it that much harder. With hurdles such as these it’s often easiest to turn to the almighty recruitment agencies for the temporary salary fix.

Having resorted to such means in London last year, and as luck would have it, landing a fantastic PA role and an 11 month contract I’ve decided to try my hand at temping while home in Australia. Upcoming travel plans mean a permanent position is not ideal, and so begins the tireless CV and email trail that proceeds being recruited and registered.

There are of course pros and con’s following the recruitment pathway:

Pro’s – great pay and working conditions, cushy office comforts and perks, usually not too challenging day-to-day duties

Con’s – even though I am highly proficient in everything from Microsoft Office to Adobe Illustrator, diary management to minute-taking, I come from a non-corporate background, have never once worn a pair of heels and sport various tattoos in non-confronting areas (back of neck, feet). In my previous public sector position these did not pose a problem, and as of yet haven’t in Sydney as I keep them covered.

With recruitment agencies catering mainly to the corporate, financial and legal sectors it seems there’s no place for a well-dressed, well-spoken, intelligent and efficient non-conformist like myself. I agree some people can go over the top in that department, sporting face piercings, ridiculous hair do’s, obscene tattoos and the like. But a little love for those of us who work hard and well regardless of what we’re wearing or not wearing, what we look like and what we’re interested in would be greatly appreciated.