While in-between jobs, it can be challenging for candidates to know if it is a good idea to accept a temp role or not. No matter what stage of the job search you are in, making a commitment to temp is not always an easy one to make.
We have broken down what questions you should be asking yourself if you are in between roles and considering temping:
Financial Gain?
Can you support yourself for the duration of your job search? Whether it is two weeks or two months, are you able to manage if you don’t have any income from working. If not, temping might be a good solution to keep the cash coming in.
Could It Open Doors?
Temping can be a great way to open a door into a company or role you may not otherwise have had access to. Once you are in, you have an opportunity to make a mark and leave a lasting impression.
Many of our clients ask for temps while they are in the recruitment process. Whilst on paper your skills might not be on par with what they are looking for, once you are doing the job, you are able to showcase your skills, adaptability and rise to the challenge.
It might be that while the temp role wasn’t the right fit for you, the company was. Meeting other team members and management might just open doors to other roles within that organisation.
Short Term or Long Term?
You may only want to commit to short-term temp roles. Any candidates who leave one job for another one, typically have a 4 week notice period. Most hiring managers will be flexible on start dates and will ultimately respect your wishes to complete any short-term contract you’ve committed to. Short-term roles are a great way to maintain a steady cash flow, keep you busy and give you exposure to new industries and roles.
Sometimes longer-term contracts can be better remunerated than a permanent role. It also offers you more flexibility, but equally more security that you have an ongoing role to keep you tied over. You wont be finishing up one assignment hoping to get news of the next one.
Whether you take a short term or long term contract we recommend being fully transparent with your recruiters and any hiring managers (in the temp role or who you are interviewing with) so that there are no issues when the time comes to leave your contract.
What will you get from that temp role?
It could just be as simple as needing some extra cash (don’t we all!). However, a temp role might mean:
- You get an opportunity to get experience at an awesome company or brand and put that on your resume.
- You get to trial travelling to a new location to test how the commute is
- You get to dabble in a new industry
- Does it do my recruiter a huge favour (which in turn means they will work even harder than normal for you)
- You get to “try before you buy”. Taking a temp role means you can test out other roles and industries before committing to a perm position.
- You expand your professional network and potentially meet someone who could open the door to your next role or be your next client
What could go wrong?
Not that we want to be cup half empty here, but what is the worst thing that could happen? You get your dream perm role one week into a four week assignment and have to start immediately? Not ideal. But definitely not the worst thing to happen (especially for you). Just be honest with your recruiter who you are doing the assignment with and be as helpful and flexible as you possibly can.
Of course there is always a chance that you hate the temp role. But, look at it this way, it is only short-term and it all goes as experience on your CV (plus all the other benefits we listed above).
Once you have taken into consideration all of the above questions, you should be ready to make a decision. Is temping the right option for you while you look for a perm role? Who knows, you might like temping so much you choose never to work permanently again!
If you do want to look at temp work, make sure you are registered with us here at qube. We work with some fabulous clients who are always looking for extraordinary temps.
