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

You forgot to mention one of the most delightful aspects of temping as a career path - the spinetingling excitement that comes from being 'let go' with no notice whatsoever. Several times in the past I've been sacked with only 30 minutes warning but the best of all was arriving at work at 8.45am and being unemployed again at five to nine. Hmm. Mind you, I shouldn't complain about temping too much - there I was, virtually unemployable, I sign up with an agency and - bing! Quick as a flash, two and a half years later, I had a proper job.

Yeah but did you have to do the mail run? Seriously tho, temping isn't THAT bad...im currently working as a sales assitant in a clothing shop...now that's bad...but utterly boring and undeserving of a guide entry!

I did do the mail run at the same place, for about three weeks (not the job I was 'released' fron BTW). As I recall I was filling in duing the holidays for someone who was suspended for head-butting his boss, or something. It wasn't a bad job, light work, reasonable hours, no heavy thinking involved, the main problem was Dennis.

Dennis was the longest serving mailroom guy and my tutor. He clearly thought of himself as the Yoda of the mailroom but only managed to come across as a monumental pain in the @$$. Mail run duty is not brain surgery. (Oh, and Dennis was horrendously prejudiced too...) But apart from that it was a pleasant enough little job while it lasted.

I've been temping for a while now, doing the secetary audio typing doom thing. I have had all sorts of experiences, from being asked to make 15 copies of a 300 page document, using a photocopier that should in theory be up to the job but didn't liek doing more than 10 pages without a rest, fired at 9am and then as I'm about to leave asked if I wouldn't mind just doing this big pile of typing first because the other secetary has just phoned in sick to just sitting there. No work, no phone calls, no net, nothing. Obviously employed as eye candy by the disgusting 60 year old man in the next room who's only conversation piece is "its very unusual to get a man doing this sort of job, its a shame really"