There’s a nasty little trend that seems to have permeated our industry, and I am baffled to understand why or how. Frankly speaking, there are far too many recruiting firms who either do not realize or significantly undervalue what precious assets temporary employees can be to their business.

As a rule, our industry is far too willing to allow clients to tighten the thumbscrews on temp bill rates, and simply roll over and cave at the first sign of pushback or hesitation. Too many of us practically give away temps at huge discounts, often out of desperation and because we’ve been tricked into reactionary fear thanks to our old friend, the economic recession.

If you find yourself sheepishly nodding in agreement, consider this a wake-up call: Providing our services for a profit is priority one!

Yes, I love what I do but no, I’m not going to be so impertinent as to suggest for one minute that I’d do it for free. You are here to make money — and I hope you value your work enough to insist on making a lot of it — by not letting margin and profit slip through your fingers.