Pros
You gain exposure to real-time interpreting work across different clients. Flexible in the sense that you can technically pick up extra hours if you need them. Some colleagues are dedicated and hardworking.
Cons
I worked as an interpreter through Kelly Services Canada, and it was one of the worst experiences of my career. At first, I had a stable schedule (for example, 8–5). After a massive cut in hours, everything went downhill. Now my day looked like this: Work from 8am to 12pm, Get called back from 3pm to 4pm, Then again from 8pm to 10pm. The result? I was tied to the company the entire day, yet my hours were chopped into useless fragments. The so-called “breaks” were nothing but forced waiting time, and even some of the paid breaks we used to have were eliminated because of how they split the shifts. Life outside work? Nonexistent. If you didn’t want to accept this absurd routine, your only option was to quit — and fall straight into unemployment. If you wanted to pay rent and bills, you had no choice but to comply. When call volume was low, they slashed my hours and I lost my paycheck. When call volume was high, they pretended nothing was wrong and forced me into back-to-back calls with literally one second in between. This went on for hours, with no support or relief. On top of that, sick leave was unpaid and capped at only 10 days per year. You don’t get to decide when or how long you’ll be sick — but here, you were punished for it anyway, even without pay. And what did Kelly Services do? Absolutely nothing—other than tossing out messages like: “Oh, more call volume? Anyone want to cover from 2 to 3pm? By the way, this is temporary, don’t expect your original schedule back.” That was the full extent of their “management.” No care, no structure, no respect for the people actually doing the work.
