You areconsidering applying for a job through one of the online job sites, and realize the posting is from Abel Personnel, a staffing firm. You hesitate, unsure of how Abel Personnel (and other staffing firms) can support your job search, and perhaps whether to consider a temp job. Below are the answers to many of the questions we regularly receive.

Q. What is the purpose of Abel Personnel?

A. Simply put:

You, a job seeker, are looking for work.
An employer, Abel’s client, is looking for workers.
Abel Personnel is the link between both parties.

Q. What does Abel Personnel do for job seekers?

A. Abel does everything possible to match you, the job seeker, to the right job and get you started with the employer. We guide you through the application process (phone screening, interview with a recruiter, identify your employment goals and strengths, assessments, etc.) and if all goes well, you, the job seeker becomes an active Abel Personnel candidate, ready to be considered for any of the many positions Abel has open to fill.

What else does Abel Personnel do for their job seekers?

Provides guidance related to their career goals and ambitions (including transitioning to new career paths).
Offers resume assistance.
Suggests interview tips.
Places your resume in the hands of HR or the hiring manager, so no more wondering if your resume has been seen.
Acts as your advocate AND we have relationships with these employers. We help to explain your work history, employment goals or career ambitions, what makes you a strong fit, and any circumstances typically not addressed on a resume.
Advises those looking to transition into clerical/administrative roles from other industries/positions in their work history.

Q. What do we charge for these services?

A. This is a free service for job seekers (if you come across a staffing agency that wants to charge you to find you a job or takes money from your paycheck, use caution!).

Q. Why do we provide all of this service to job seekers for free?

A. It’s our objective to find the right person, match them with the best job, and help them get hired. We’re paid by our client, the hiring company, and only when we place an Abel candidate with them. Sending them unqualified people jeopardizes our relationship with that employer and potentially any future business. It’s also not a good situation for the job seeker. We want to ensure that our candidates are hired for a position that is the best fit for their skills, interests, and goals.
Alternatively, if a job seeker interviews and doesn’t get the job – or decides professionally that the job isn’t a good fit – Abel Personnel can sometimes provide other job options (pssst…we have jobs that aren’t posted to the job boards because we reach into our database and only offer those jobs to qualified candidates we’ve already met with).

Q. should you consider a temp job whenyou’re looking for long-term stable employment?

A. The majority of the “temp” positions we fill are for long-term, full-time employment with excellent employers.

Q. What’s the difference between Short-Term Assignments, Temp-to-Hire, Direct Hire and Long-Term Temp?

A. Glad you asked!

Short-Term Assignments: Abel’s client requires some additional help (project work or their employee is going out and they need coverage, etc.). These assignments can be for any length of time (days, weeks, months). Typically, they are for an immediate start.In these cases, the candidate placed in these assignments are Abel employees on loan to the client (temps). It is for this reason that you will rarely find short-term assignments posted on the popular online job boards. They are a great option if you’re in-between jobs, waiting for the ideal opportunity to come along but need to bring in some income in the meantime. More often than not, we’ve had success with candidates placed in these assignments going from short-term to hire because the client wants to hire them in some capacity and will find a spot for them.If you’re interested in short-term assignments, look at Abel Personnel’s website/job board.
Temp-to-Hire (or Contract-to-Hire): This is the majority of the positions Abel fills. A better description may be Term-to-Hire. Once a candidate is identified and placed in this type of assignment, there is a term period (number of hours) before the candidate (Abel employee) transitions over to be the employer’s employee. When you think about it, this isn’t any different than being hired directly by a company; they may use the phrase “Training Period” or “Probationary Period”. Ultimately the goal is the same: to make sure the employee is a good match to the position and vice versa – which again, is what Abel does best.
Direct Hire (sometimes the term Permanent Placement is used): This occurs when a client has reached out to Abel to use our recruiting services. Again, Abel is paid by the client – there is no fee to the job seeker. This typically occurs when the client requires filling an upper-level role (supervisory, management) or is in need of a specialty degree or certification. These are usually candidates currently employed looking to make a change.
Long-Term Temp: These positions do not have a specified term to hire. Typically, the contracts with these clients offer benefits and pay increases to Abel employees as with any employer.

Q. Why do companies use staffing firms?

A. The short answer – because we save them time and money.

Since this is about what Abel Personnel does for job seekers, we won’t go into too much detail here. One of the main reasons companies come to Abel Personnel to assist them with their hiring needs is that Abel provides a screening process of identifying qualified candidates, interviewing the candidates, checks references, etc. We’ll only submit the candidates to the employer that are suitable for the job, saving the company (and the job seeker) a lot of time, helping them to fill the opening quickly to meet their objectives!Because Abel only submits candidates we’ve met with, we encourage you to take a call for an interview with our agency seriously and present yourself professionally as you would for any potential employer.

Q. Can you register with more than one agency?

A. Sure…HOWEVER, just know that companies may work with more than one agency for the same position and each agency may have different terms to their contract. If you are presented with the same job by different agencies, we strongly suggest that you be upfront and disclose that another agency has already presented you to the client for this position. This avoids a conflict for the hiring company potentially resulting in you being rejected altogether. Abel will never present you to a client without obtaining your permission first. If you’ve already been submitted by another agency let us know – your honesty will go a long way! We can then move on to other possible job opportunities.

Q. How big is the staffing industry?

A. Here are some stats:

Around 3 million temporary and contract employees work for America’s staffing companies during an average week.
During the course of a year, America’s staffing companies hire 16 million temporary and contract employees.
40% of staffing employees work in higher-skilled occupations.
Most staffing employees (73%) work full time, comparable to the overall workforce (74%); 24% are Office–Clerical and Administrative and 21% are Professional–Managerial.
Data from:https://americanstaffing.net/research/fact-sheets-analysis-staffing-industry-trends/staffing-industry-statistics/#tab:tbs_nav_item_0