If you don't have a job yet, and you are not going to take last month's advice by the Question and not get a job, don't panic. Sure, all of your friends have jobs. Indeed, your father continues to irate you with how he worked six jobs every summer. Despite the pressure, finding an emergency job even at this late stage is as simple as looking in the phone book to the page "Temp Agencies."

Now, for you freshman, Temp comes after "S" in the phone book.

At any rate, Temp work can be very fulfilling and profitable. You get the chance to work in many different fields, picking up diverse skills. Although technically you only have one employer, the temp agency, you can still put all of your assignments on your resume so it looks like you held 40 jobs over the summer and still had time to write a screenplay.

Since this is an internet based Ezine, I'll give you some net destinations to choose from. Manpower.com for instance, is the website of largest employer in the country. If there is not an office near you, you probably don't have the internet anyway, and you can't read this. On all these websites, including Manpower, you can search for temp jobs near you. Other major temp agencies can be found at Adecco.com or Officeteam.com. Your locality might also have temp agencies specific to your town.

Temps for Dummies

When you go to a temp agency, they will have you fill out forms and test you for certain skills, like typing speed. This initial consultation takes about three hours, and you will not get paid for it. After that, the agent will place you in their database, and when new assignments arrive that match your skills, you will get calls asking if you can/will work for the assignment. Assignments arrange anywhere from warehousing to data entry. The beauty of all this, especially for a student, is that you don't have to drive all over town looking for jobs - only drive all over town to go to your jobs. You can work odd schedules, if you wish, also a bonus. Finally, even if you have completed only one year of college, you will probably be a top addition for the agency and have some priority over new assignments.

Some advice I give to you from temp experience might benefit you. First of all, always sign up for as many temp agencies as you can. I believe some ask if you are involved in others and look down upon it, but you should lie anyway. Putting all your eggs in one agency might have you waiting all summer for an assignment. Hedge your bets and sign up for as many as you are willing to endure a three hour consultation. I worked temp two summers ago and had as many as six temp agencies searching for jobs for me.

Also remember to call them every Monday morning. For some reason the workweek begins on a Monday, and you need to awaken yourself from a weekend of summer partying to call all six of your temp agencies to remind them that you still want an assignment and to ask them if they have any. Temp employees never die, they simply fade away, and if the agency does not hear from you, they will presume you have found a permanent job or you have been hit by a truck.

Temp employees must lie, too. Tell the agency you will not go back to school in the fall. Tell them you want a temp to perm position. Temp agencies have "coveted" jobs - the 40 hour a week kind that pay more. They will refuse to assign you to such an opening, if they know you plan on bouncing in August. Just take the assignment and bounce anyway. The temp agency works for YOU, remember?

Finally, try not to take the job too seriously once you have an assignment. The agency will most likely place you with other temps, so you will form a neat little group. You will get hour lunches while the full-time staff gets half-hour. You get mandatory breaks, where the real employees have to watch. Temping makes you feel like a God. Make sure you relax and have fun - it is, after all, still a SUMMER job.