Temping in your 50s

[JumpingBackOn]

For a number of reasons I'm now going back to work in my mid-50s, ideally part time but will consider full time; probably for no more than a year or two while we sort some finances out.

My DH's business was doing well enough for me to scale back my freelance work in 2017, as my deadlines and targets were becoming increasingly unreasonable and I wanted to spend more time with our teens, one of whom was going through some difficulties (but is now thriving).

I really don't want to try and resume my old career - a friend is still doing it and is so stressed. Also the role requirements now seem to be a lot more technical.

Before I entered this career, which I did for 17 years, I temped with Office Angels for almost a year and really enjoyed it. In fact I entered my career through them, as I liked the company so much I asked them directly, and was lucky enough to be offered my dream job there (I was also temp of the month at one point!).

I really thought temping didn't exist anymore so I was pleasantly surprised to Google OA and find they're still going strong with loads of great reviews on Trustpilot. So I'm going to contact them tomorrow for a chat.

Before I did so though I wondered if anyone on here has temped or is temping at a similar age and how they're finding it.

As you probably know, if you’re put on emergency tax or taxed incorrectly then you get a tax rebate, in past few years have got two lots of £400/£500 in tax rebates due to agencies mess ups

I really miss the days of tax rebates...😅

I'm 50 and have just started temping. I am/was a solicitor and hated it with every single bit of my soul. I took some time off when my disabled child was very ill and now temp. I love it. i take assignments that interest me (so far all in the charity sector). I have done as little as a 4 hour assignment (writing up minutes of a board meeting) to a week (reception sickness cover) to a longer term 3 month assignment where I worked on a charity policy development project.

I can turn down assignments that don't fit me and literally just take on stuff that I find interesting or when i need a cash injection.

My agency is very small and very local and really good. The pay is not great though but that is largely because we are in one of the most deprived areas of the UK and salaries are extremely low. My assignments pay between £12.50 and £13.70 so far. But i like the freedom and flexibility and so far have enjoyed all the assignments.

In terms of office wear I always go in the first day wearing what i used to wear in court. Black trousers, black shirt, black jacket. Then I look to see what the office style is and adapt accordingly.

@4YellowDaffodils im in the same boat sort of, I found practicing way too stressful, boring and also hated it.

ive tried applying for admin work in the past but not got very far, did you have to change your CV at all to downplay your prior work history?

@Touty I had tried applying for things on my own and did not get very far at all. I found the recruitment agency did the hard yards both for me (in vetting potential workplaces) and on my behalf( by recommending me to potential places). Once i am recommended i have found that employers were usually really pleased that i wished to work for them and were often very interested and un-threatened by my CV and experience.

In stark contrast when i have tried to go it alone potential workplaces have been suspicious of me. One place I worked for for about a week they were strangely openly hostile.... it was a really minor admin role in a busy period and all I was doing was stuffing envelopes with invoices before the end of the tax year. I walked out of that job on the first day thinking WTAF. It was a really bizarre atmosphere. In contrast with the temp stuff the recruitment agency has already done the hard yards with matching me to an assignment and vice versa.

@4YellowDaffodils regarding CVs, this is where I get a little confused.

I thought I had a good, up to date CV, which I was going to upload to Office Angels and then give them a call.

But reading their CV writing guide I may have to redo it, although they also say at the start of the guide that they can help create a good CV, so not sure what is best.

www.office-angels.com/jobseekers/advice-for-jobseekers/cv-tips-tricks

What was your experience in this respect?

Shoes. Honestly you can wear anything. I’ve got fit flops ballet pumps in patent which I wear or just M&S flat ballet pumps.

For me I’d do either black trousers and skirt then either blouse or top, all mine were M&S but their basics range. Then it says you’ve made an effort. I mean you could do the stripy top but that’s too casual for me. And depends where you work. Gov/NHS fine, smarter places probably not so.

The Office Angels CV guide is about right. What employers can tend to look for more these days is project management skills but this can be anything from rearranging a filing system to another project.

You can wing it with skills you don’t have but I personally wouldn’t bother. Just do a few free tutorials to gem up on eg PowerPoint etc.

Also as a temp, you either get very short contracts so eg 3-4 weeks or less. I personally dislike these but at least it gives you an insight into the role and company. Basically you’re there to cover for eg sickness etc so the work can be quite full on. Longer contracts, same as before but not as intense as latter and you get the chance if you so wish to develop relationships with colleagues. I honestly don’t do the relationship building, not worth my time and I’m there to work. PM me if you like as there is one company I can’t name on this thread where they’re appalling and I’d warn you off them. One temp I knew who worked for them for 5 years ended up suicidal as her main boss didn’t speak to her unless absolutely necessary, despite sitting next to her, was really rude, sexist comments etc. She left last year and was quite traumatised by her experience. She was told by their HR and colleagues that she had no rights as she was a temp, employed through an umbrella company. Another friend of mine worked there permanently but was made to do 2 people’s jobs for price of one for a year. Covering a maternity contract as well as her own which was given to her after she’d passed probation. She didn’t feel she could refuse but left last year having only worked there a year in total. They’re a very well known company too.

@Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain thank you so much - I'll PM you tomorrow as apparently you have to do it from a desk-top device not a mobile, which I'm on now.

My mum (65) is temping for a couple of years to boost her pension before retirement. She is really struggling with the post Covid wfh arrangements which mean ‘the office’ is so much quieter than it used to be, interacting with people is tech based video calls which she hates and there’s no sense of camaraderie, yea breaks, gossip etc (according to her) and needing to constantly try and work out how a new office works without being able to talk to people properly. But if you’re only doing it for a year, and if you’re comfortable working online and working stuff out when you’re not in the same building as people, you will I’m sure have a different experience.

This is an interesting thread. I am wondering how one would build up a pension working for lots of different organisations.

She was told by their HR and colleagues that she had no rights as she was a temp, employed through an umbrella company. Another friend of mine worked there permanently but was made to do 2 people’s jobs for price of one for a year

That is what your agency is for, not just placing you and paying you. I had an NHS job in which no-one explained to me what I was actually supposed to do (replacing someone who was leaving); the man training me shoved off to lunch one day leaving me sitting there like a lemon and there were a few other things. I was onto the agency, told him my concerns and that this wasn't what I'd expected and was pulled out and found another placement. I've done that a few times - I might be a temp but I'm here helping you out and I deserve to be treated properly.

Technically that employer was right, a temp doesn't have the same rights as an employee in an assignment, but they do have the right not to be abused and exploited and bullied, the same as anyone else does.

Oh I agree with you to a certain degree about her rights. But this man bullied her and when she tried to raise it through HR channels she was told she couldn’t do this as a temp and how dare she try?! This is a global and respected company! I’m not sure if she did speak to her agency as I think she didn’t like to make waves generally. I got the feeling that she felt she had more rights as she’d been there longer (I wouldn’t have thought this). I did wonder why she didn’t get a permanent job there to get the relevant HR protections.

The main clique of managers where I worked on the admin side, they all stuck together and actually were fairly nice when I was there but there’s such a lot of back stabbing and bitching there that I was quite glad to leave.

I’m similar to you in roles I’m not happy with, if they’re bad I just get the agency to find me something else which they usually do.

But this man bullied her and when she tried to raise it through HR channels she was told she couldn’t do this as a temp and how dare she try?!

Oh I've had the 'you're just the temp' thrown at me. I took a great deal of satisfaction in throwing that one to the wolves when the new dynamic FD brought in to shake the company up asked me for an end of term report 😀I've also worked for some lovely people who made no distinction between temps and perm staff and have been asked back to a couple of places I've been happy to help out again.

Now I'm like a few posters on here - going back for a few years to boost income/pension and for the mental stimulation for a few months each year. That's a very strong position to be in when you temp.