Why temporary work is a smart career move

Are you looking for a new challenge or considering a temporary job? In this article you can find out about the many advantages that temporary work can have for your career. Whether you’re between jobs, just starting out on the labour market or simply looking for a change, temporary work may be the ideal springboard to new opportunities!

The flexibility and freedom of temporary work

One of the main advantages of temporary work is the flexibility it brings with it. A temporary contract gives you the freedom to try out different sectors and positions, without the long-term obligation of a fixed contract.  

Temporary work gives you the opportunity of finding out what kind of working environment suits you best and which position best matches your personality and skills.  

A temporary job also gives you the possibility of alternating working periods with travel or study. This flexibility helps you achieve a good balance between your work and your private life, which in turn makes you more productive.  

Would you like to learn more about the advantages of flexibility in temporary work? If so, we recommend you read this article.  

Develop your skills and beef up your CV

Temporary jobs are an ideal way to develop your skills and, in doing so, to beef up your CV. Each temporary assignment offers you new possibilities of learning, so you develop a broad range of skills.  

By working in different roles with a variety of businesses, you gain valuable experience, develop your professional skills and build up an impressive CV. This makes you more attractive to recruiters and hiring managers.  

Extend your professional network through temporary work

The fact that you get to know so many people in your various temporary jobs makes it easy to expand your professional network. This network may come in very useful indeed at some later stage in your career when you’re looking for new temporary assignments or a new job. For example, through recommendations or references or if they themselves are looking to hire people.

Financial advantages and security

Temporary jobs are often seen as less stable than “proper” jobs. But in fact temp agencies can offer their “temps” stable incomes with competitive salaries and other benefits.  

What’s more, a temporary job gives you the security of an income while at the same time letting you remain active in the labour market looking for other jobs, including fixed ones.

Still unsure about the advantages of a temporary job? Then read here about the six commonest misconceptions.

Your path to the ideal job

Some businesses use temporary positions as a way of finding out, by trial and error, who fits with their team, before offering a firm contract. This, of course, also works the other way round: you can use a temporary job to see whether or not the employer suits you. This approach is referred to as the temporary to permanent strategy.  

Particularly when you’re just starting out on your career you may be unsure as to what kind of business suits you and what kind of position you’d most like to fill. By doing temporary work you’ll soon find out what suits you and what doesn’t, and so increase the chances of finding the ideal position!

Want to read more about how temporary work can boost your career? Then read this article.  

Personal and professional growth through temporary work

Businesses sometimes call on temp staff at peak times or to work on specific projects. For example, when they need specialist knowledge. With this kind of project, as well as contributing your expertise, you also learn about project management and develop your problem solving capabilities.

Temporary work offers many opportunities for personal as well as professional growth. Working in different teams and in different environments you learn to adapt to different people and dynamics, and to be flexible and resilient.  

These soft skills are extremely valuable, both to you personally and to future employers.

A broad perspective through temporary work

With temporary positions, you get the chance to see many businesses from the inside and gain experience in a variety of industries. Whether you’re mainly interested in finance, technology or sales, there are various possibilities for pursuing your interests in every branch.  

Working in different sectors gives you a broader perspective. This variety helps you find out what best suits you and also makes you interesting to employers, either because you have varied experience in a particular sector or precisely because your experience is so broad-based across sectors.  

Want to read more about how to get the most out of temporary work? Then read this article.

Develop your application skills

If you apply regularly for new temporary positions, you get better at writing covering letters and CVs and preparing for interviews and you also develop your conversational skills.  

These interviews provide the opportunity of learning and of further self-development. The feedback you receive and the experience you gain will make you better and better at conducting this kind of conversation.  

These skills are essential for your career, whether you eventually decide on a temporary or a permanent position.  

Here’s a list of advantages of temporary work

• Flexibility and freedom: temporary work gives you great flexibility and freedom, for example to easily combine your work with travel or study.
• Developing your skills and beefing up your CV: seeing many different businesses from the inside teaches you many different skills. And in this way you’ll build up an impressive CV for future clients or a permanent employer.
• Extending your professional network: you get to know a lot of new people, which makes it easy to extend your professional network. This will help you in your quest for future temporary assignments or in finding permanent employment in due course. 
• Financial advantages and security: one of the great misconceptions about temporary work is that it offers no financial security, whereas in fact temporary work is quite stable and has many advantages. When you work for a temp agency, you have a fixed income while working for various different clients.
• Your path to the ideal position: find out what best suits you, so you can find your ideal position, whether temporary or permanent.
• Personal and professional growth: temporary work offers a huge number of possibilities for development, both professional and personal. Keep developing your abilities and soft skills
• A broad perspective: having a broad perspective and knowing what various positions entail makes you extremely valuable to future employers. At the same time, you find out for yourself what best suits you, and this in turn means you’re likely to find the right job faster.
• Developing your application skills: job interviews no longer worry or scare you - you sail through them. Practise your application skills by applying often for temporary work!

Want to know more about temporary work and the various temporary job openings? Have a look at our job openings page.