Temphunt

I Just Don’t Have the Time to Read This

Amir Lehrer — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 05:01:26 +0000

Have you ever said “I’d love to but I just don’t have the time”?

As the new year of 2012 is approaching I was thinking back to a conversation that I had with a friend of mine, Michael, a few years ago which can sort of hit home with many of you at this time of year so I decided to share it with you. Michael and I at the time were pretty similar in many ways. We were the same age, at similar stages of life. We both had comparable jobs and just about the same amount of free time. The one thing that I learned that we didn’t have in common were our priorities.

Back in 2006, I starting learning about the online world a lot more in depth, I started a couple blogs and fell in love with blogging and the new world of social media which we were on the doorstep of. I was so excited about blogging that I told Michael all about my experiences and suggested that he start a blog of his own. I explained the benefits of clearing your head, getting your opinion out there, joining the conversation and recording your thoughts, insight and experiences.

Michael shared my enthusiasm but almost in the same breath said “it sounds great but I just don’t have the time for it”. During the same conversation, probably less than 10 minutes later, Michael told me about this great new TV series that he watched religiously (I can’t remember for the life of me what it was). He said that I absolutely have to watch it and without thinking, I answered back “it sounds great but I just don’t have the time for it”.

Bong!

At that moment, it struck me. Wait a second! We both have exactly the same amount of time. This wasn’t about time, it was about priorities. We often confuse “time” with “priorities”. I’ve heard so many people complain (myself included) that they just don’t have any time. What they (and I) really mean to say is “I just don’t want to make that a priority”.

Once you get to that point, you realize that everyone has the same 24 hours in their day and yet some people do have the time for horseback riding or blogging or traveling or anything else. They just make them a priority in life. It’s completely okay to not have horseback riding, blogging or traveling as priorities, but just be honest with yourself and realize that they are priorities and not the lack of time. You may say that you need to work 3 temp jobs to pay your bills and there is no way that you can make the time to do anything else. That is actually commendable but that too is a priority. Paying bills is higher on your list than “anything else”.

Everyone gets to make their own choices in life and there is always an opportunity cost to whatever we choose. If you want to live in Manhattan, you won’t be able to live in as big a place as if you would in New Jersey. Just figure out what your priority is and be happy with your decisions.

Every once in a while, it’s a good idea to take a step back and look at our priorities. Is the way you are living your life in line with your priorities? Do you have your priorities straight? Is there something in your life that can be changed to better suit your priorities?

The new year is coming up and we all have a chance for a fresh start. Take a look at your life and figure out what your priorities are. Do you make it a priority to eat healthy? to exercise? to learn new skills? to move forward in your career? to relax more? to travel more? to meet more people? Spend time with family and friends?

Sometimes you know what is right for you but you have never taken the time to make it a priority. Now with the new year coming up, you have a chance to re-examine your priorities and live by them in the new year.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Image: Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

4 Lessons Temp Workers Can Take From Hollywood Super Stars

Amir Lehrer — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 02:09:37 +0000

Do you ever wonder what all of the big actors did before they became famous? Besides the Olson twins, the Fanning sisters and a few others, most of the stars we know went unnoticed for most of their lives until they got their big breaks. They worked hard and did everything they could to move their careers in the direction that they wanted to go. They took jobs doing whatever they could find to pay the bills or potentially get noticed. It always thrills me to find some big time actor and then look them up on IMDB.com to find out what they did before becoming famous. For example, Jim Carrey was a starving comedian in Canada that took roles in shows that no one has ever heard of like The Duck Factory and dozens of other roles before he was discovered for his rubber face in Ace Ventura.

Some big time actors even got roles in classic movies that everyone has heard of but sort of blended into the background because nobody knew who they were. Did you know that George Clooney was on Roseanne? Or that Adam Sandler was on the Cosby Show? Here’s a list of 23 more celebrities that fell into the background of classic shows and movies.

Some actors got a big break just by being in a movie that become a hit and some actors worked their way up in one TV show. James Michael Tyler, better known as “Gunther” on Friends was supposed to be a nameless extra in the back of one of the scenes in the Central Perk coffee shop in the Friends TV series. They put him behind the counter because he was the only extra who knew how to use an espresso machine (who said a variety of experience never pays off?). The Gunther character was such a hit, they ended up making Tyler the most frequent appearing guest star with 131 appearances over 10 years.

So what can a temp worker learn from the big time Hollywood actors?

Everyone has to start somewhere – If you want to be the CEO, you have to climb your way up to the top. It takes hard work and whatever jobs you can get to move you forward in your career and give you that big break.
Even if you make it to the right place, it doesn’t mean that you will be discovered right away – We saw that many actors had roles in classic movies and TV shows but still weren’t discovered until much later.
It takes time to become and overnight success – Success doesn’t happen overnight. Success comes from hard work over long periods of time that finally pay off down the road.
You never know when the most random skills will boost your career – Gunther got his role because he knew how to use an espresso machine. As a temp worker, you may think that working in a coffee shop or in an industry not related to your career goals is a waste of time but as you can see, that’s not always the case. I temped as a waiter, bookkeeper, actor, and many other temp jobs and I feel that I gained something from each temp position that I was able to use for future jobs.

What else can you learn as a temp worker from the Hollywood stars? Have you gained any skills from a temp job that you thought you would never use but ended up needing it? Share in the comments.

Never Do A Job Yourself That Someone Else Can Do

Amir Lehrer — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:42:29 +0000

Yesterday I wrote a post telling you not to hire someone until you have done the job yourself. Today I want to play devil’s advocate and take the other side. Never do a job that you can hire someone else to do. You are very talented and have skills that you have built up throughout your schooling and career and you are trained to perform your job efficiently and well. The absolute best use of your time is to do what you are best at and let someone do everything else.

When something new comes up that you don’t know how to deal with, hire someone. If you start trying to do the job yourself, you can potentially waste countless hours and build unnecessary frustration.

We’re coming up to the end of the year and besides all the holidays and resolutions, we have to think about our taxes. If you want, you can do your taxes yourself and save yourself some money that you would have paid an accountant but you would end up spending many hours that could have been better spent elsewhere. By spending your time doing something that’s not what you are best at you could actually be losing money. There are two ways to have more money, either you make more money or spend less money but you have to be careful that you don’t save a dollar while losing two dollars that you could have made.

There’s a popular example of the top lawyer who takes a helicopter to baseball games to save money. He figures that if he drove, it would be cheaper but with traffic and the time he’d be spending commuting, her would lose over an hour of work. Since he makes $600 per hour, he can afford to take a helicopter to the game by working an extra hour.

The next time that a job comes up that does not fall into your expertise, think about hiring someone to take the trouble off of your hands.

What’s your style? Do you do the job yourself or hire someone to do it? Leave your answer in the comments.

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Don’t Hire Someone, Do the Job Yourself!

Amir Lehrer — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:21:44 +0000

When something needs to get done that is outside of anyone at the office’s domain, the first impulse is to hire someone to do the job. It makes perfect sense for so many reasons but I am going to give you a few reasons why you should forget about hiring someone until you have done the job yourself.

The Job Could be Really Easy

Once you do the job, you may realize that it is less work than you originally thought and with a tiny bit of extra effort, you or a co-worker can do the job without too much trouble.

The Job Could be Really Hard

The job may be really complicated and throwing someone new into the position can set him up for failure. By doing the job yourself, you’ll get a good feel if the job can be done by one new hire or more and at what skill and experience level.

You’ll Know how to be a Boss

It’s not easy to be someone’s boss if you don’t know exactly what he is supposed to be doing. The perfect example is a manger telling a computer developer to add something complicated to their webpage. The manager will think “it’s just a little box, it shouldn’t take too long” while in actuality, it may mean changing the entire code which can take weeks. It’s very easy to get impatient when you don’t know or understand what the other person is doing. By doing or at least attempting to do the job first, you’ll have a good idea of how to be a good boss.

Jason Fried, a co-founder of 37signals is a big advocate of hiring out of pain and not pleasure. He says to do the job yourself until you can’t handle it anymore. That way when you hire someone, you will know exactly what he is doing and will be able to evaluate the job he is doing based on your experience.

Now that you’ve gone through the steps and know what the job is all about, go and hire someone to do it.

Are there any other reasons to delay hiring someone while trying out the job? Do you disagree? Let us know in the comments.

Image: AscensionDigital / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Keep That First Day of Work Feeling

Amir Lehrer — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:37:20 +0000

I remember as a kid that we used to speak about how we didn’t like school or that we didn’t want to go and I can remember countless days where I acted sick so that I could stay home, but there was one day or group of days that I always looked forward to. It was the first day or week of school. We would show up with all of our brand new school supplies, get our new desk or locker that we’d be using for the rest of the year and meet our teachers. We were full of hope and determination that this was going to be a great year. On the first day of school, we didn’t really ever learn anything that would count for grades, we would just spend some time familiarizing ourselves with how this new school year was going to work.

On those days that I did end up being “sick” (I had a great doctor who always said I had an ear infection, even when I was faking), I would have a great time staying home and watching TV but I would dread going back to school because I would have to catch up on all of the work that I missed.

Fast forward a couple of decades when school is over and you have joined the real world. If you are a full time worker with a full time job, you’re back in the same situation as you were when you were a kid in school. The first day of a new job can be really exciting and you spend your time figuring things out and getting used to the new surroundings. As time goes on, the surroundings become familiar and then too familiar. Whether you love your job or not, you will probably need to take a sick day and will probably want to take a vacation. Just like a kid in grade school, you can enjoy your time off but you may dread going back to work since you know about how much work is probably waiting for you when you get back. When you do get back to the office, you spend your first day just trying to figure out what you missed and then starting to put the wheels in motion to catch up on all of the work you missed.

The Beauty of a Temp Job

The beauty of a temp job is that you don’t really have to worry about missing anything during sick days and vacations because you are moving around from job to job anyway. You may have a sick day or two during a temp job but what you will miss as a temp may not compare to what a full time worker will miss. Vacations are even better. As a temp worker, you can take a mini (or not so mini) vacation between every temp assignment if you want to. When you finish your vacation, there is no catching up to do because you’ll just be starting a new temp assignment from scratch anyway.

Temp Worker Vacations

Temp worker vacations are great because you can have as many of them as you want between temp jobs. If a temp assignment is really tough and takes a lot out of you, you can take a couple of days off before starting your next assignment and nobody is going to stop you.

How did you feel about going back to school and how do you feel about a first day at work? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Are You Part of the 99%? No, I’m Not Talking About Occupy Wall Street

Amir Lehrer — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:05:08 +0000

Why did you go to school? To get a degree? Why did you want a degree? To get a job? Why did you want a job? To make money? Why did you want to make money?

I can keep going and I am sure that you can keep answering what seem like a pointless stream of questions but there is a point. 99% of people asked these questions will come to the same conclusion and I am betting that you are one of them. Take the test, start answering the questions above and answer the questions with your own answers. When you come up with an answer, ask yourself why and keep going until you have no more answers. Now, the questions should keep on going for a few more rounds but if they didn’t, you might say that the answers are all the same answers we are fed from our parents who gave us the age old advice to “go to school, get a degree, get a job” and so on. If that was the case I’m not sure we would come to the same conclusions. At a certain point in the string of questions, we have to think because the answers are not prepared for us in our heads. That is the point that I want you to get to…

I’m just stalling a little so you can do this mini experiment and come up with your own final answer.

Was your final answer “HAPPINESS”? If you push a little and pull some teeth, most people come to that conclusion and I hope you did as well. If that’s the case though, shouldn’t there be an easier way to get there instead of going through the whole list of questions or in real life, the years of hard work? I’m not talking about the “rock star get your next fix” form of happiness, I’m talking about real happiness that lasts and lets you wake up each morning with a smile.

There is a famous story about a Mexican fisherman who meets a businessman visiting Mexico on vacation. The gist of the story is that the businessman being relaxed on vacation, feels generous and wants to help the Mexican fisherman out. He asks the Fisherman what he does with his time and the fisherman answers “I fish for two hours, sell the fish in the market, go home for siesta with my wife, play with my children and then in the evenings, I play music with my friends”. Getting excited, the businessman tells him that he can fish for an extra two hours, catch more fish, make more money and then buy a second boat, hire an employee to fish with him and then make even more money. Similar to the “why” we asked above, the fisherman asked “and then what?”. Getting even more excited, the businessman said that he can keep on going fishing longer hours, making more money, hiring more employees and so on. After a few more “and then whats”, the businessman told the fisherman that he could start importing the fish to the United States and build a huge empire across the border. He could then become a millionaire or even a billionaire. The fisherman finally came to his final “and then what?” when the businessman half in shock that the fisherman wasn’t impressed, told him, “then you can retire, go fishing, take a siesta with your wife, play with your children and hang out with your friends”.

I’m pretty sure you get the point of the story but many of us are doing the same thing in our own lives. We are looking to grow and increase everything not really paying attention to our ultimate goal. It’s as if we can’t see the forest because the trees are in the way. It is very easy to get lost in the details along the way.

Temp work gives you the ability and flexibility to really take your priorities and ultimate goals into account. If happiness to you means finding a job that you love, temp work can help you find that. If it means having many temp jobs doing what you love, you can do that too as a temp worker. If you want to create a lifestyle design around the non work related things outside of your career, temp work can help with that as well. Do yourself a favor and if you didn’t ask yourself the questions at the beginning of this post, ask them to yourself now and then be true to yourself.

How many questions did you ask yourself? Are you part of the 99% or the 1%?

Full disclosure, I have no idea what the percentage is but whether it is 99% or 1% or anything in between, the point of this post is to get you to think about what you truly want. There have been many studies done on happiness and people who want to be happy are a lot closer to the 99% number.

How to be a Genius: You Already Are One

Amir Lehrer — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:24:08 +0000

You are an absolute genius! The problem is that you just don’t know that you are a genius. Too many people go through life without figuring out their genius and waste too much time. People ask the question “how can I be a genius?” without realizing it’s not “how to be a genius”, it’s “how to find my genius”. Here are the two most common reasons that you haven’t figured out that you are a genius yet.

You’re Doing the Wrong Things

Albert Einstein said that “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”. You may feel stupid because you are doing the wrong things. We live is a society where conformity is rewarded. The problem is that we are all individuals and we should not conform. The geniuses we recognize are the people who are talented in the roles that we are all being told to follow. One of the most common pieces of advice we are given is “go to school”, “get good grades”, “go to a good college”, “get a degree” and so on. If that is the case, the people who do the best in school, go to the best colleges and get the most degrees are geniuses in our eyes. But what about all the other geniuses? The talented artists, cartoonists, writers, athletes, mechanics, actors, singers and even parents (yes, you can be a genius at parenting).

Everyone is a genius, we just have to figure out what we are a genius at and then take advantage of it.

You’re Doing the Right Things

Most geniuses wouldn’t classify themselves as geniuses but they would quicker classify others as idiots. It’s interesting how everybody thinks what they know is common knowledge and if anyone doesn’t know what they know, they are behind the eight ball. Back to the example of conformity and following the common advice of going to school, getting good grades, etc…, the people who excel at school just think they are average and doing what they are supposed to be doing, not realizing that they are geniuses and what they are doing is not so easy for everybody.

It’s an even bigger phenomenon in the age of information overload where everyone is consuming massive amounts of information and increasing their knowledge on certain subjects. People assume that they hang out or associate themselves with people who have similar interests. Therefore if they learned something new, they assume that everyone just learned the same thing and whatever they learned is not worth sharing because it is now either common knowledge or completely obvious.

To realize your genius, you have to realize that you are smarter than someone. In fact, you are smarter than many people or better at a task than most people. You just have to find your talent and realize that you are a genius.

Temp work is a great way to try different things out and figure out what type of genius you are. As a temp worker, you can work in different industries and do different jobs but you can also take breaks and try out things that you’ve always wanted to try. You never know what you will find out about yourself.

A New Yorker Teaches Temps That They Can Change Someone’s World

Amir Lehrer — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:59:36 +0000

Life moves fast in general but I’ve never seen life move as fast as it does in New York, New York. It seems like so much is always going on and everybody is in a huge rush to get… well, nowhere in particular. I used to love walking around Times Square (sometimes I still do) and try to point out all of the tourists. You know the tourists because they are walking slowly with their heads up and taking everything in. The locals are the ones walking really fast and swerving through the traffic on the sidewalks. A couple of years ago, the city put in what I can only describe as big red stairs or bleachers in the middle of Times Square. I don’t know what they are there for but they are almost always packed with people sitting on them. I once made a bet with a friend that we wouldn’t find a single New Yorker on the stairs and I was right. We asked every single person and found people from all over Europe, Canada, United States and Asia but not a single New Yorker. In fact, the closest we got to a New Yorker was a couple from New Jersey who were out on a date, and they were about 50 feet away from the stairs.

When life is moving that fast, it is easy to forget about the people around us and what life is like for them. When walking into a coffee shop, we can’t help but get frustrated when the service is too slow or when somebody else is in a rush and tries to get in front of us.

A story that happened in New York City in 2008 just came up in Facebook feed this morning and I felt that I should share it. Julio Diaz, a social worker in New York takes the subway home from work every day but gets off a stop before his home so that he can eat at his favorite diner. One day as he was getting off the subway, a teenager pulled a knife on him and asked him for his wallet. Julio gave it over but while the teenager was running away, Julio did something unexpected. He called to the teenager “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.” When the puzzled teenager slowly came back, Diaz continued “if you’re willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me … hey, you’re more than welcome.”

The teenager and Diaz went to the diner and were greeted by the manager, waiter and even the dishwasher. The teenager was shocked at how nice Diaz was to everyone, especially the dishwasher. He was taught that people were supposed to be nice to each other but never thought that people actually were, especially to dishwashers.

At the end of the meal, the obviously touched teenager gave Diaz back his wallet and also gave him the knife he used to mug him.

Julio Diaz is obviously an exceptional person and we can learn a lot from him. A kind gesture can go a long way, even to someone who just mugged you. As a temp worker, even if you are given a menial job and your co-workers or boss treat you badly, treating them well can change their attitude and turn them into friends or at least people that you may enjoy working with. And when you take a temp job at the top of the ladder, remember the dishwashers and treat them the way you would want to be treated in that position. One person can change someone’s world.

You Need a Second Job: 5 Reasons to Moonlight

Amir Lehrer — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:47:32 +0000

You have a full time job or regular temp jobs and you are pretty happy about it, so why should you ever consider moonlighting? Moonlighting for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term refers to taking a second job, usually at night time. At first, the very thought of taking a second job would seem ridiculous but there are some major benefits that you should consider before blowing off the idea.

Make More Money – Money isn’t everything but it sure helps in this terrible economy where inflation and the cost of living keep going up and salaries are not always matching the growth. If you need the money to make ends meet, it’s a no-brainer to do whatever it takes to make sure those ends meet. If you don’t need the money to make ends meet, it’s always nice to build up some savings which can be put towards gift for yourself that you’ve always wants, a vacation, a new car or to pay off all of your debt.

Get Some More Experience – If you’ve ever worked out your body to get into shape, you know that when you work on the same muscles for too long, you stop seeing results. You need to change up your exercises and alternate which muscles you are working on to get the best results. The same with a job. Even when your job description is identical in two different companies, chances are that you will be doing things at least slightly differently in each position. By taking on a second job at a different company, it will be as if you are alternating your workouts and muscles and will give you better overall experience.

Even though it is a very competitive market out there, specialists are always in demand. By increasing not only your experience but your range of experience and skills, you are increasing your desirability for future jobs at other companies.

Build New Skills – While it is great to specialize, new skills can open up new doors. a new skill might even lead you to a whole new career. I transitioned to an internet worker because nobody at one of my old companies knew how to set up an email address for me on my first day and I had to figure out how to do it on my own. After that, I was hooked and started teaching myself everything that I needed to know about the internet (with the help of Google).

Change of Atmosphere – A change of atmosphere is very healthy and can keep you on your toes. In an earlier post, I spoke about how it is easier to spot new opportunities when you are in unfamiliar territories. Everybody needs to change their routine every once in a while and getting a second job can help.

Networking Opportunities – Job loyalty doesn’t exist anymore so you always want to keep the upper hand. by moonlighting and doing a good job, there is a good chance that you will be offered a full time job with the second company. Then you can play your first company against your second and take the best deal. The best deal doesn’t have to be money or benefits, it could just be nice people to work with, a better location, better company culture or just a healthy change.

I’ve also mentioned before and can’t say it enough, networking is crucial! The more people you get to know and work with, the more opportunities you can open yourself up to.

Have you ever taken a second job? Tell us about it in the comments. If you have any other benefits of taking a second job or “moonlighting” let us know in the comments as well.

Pic Credit: Ed Yourdon

Temp Worker’s 5 “Must Do’s” When Starting a New Temp Job

Amir Lehrer — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:53:21 +0000

As a temporary worker, you no doubt have many first days at the office and since a first impression is so important, we put together a list of some of the “must do’s” for any temp worker starting a new temporary position.

Smile – Before anything at all, walk in with a smile on your face. There is no way of describing what a difference it makes to the temp worker or the employer for the temp to walk in with a smile. Smiles are contagious, can loosen everyone up and get your new temp position off to a great start.

Introduce Yourself – When you walk in to your new temp job on the first day, (with a smile of course) introduce yourself to the first person you see when you walk into the office. Many times this will be a receptionist in larger companies and pretty much anyone, even the CEO in smaller companies. Let them know who you are, what you are supposed to be doing (if you know) and who you spoke to or are supposed to report to.

Find Out Who You Work For – It should be obvious but sometimes temp workers are just thrown into an office and they are expected to get things done. In imaginary land, we all feel that extra bodies equals more productivity but in reality that is far from the truth. A temporary worker can’t do anything without knowing what needs to get done.

After your first communication with the receptionist or whoever you spoke to, ask some specific questions.

Who is your Boss? – The worst thing for a temp is not to know who their boss is or who the most important person to listen to is. You don’t want two different people giving you conflicting orders or different ASAP jobs and not know what to do or where to start. There is always one person who you should be listening to more than others and you need to find out who that person is.
Where is your Boss’ Office? – It might be a physical office or it might be a way that your boss likes to be communicated with such as a phone extension, email or an internal office instant messenger. You don’t want to be in the middle of a task and not know how to continue.

Find Out What Your Top Priorities Are – There is a reason that the company hired a temp and if you know what that reason is, you will be able to do a much better job. If the receptionist is on maternity leave and you are her replacement, find out what her responsibilities were and how she handled them. If you can, try to get in touch with her for any tips to make your job easier.

Find Out Who Really Runs The Office And Become Their Friend – In every office, there is one person who knows everything. I am not talking about someone who knows the financials and sits in a corner office. I am talking about the person who knows where to get a pen, more staples, a good cup of coffee (and sweetener) and most importantly knows everyone’s habits and routine. They are the person you should become best friends with so that you don’t step on anyone’s toes and more importantly, you will know how to go the extra mile to do a great job. — this person can also fill you in on all the other details including where the eating area is, the code for the copier, how to answer the phone, where the bathroom is and so much more.

Bonus: Pay attention to your surroundings. When you are in familiar surroundings this gets harder but as a temp worker who is constantly moving around, you have an advantage. Watch how people work, how they communicate with each other and learn the culture. Following the corporate culture will make working at that job easier and will get your closer to your co-workers. Making connections with your co-workers leads to great networking opportunities which can help you down the road.

Do you have any other “must do’s” for a temporary worker’s first day on the temp job? Leave them in the comments below.

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net