I am hoping you can help me understand this. I have worked as a contract worker (meaning no benefits, and being paid by the recruiter’s company).
I was working for 6 weeks, and then I get a call after 5:00 p.m. from the recruiter who tells me my assignment ended, and that the place I was working for does not want me to show up for work the next day.
Of course, I ask why? And I am told, ” you were not a good fit.”
What does that mean? And that gives me no information to go on.
Should I call my manager who I worked with and ask them what is going on and why was I let go? It’s important for my peace of mind to know WHY I am being let go. I was working part-time 3 days a week. I wasn’t late, I worked my hours, I was doing well I thought. There was not an inkling of anything that could have prepared me for this news.
Can you tell me why a contract position could end so abruptly and why they never want to tell you the reason? This job was supposed to go through December with a possibility of renewal. It was only 6 weeks in.
What do you think is going on?
Why are they afraid to say what it is? If they are afraid of a lawsuit, why is that? How could I sue anyone? We are at an AT WILL state of California.
I think the least they could do is tell us, contractors, why they are letting us go. For better or worse, it’s helpful to know WHY.
Well, I can’t tell you specifically why you were let go, but I can guess and I can explain why they didn’t say anything. There are a zillion reasons why the assignment (I’m not using the word job on purpose) ended abruptly.
- Your work wasn’t up to their standard and they were too wimpy to say anything.
- The boss’s nephew just lost his job and the very nice uncle kicked you out to hire him.
- Someone three rungs up the ladder’s position was eliminated, so she took someone else’s job, who took, someone else’s job, and that person took yours.
- Your manager just didn’t like you.
- The manager’s husband just didn’t like you.
- They ran out of money.
- They decided to hire someone to fill the position permanently that they liked better than you.
I can keep going all day.
You’re right that California is an at-will state, which means they can fire you for any reason or no reason, but you weren’t technically fired because you weren’t technically hired. You were given an assignment as a temp, and that assignment ended early. There’s no damage to your resume, by the way, simply put “temporary job” and when asked why you left you write “assignment ended.” You don’t need to explain any of the drama that went into it.
You can absolutely ask the recruiter but she probably won’t tell you. Remember, she gets paid by the company to place people. She wants to maintain that relationship. She’s not as invested in you. It’s a sad fact of temporary labor.
Asking your manager probably will go nowhere. What’s the upside for her? There’s nothing she can say that you’ll be able to respond with “Oh, there has been a misunderstanding! I actually can use Excel!” and then she’ll say, “Great! We’ll see you tomorrow at 9:00.” That ain’t happening. If she says, “your work was substandard” you’ll feel bad and maybe try to defend yourself. If she says, “you sound like Janice from Friends” that won’t be nice either. She could say “the project ran out of money,” but that doesn’t help you fix any problems and it may or may not be true.
Now, what you can do is send her a short email that says,
Jane,
Thanks so much for the opportunity to work with you! I really enjoyed my work at [company]. Should you ever need someone again, please keep me in mind.
Thanks so much,
Heidi.
Include your contact info. It probably won’t help you immediately but it does preserve the relationship and demonstrates that you understand the very nature of a temp job. They come and they go. People hire temps because the job may end. They like having someone else handle the termination as well–it’s emotionally easier to call the temp agency and say “we don’t need Heidi any more” than it is to say to you directly, “Heidi, we don’t need you anymore.”
I don’t think your manager is showing a fear of lawsuits here. I think she’s just acting like she always does towards temps. When she doesn’t need you any more, you’re gone. No muss, no fuss.
So, the thing to do here is move on. Yes, it sucks. Yes, warning would have been nice. Yes, it would have been great if the position could be extended. But, it wasn’t.
