I came across this great commentary by an Australian programmer. It sounds like they use agencies to find IT persons a lot more there than here, but it should serve as fair warning. Especially as employment agencies here in the U.S. can be so horrible.
When I was between jobs (I am not in IT yet, just starting in school), I used an employment agency to find temporary work to pay the bills during the summer while I looked for a permanent job that would work with school hours. They sent me off to a place that does not train new hires on weekends because they don’t have the staff to spare to show you around. The prospective employer said they had done this many times and called the agency to tell them they’d done it again.
On several occasions I have shown up at the agency and filled out a time card and never got paid. By law, if you don’t work scheduled hours, you must be paid for 3 hours or a standard mileage rate, whichever is higher. I should have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, but I had too much on my plate at the time to go chasing after 25 dollars.
That was the first time I used an agency, and it will be the last.
