While the pandemic was raging and so many employees were getting laid off or furloughed, we asked could a temporary job help you through this uncertain job market? Now, almost five months later, the job market is starting to heat up again, though many skilled employees may still need to be patient if they want to find a great job in their field with a comparable salary and/or the benefits they had before.
Which is why Linked In’s recent piece titled Is a bridge job right for you? piqued our interest. In this article, LinkedIn’s Andrew Seaman explains how a temporary job can act as a temporary “bridge” in your career, not only providing income during your job search, but also allowing you to keep any short resume gaps from stretching into long, awkward pauses.
As we mentioned in our post “The difference between temporary, temp to hire, and direct hire jobs”, temporary workers are used by companies to fill in for employees on medical leave, or to just boost working staff at certain times of the year, such as during annual audits, tax time, or the busy holiday shopping season. But where temporary employment really shines is that it can act as a bridge to get people back into the office and working, even if it is only for a few weeks or months. While it may not seem like your “dream job” at first, there are plenty of other benefits to consider:
5 Ways a Temporary Bridge Job Can Help Your Career
1. Use it to get a foot in the door
Over the years, we’ve seen many of our temporary employees turn into long-term, permanent employees with our clients. Companies do not want to let go of a great employee, even if they only expected to keep them for a few months! Often, a “temporary” position can “bridge” right into long-term, permanent employment. And even if it doesn’t, there are other great reasons to consider temp work.
2. Learn new skills or systems
When you join any company, even for a short time, you are bound to learn a new skill or be exposed to a new system or software. Or maybe the industry is completely new to you! These little “skill boosters” add valuable experience to your resume and might just be the thing that nudges you ahead of another candidate when the ATS scans your resume for pertinent information.
3. Use it as an opportunity to grow your network
While you shouldn’t use your limited time at a company as a networking event, a temp position will give you a chance to meet other people who may be able to help you on your job search in the future. Invite your new contacts to your LinkedIn network. You never know who may be connected to a hiring manager that is looking for someone like you.
4. A rolling stone gathers no moss
After weeks or months of dead ends on the job search, it can be hard to keep moving forward with the same intensity. But, if you take a temporary bridge job here and there, it will keep you active and busy, even if it isn’t exactly in the field you want. Whenever possible, you should try to accept temp jobs with skills that complement your career of choice such as a temp tax preparer if you’re looking for full-time accounting work, or a temp receptionist for someone looking for customer service or office management positions.
But even if the temp job seems to be a deviation from your normal career choice, keep an open mind: We recently placed many temp employees at a local COVID vaccine clinic where they are honing their skills in detailed record keeping, scheduling and planning, and customer service, all while performing an important service to the community. Their resume will be better for having done this temp job.
5. It helps keep your resume current
While any potential employers will understand some gaps in a resume (LinkedIn has finally included “stay at home mom” and other caretaker titles in their digital resumes!) if you can fill in some of your gaps with relevant temporary experience, it will reflect well on your initiative and interest in working.
Plus, as we’ve mentioned above, you just never know where a temp job could lead.
Want to learn more about how temporary employment could be perfect for you right now? Submit your resume to us at South Shore Staffing, and we will be happy to talk to you.