The Value of Temporary Work

Although the job market has improved over the past year,
many employers are still reluctant to make a long term
commitment to growing their employee rolls until it is
clear that a solid economic expansion is underway. They
need new staff to handle the increase in orders and
customer demands but are loath to hire permanent workers
who may have to be cut in a few months if business
stagnates. Any reduction in force carries major headaches
for a company: employee morale falls, lawsuits arise,
precious time is eaten up in non-productive meetings, and
severance packages cut into narrowing profit margins.

Their solution is often to rely on temporary agencies to
provide needed manpower without any precipitous long term
commitment. It is estimated, by a well-regarded labor
research group, that fully 25% of the jobs created during
the past year have been temporary positions!

How can this work to your advantage?

Working for a temporary agency has some drawbacks but also
a number of positive aspects.

The primary negative is the lack of investment in your
future. While the hourly wage may be similar, or even
better, than a permanent employee would receive, you remain
on the periphery of the company's organization. Temps are
often assigned the more routine tasks which require less
intensive training. This makes it more difficult for your
competence to be recognized. You are not seriously
considered for promotional opportunities nor invited to
advanced training or management classes.

It also has personal repercussions. You are uncertain how
long you will be needed and tend to develop a strong sense
of insecurity. After all, your contract could be terminated
without warning through a quick telephone call to the
agency. Because you want to minimize the emotional
devastation of a sudden departure, you tend to avoid
becoming too close to coworkers and perform your duties in
something of a vacuum, one step removed from the
camaraderie of the permanent work team.

All that being said, there are some pretty inviting
advantages to exploring temporary assignments.

Within the framework of your long-term career goals, a
temporary position nicely fills in that void on your resume
caused by a lengthy period of unemployment. It demonstrates
to a potential employer that you are an individual who is
vested in being productive even under circumstances where
your true talents are barely tapped.

Temporary agencies seldom require extensive background
investigation so if there is a blip or two on your work or
personal record, it will probably be overlooked. When a
future permanent position presents itself, the more distant
the blip, the less weight it will carry in the hiring
decision.

Entering a workplace as a temp puts you in a very
different framework than any mere applicant for work. You
become privy to the company's ethics and philosophy so you
can better determine if this is somewhere you would be
interested in for permanent work. If you find the
atmosphere comfortable, you will perform well. Assuming
that the company is growing, and the local economic
expansion continues, you are in an excellent position to be
considered for permanent retention.

Many employers see temporary workers as individuals
undergoing a lengthy interview. After weeks or months of
good productivity, timeliness, consistent attendance, and
reliability, you no longer present the risks attached to
the hiring of new employees after only an hour or two of
interviewing. Many agencies will let you know in advance
that this is a "Temp to Perm" assignment, meaning that if
you cut the mustard, you will be offered a permanent
position.

On the other hand, if you find that company goals and
procedures are at odds with your personal values, you can
get out before any commitment is made. Since your employer
is actually the agency, you can cut and run from any
assignment without it impacting your work history. You take
a different position through the same agency and your
resume is unflawed by your decision to make a change.

Assuming that you are working in an industry of interest,
temporary work provides an invaluable opportunity for
networking. Make the effort to get to know your new
coworkers and it is highly likely that they either know of
opportunities in similar companies or know someone who has
such inside information.

Finally, there is the old saw of "Everyone wants to hire
you when you're working but no one is interested when
you're unemployed." There is certainly a grain of truth in
that rather cynical observation. No matter how bad the
local economy may be, or how the effects of offshore job
flight have affected your industry, there is always a
little kernel of doubt in an interviewer's mind: what did
you do wrong to lose your job? Could you possibly have been
fingered because you were the weak link? Was the choice of
you, over someone else, related to interpersonal or
disciplinary problems that made you an easy target?

When you are actively working, even if only on a temporary
basis, such doubts don't even enter an interviewer's mind.
They are more concerned about whether you will be willing
to make a change - a point of speculation that bodes well
for you in a potential hiring situation.

If you are offered alternative permanent work, you are
sitting in the proverbial catbird's seat. You can accept
the position if you find it tempting. You can decline if
you don't think it's a good fit, knowing that you still
have your temp job to keep food on the table and allay that
desperation of "I'll take anything" that sets in after a
few months out of work.

And, finally, you have the option of going back to your
temp work and letting your present boss know that you have
been offered a position elsewhere that you are seriously
considering. If the company likes you, let them negotiate a
counter-offer and then go with the best opportunity for you.

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