Worst Temp Agency Ever

I guess this would make me Lara Flynn Boyle
Originally uploaded by jerebo.

I just had an interview at the worst temp agency ever. First a little back story. I have been unemployed for a little over two months now, since the show I worked on (which I won't name, but features people on blind dates and has captions and thought bubbles) is on hiatus. I have been on all the job web sites, gotten the infamous UTA job list, and even contemplated applying at Starbucks.

I thought things had turned around last month when I had an interview at Ultimate Staffing, which provides 20th Century Fox with their temp pool. Well, with only one day of work in the last month through them I realized I would need to try other temp agencies. I faxed/e-mailed three others specializing in entertainment work last week and have yet to nail down an interview. So when I got an e-mail from a friend about her friend working at a temp agency and needing people immediately I became excited. I called her, e-mailed my resume and set up an interview for this morning. She told me to bring two forms of identification and to dress like I would for a normal job interview. Per usual, I wore black slacks, white button down shirt, and my blue paisley tie from circa 1973.

Traffic wasn't too bad, so I made it down to the office in Woodland Hills with plenty of time to spare. I even found free parking off Ventura since I was told the temp agency would not validate for parking. (After living in San Francisco for two years I don't mind driving around for ten minutes to find a parking spot.) So up I went to the fifth floor and opened the door to find a bustling lobby. It was a multicultural bunch in there (i.e. I was the only white guy in there.) The majority of women there were dressed in interview-appropriate clothes, but the men? I'm no Joan Rivers, but I'd surmise that jeans and sneakers are not the best way to impress those who are going to find you work, even if the promised salary range is only 11 to14 bucks an hour.

Now I often neglect to bring such information as exact addresses/phone numbers of former employers and all addresses I have lived at for the previous seven years. This is something I need to work on. I wasn't the only one though, since everyone sitting around me was consulting the yellow pages to find out the number of the Tony Roma's they had worked at. Occasionally they'd call a homie on the cell phone to find out information and to give an update on their whereabouts. "Fool, I'm at a temp agency. I need to keep my options open." The busy receptionist would not have this and told them to take all calls outside the office.

While waiting in the lobby, I had to fill out many forms and take some skills tests to determine my grammar, spelling, filing, and math skills. For some reason, the tests here were more difficult than the ones at Ultimate Staffing. I was actually stumped a few times. I was worried. Did this mean I would fuck up on the inevitable Word and Excel tests? And more importantly, how'd that guy with the gold teeth fare? Did he think "E.M. McCallin" would need to be filed under "EA - FR" or "MC - NO"?

I was finally called in to meet with an advisor. It was a quick interview, in which more paperwork had to be filled out and she explained the timecard process. I expected the above-mentioned Word and Excel tests, but nada. I don't know if it was my wardrobe or the fact that I had not worked at Tony Roma's since high school, but that was it. She told me to call tomorrow to get an update about what jobs would be available. I could hardly contain my excitement.

To get out of there.

Luckily, I had received a voice mail during my lobby stay about a job interview tomorrow.

And in the midst of typing this blog, I received a phone call from the Friedman Agency, which deals exclusively with entertainment industry gigs and helped me out many years ago.

Fortunately I have my options open.