Bethany: I just talked to Steve about hiringreplacements for Cyril, who quit last month and for Megan, who is leaving at the end of this week. Do you know what he told me? He doesn’t want to hirepermanent replacements. He wants to make dowith temps !

Enrique: I can see it from Steve’s perspective . The economy isn’t so good right now and maybe he’s not sure if we can afford full-time replacements.

Bethany: But how am I supposed to staff the officeto cover all of the work that needs to be done with temps!

Enrique: Don’t undervalue temps. Many of them are very skilled and you may be surprised at how well they do. I should know. I worked as a temp right after graduating from college.

Bethany: You did? I didn’t know that. But you went to a great school. I’m surprised you had trouble landing a full-time job.

Enrique: Actually, I was offered a full-time job before I graduated, but I turned it down . I decided I wanted to test the waters in a few different companies before deciding on where I wanted to work. In retrospect , it was the best thing I could have done.

Bethany: You didn’t miss the job security ?

Enrique: Yeah, I did, but there are other perks to working as a temp. I got offered permanentjobs with two of the companies I temped for. That’s how I got my first full- time job. Working there was the best way to get my foot in the door .

Bethany: Well, thanks for the fresh perspective. Maybe working with temps won’t be so bad.

Enrique: I hope not. And if they get out of line , just tell me and I’ll set them straight .

Bethany: Yeah, right.