The ICT Job Hunter Blog

A couple of weeks ago I spoke in one of my posts about how internships can be a great gateway into full-time work.  For those who already have existing experience in their field and are finding it hard to find a full-time position, however, temping offers similar opportunities.

Of course, if you are already unemployed and struggling to make ends meet, any paid work is going to come as a blessing and temping work could be an absolute godsend.  Assignments are, as you might expect, of variable length, but often if you build up a good rapport with a particular agency and they get good feedback from their clients about your work, they will be keen to reassign you as soon as possible.  Believe me, not all temps provide the levels of service that either agencies or employers would ideally desire, so if you make a good impression, an agency is likely to want to work with you again.

 While some temp agencies deal with a wide variety of clients and a wide variety of positions, others specialize in particular areas, such as accounting, legal, construction or retailing.  Although the agency will of course take its cut from what the employer pays, in many cases the rates of pay are not to be sneezed at, and this can be especially true with regard to the more specialist agencies.  In addition, there is no need to limit yourself to registering with a single agency.  Building good relationships with two or three can help to ensure that you are only ever out of work by choice.

The reasons why employers take on temporary workers can range from covering maternity or sick leave to meeting seasonal demands, and just about everything in between.  Even though it might seem, when you begin your assignment, that longer term opportunities are unlikely, it is important not to be too short-sighted.  Yes, the person whose job you are covering might be due to return shortly, but if you really make an outstanding impression on the employer and gel with the company, there could be other opportunities that you are not aware of and that the employer could be keen for you to fill.  If this happens, the employer will still have to pay a fee to the agency, essentially for making the introduction, but this might still be a much more attractive proposition to him than advertizing and recruiting from scratch.

Whenever you start a temporary assignment, the trick is not to think of it as temporary.  Give it every bit as much enthusiasm and effort as you would a full-time role.  After all, you never know where it might lead!