PoliTemps

Just called this number to speak with a recruiter. The person who picked up was extremely unhelpful. He told me to submit my resume through the website and told me that if I am approved THEY will contact me. He was rude, seemed like he hated his job and told me that he doesn’t have the time to walk me through the website. What a terrible experience. Looks like they need to get their act together and treat their customers with a little bit of dignity.

I have generally had a great experience with PolyTemps. The staff was friendly and easy to work with and they really listen to what you’re looking for. I very much appreciated that the owner, Chris, sat down with me one-​on-​one, went over my resume and gave me tips for my specific job search, what skills I should brush up on or add, how to contact people, and how much money I can reasonably ask for. And, this is all before they even placed me and were making money off of my placement. I’ve never met another staffing agency willing to do that. His advice was invaluable, and I’ve seen a positive return on some of the skills he suggested I build. However, I think that once you get a few years under your belt and have a more specific skill set, they don’t seem to consider you for positions outside your skill set or that require less experience. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, it just is what it is.

These guys have the jobs. A few years back, when I was fresh out of school and looking for a longer term job, I worked at a powerful politician’s PAC through them, and in the public affairs shop of a trade association, plus they offered me several other opportunities that were exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. Nobody else in DC provides anywhere near that kind of focused access to political and public affairs jobs. I wound up getting a full-​time gig on my own after that, but they seemed to have lots of temp-​to-​perm opportunities. (And, the whole point of being a temp is just to get your foot in the door, and persuade somebody you’re invaluable, even if they didn’t know they were hiring.)
Politemps seems to have quite a good reputation around town, so they get lots of good people. I’m always seeing their ads in the political pubs I read. So, I think that if you’re an employer, you can count on them having a good talent pool. They must, if they’re getting the kinds of jobs they sent me on.
It’s a small company, but my experiences with them were always highly professional and very productive. In fact, you get surprisingly personalized attention, in a way you’ll never see at ManPower or something. I’ve never met anybody around town who was unhappy with them, although there’s some disgruntled guy on here who only got one assignment from them and is pissed. Because, you know, if a job just doesn’t work out, and people don’t like you, there must be somebody else to blame…
Anyway, I think they’re cool. If you’re trying to get started in the industry — or just keep busy between jobs — this is the place to go. No place else like it.

I have had a great experience with PoliTemps. The staff was courteous and engaging when I came in to test and interview, and I couldn’t be happier with the first job that they found for me. Since then the staff has been responsive and understanding about any problems that have come up.
I chose PoliTemps (over two competitors) because I was looking for an agency that would place me in high quality, political jobs and provide a chance for growth and potentially a segway into a full-​time job. They have come through on all accounts.