Work started, and the clock toward perm is ticking

I’ve started my new position. The position is called contract to perm. I’m under contract to the recruiting firm that hired me. For those that aren’t familiar with this process, here is a quick break down:

0. I am hired by the recruiting agency that found me the job.
1. I go to work normally for a set period for the company (in this case, three months)
2. I submit my hours on a weekly basis to the recruiting firm
3. The recruiting firm pays me
4. The recruiting firm bills the company I am working for.

This last part is sometimes padded by a known, fixed amount until I become permanent. It makes the recruiting firm money. After all, they *worked* to find me this position both on my behalf and the company’s. If it is not padded, then the other common arrangement is for the company to pay the recruiting firm a known, fixed percentage of my annual salary after I become perm.

5. After three months if (when!!) I am found acceptable and hired as a permanent employee by the company, then the recruiting firm and I will amicably part ways.

The purpose behind this all this convolution is that sometimes an employee doesn’t work out. It isn’t common, because the hiring and interview process is pretty thorough, but it does happen. All three parties are aware of the process, and know that my being perm after three months is an expected outcome. This is why I am being trained for the position. They don’t do that unless perm is a planned stage of the employment.

And while it makes me feel like a piece of Ikea furniture, the common phrase for this process is “try before you buy.”

I like where am I. The people I am working with are smart, fun and cool. It is a place where I can fit in and contribute. If all goes well, Sometimes it happens sooner, but I expect to be perm by mid April.

Until then, I train. This is a large network to support, and while the initial training is scheduled for 2 – 4 weeks, training that continues is both extensive and ongoing because there is so *much* to learn. The first step is going as usual: introductions, being set up for access badge, username/password for access to company tools (monitoring, ticketing systems, etc.), and secure access to log into the systems we support as well as my computer I need to access them. All this usually takes a week or so in a large company. So far, this process is proceeding as expected.

It helps that the location is only a few miles from where I was working previously. So, I am familiar with the area and more importantly, the traffic patterns.