Pros
Paid on time, PTO, free lunch
Cons
When I was contact by the recruiter, I was so excited to go and work for the Thompson client that was presented to me to be the best in Atlanta that I left a full-time job for a contract that I was told would simulate a full-time job and I would have the same benefits. Initially, I started off at six months and the contract would renew every six months after that. The first day I walked in the door to work for the client, I was called into the manager’s office and basically told that this particular client hires contractors because they are expendable. The manager went on to say that contractors were not the client’s family, and that the full-time workers were family, so a contractor could be let go at any time. Hum...what a welcome. Of course, I left the office a little disturbed and wondered what I had gotten myself into especially since this client prided itself on being so religious and encourages their employees to go to church. After a few weeks of working for this client, I realized that it was known throughout the company that the manager was a bully and I unfortunately became a victim to it. The client’s full-time employee who was assigned to me as my mentor filed a complaint against the manager with the client’s director and was taken off my project, so I was left to fend for myself against this tyrant manager. After suffering for weeks and trying to figure out what to do, several Thompson contractors who were assigned to this client with me shared with me that they were all having the same experience with this manager. The problem was that with this particular client, permanent workers were considered elite and contractors were not allowed to go against any permanent worker or they would be terminated. I started job searching, but with Atlanta’s lack of jobs, it was difficult to secure something. I shared with one of my recruiters a few (I treaded lightly) of my experiences and the recruiter agreed with me that something had to be done. One day, I was called to a “confidential” meeting by another Thompson recruiter to ask if I had any problems with the manager, and was told that whatever I said would be between us. I confided in the recruiter my experiences and what the talk around the office was about the manager. The recruiter said it was mentioned before about how this manager treats contractors and that a conversation would be had with the Thompson team. Not soon after that, I was confronted by the manager regarding what I had said to the Thompson recruiter. Of course I was shocked and I also had to suffer more from the manager’s retaliation. Now, I didn’t trust Thompson and realized their concern was for the money that they were billing the client (and not me) which in the case of contracts is more than double (sometimes triple) what the contractor is paid. Not long after that, when I was on PTO, I was called at home and told to not return to the office. I was never given a reason and I knew that I had done the best job possible. We all knew it was because I had spoken up for the team regarding this manager’s abuse. I have worked for several large clients and never had an issue like this. This client is one of Thompson’s big clients and several Thompson employees are aware of the issues with the particular manager, yet, they continue to place contractors (including myself) there who believe they are making a good career decision, and discover they are stuck in an abusive environment. If you need a job, treat this company just like any other and do not be fooled by the Lake Lanier parties or free lunch. If you have any doubts about them or the client, follow your first mind and/or request a face-to-face meeting with the client and meet your team. In my case, I was so excited by the client; I only did a phone interview and accepted. Fortunately, phone only interviews can work well in some cases. My current position with one of the largest companies in the U.S. was a phone only interview and it has been the best job I have ever had. If you must do a phone only, follow your inner voice. I didn’t follow my inner voice when I decided to choose this contract and it ended up costing me thousands in lost wages, time, mental anguish, etc. In Thompson’s case, they may have clients who great, however, I think it’s sad that they are aware of the treatment of their contractors with this particular client and they choose to look the other way and allow their contractors (who pay their salary) to suffer.
