h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, I've always been sceptical of agency work in the past - and today seemed to illustrate why. Bear in mind, I was sold this placement as "An Eight Week Copywriting/Editing Position" - where I'd be expected to work as a team to produce all the descriptions for an online catalogue.

I got in early, in order to try and make an impression. The security bloke called up for the agency contact, who sauntered down 10 minutes later.

"Oh. If there's just one of you, I might as well go back upstairs."

Which was nice. Without much to do, I sat in the reception waiting for the other new starters, who drifted in at about 5 past 9. While we waited for the agency contact, I struck up a conversation with one of my new workmates, as you do in these sorts of social situations.

"So have you done this kind of work before?"
"No, I'm doing a degree in it though."
"Ahh, English?"
"No. Computer sciences."
"Really? They told me this was a copywriting job..."
"Weird. I was told it was an internet design and editing job."

Turns out the four of us had been sold this placement variously as Copywriting, Web Design, Admin and General Clerical Work... This didn't bode well.

Eventually, at about 9:20, our agency contact took us up to the office where we filled in some forms. Before being told this was a six week, not an eight week placement. By 10:00, we'd been dispatched to the canteen to wait ten minutes for someone to take us through the ropes of our new job.

12:00, and we're still sat in the canteen, drinking rotten coffee. Eventually, we manage to get hold of the agency contact, who claims it's nothing to do with her and someone should've seen us by now. 12:40 and the guy eventually turns up, shows us to our desks, tells us he doesn't know why we're needed and sets out the work. I'm expecting an introduction to the software, information on keeping the copy tied in with the company's branding, details on quality control of our writing - that sort of thing. Oh no. Here, word for word, is our introduction.

"Log onto the website. Click onto the catalogue. Read it. Note down any mistakes on an Excel Spreadsheet. If you need me, I'm going on my lunch."

So that's it. This "Copywriting, Web Design, Admin and General Clerical Work" job involves six weeks of "look at website, write down spelling mistakes." - I don't know what's more irritating, the fact that the agency lied through their teeth, the fact that I need to stick it out for 27 more working days (29 minus one bank holiday, one annual leave) or the fact that such a huge firm put their website live with so many obvious errors!

Still, it's only a temp thing, and I'll be asking Kelly Services to rip up my details when it's over.

Reminds me of when I did "stock admin' at a national chain of newsagent and stationers. My work involved checking what had been on order for more than 2 month or which had been ordered but was listed as OOP and cancel those orders. Their software not only had 0 automation and allowed you to order stuff you had no hope of ever recieving but it still DOS based when most companies were running NT4/Win9x boxes.

The worst days are those when you get up with a spring in your step, enthusiastic about the day or week ahead, only for some moron to start crushing your soul...

I presume that felt like one of the longest days of your life? Sorry it turned out to be such a crappy one

It was pretty crap yeah. I didn't hold out much hope of it being great, but this is just mind-numbing. And the worst thing is that as someone with "professional" writing experience, I know that if they'd have got me in at the start (which is what I thought the job was), I'd have done a much better job!

Oh, Psyc, I'm so sorry.

I've never worked with Kelly services other than to bring in temps to help me out, and they've always sent good people. How absolutely asinine that they sold you down the river and mis-represented a clerical job as something more compatible with your capabilities.

When I was doing temp work I swore to myself that any job was better than no job, but sometimes, that just isn't the case.

I really do hope that something that's better suited to you turns up soon. In the meantime, good luck with the "character building exercise".

Well, Day Two's much the same as Day One. Soul-sappingly awful. Luckily, our web man's bypassed the little blocks they've put on, and we're allowed to have our headphones on to listen to a bit of music.

I might get out of this alive...

We'll sue them if you don't.

Cheers B'el...

You could try correcting mistakes that aren't mistakes, see if they spot it.

Well nobody's checking or using what we do anyway - so that'd be even more futile than pointing out the actual mistakes.

Wait, you're getting paid to do work which no one is really bothered about or cares if it gets done? And you're complaining, why?

Sounds awful....

Still bear in mind you could end up back with us in Royal Mail!!!!

Surely that is a thought to get you through the placement!

FB

I'm complaining, TB, because it's incredibly boring and because I was lied to by the agency.

It's nearly as bad as working for the Royal Mail...

Boring work though is soul destroying. I mean it is better than being unemplyed (I imagine, always had a job me. I cant stand being off sick though due to boredom so I imagine it must be similar), but crickey it means you wish your life away.

FB

The being lied to part would be the clincher. At least if they'd told you outright it was boring work, you could have decided for yourself whether or not it was better than nothing/ worth your while, whatever.

Hang in there. I've still keeping fingers crossed that an amazingly perfect opportunity will present itself and you can blow that popcorn stand.

Something will turn up I suppose.

We found out the vending machine provides coffee that's twice as good as the cafeteria stuff at a third of the price, so things are looking up.

The "new task" we were promised is actually the old task on a new spreadsheet - so I have to go over what I did yesterday and Monday again...

Lovely.

You wouldn't believe how patchy so much computer work is....

"Log onto the website. Click onto the catalogue. Read it. Note down any mistakes on an Excel Spreadsheet. If you need me, I'm going on my lunch."

I pictured his lunch consisting of noting down mistakes on an Excel spreadsheet.

It'd probably have been more fun than his actual lunch.