The Red Guide to Temp Agencies

Review of Mademoiselle

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, NY

Total time with agency:
six years (1995)

Wait for first assignment:

Average wait between assignments:

Last five jobs:

Job Title	Length	Client	Hourly Wage	Typical of agency?
				Y
				Y
				Y
				Y
				Y

Tests given:

Payroll policies:
On-site time sheet pickup:
Direct deposit of payroll checks:
Free check cashing at agency's bank:

Benefits:
Medical insurance:
Dental insurance:
Paid vacation:
Transportation allowance:
Entertainment allowance:
Matching contributions:

Comments:
Although I went to the agency in response to advertisements for permanent positions and not temporary ones, I feel compelled to comment here. The comments about sexism are accurate; they didn't seem willing to place men in AA positions. What angered me was that the jobs advertised in the paper never existed. I interviewed at the agency three times:

1) I found an ad for a music-related job, and, interested, I made an appointment. An older woman with bleached/dyed blonde hair told me that I had no experience (even though I had worked during high school and college) and was "never going to find a job." I asked how she thought I should go about obtaining the necessary experience, and she snorted at me and laughed. Needless to say, I walked out.

2) A male counselor advertised jobs in the entertainment field, so I went. He sent me on an interview at TV Guide, which didn't work out. He then told me that he didn't have any other entertainment-related jobs, and that was that.

3) They advertised a job in the music industry (my field of choice), so I called to ask if it was still available. The woman I spoke to said it was, and asked me to come in the next morning. When I got there, she said the job had been taken the week before, and asked me if I'd be interested in something in publishing. I pushed her on the music job issue, saying that this was my third time in her agency, that I'd been insulted by the first counselor and sent on only one interview by the second, and that I wanted to know why they kept advertising jobs that didn't exist. She told me that the man had been fired for being unscrupulous (go figure!), but couldn't tell me why she'd said the music position was still available. She eventually grew red as a beet, and told me that the interview was over.

There are laws against false advertising; apparently, Mademoiselle feels that they are above the law. After the third experience, I called the president of the company, and left a polite, non-descriptive message. She never called back. Needless to say, I would recommend against any contact with this agency, if it still exists. I had good experiences with maybe 80% of the agencies I visited over the course of a couple of years, looking for both temporary and permanent work. RAS was good to me, as was George Sorrentino at ADAM Personnel.

Reporter:

Email:

Date:
Mon Apr 23 18:36:40 GMT 2001

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The Red Guide to Temp Agencies is copyright 1994-2004 by Angus B. Grieve-Smith.
It may be reproduced in its entirety, but may not be sold for profit or reproduced in part without written permission of the Editor.

Feel free to email me with questions or comments. Please do NOT email me your resume. I am not an employer, and I cannot get you a job. If you send me your resume anyway, I will report it to your internet provider. My email address is grvsmth@panix.com.