While we are looking for permanent job, most of us tend to go for some kind of a temporary job, so that money keeps flowing in.
It is mainly done because the job security is not that easy to come by, instead they are limited.
Earlier, candidates used to hide their temporary job experiences, but now they know it is bad to have gaps in between job changes, so it is better to go for the temporary job experiences.
Including the temporary job on your resume can be quite tricky because if you do not do it properly, then it can count against you.
Work without Break:
There were times when people used to spend their whole work life in one company and retiring from the same company, but things have changed nowadays.
Most people now change a lot and due to this reason, often there are gaps in their professional experience.
The gaps are obvious red flags and it often gives enough scope for the interviewer to ask questions that you might not be comfortable answering.
You cannot say that you have been sitting idle, looking for jobs for 6 months because that shows your incompetency in cracking a single interview and as time pass by, things get even more difficult for you.
Millions of people out there are now joining temporary jobs, so that it doesn’t hamper their resume, instead they place it so beautifully in their resume that it enhances their chances of getting hired for a permanent position.
Now it has become normal and there are people who earn more by doing one or more temporary jobs.
Looking at the changing scenario, employers have started providing equal attention and magnitude for the temporary jobs as well.
Related Temporary Job:
The temporary job that you are doing now must be related to your career; otherwise it will do no good for your career.
In order to show some kind of continuity, temporary jobs are great options. Moreover, if they are related to your career, then you can definitely count them as your experience and you can go ahead and describe the job profile in your resume.
In fact, you can place your temporary job experience by the side of your permanent job experience. The two categories can be named as work experience and the other can be termed as related experience.
But, if you don’t have any relevant experience, then it is better that you leave it aside.
Tips to Highlight your Temporary Jobs on Resume:
You have worked on a temporary basis for several companies in between changing jobs, but now you are in a fix on how to include these job experiences.
There are certain ways of suggesting the temporary work history on your resume and here we will be discussing some of them.
1. Flaunt It:
You might be thinking that if you add to the temporary work experience, then you might be touted as job hoppers and it will affect your image badly.
But, the fact is that if the temporary job has helped you in enhancing a skill of yours, then you must include it in your resume. Not only that, you must highlight the skills that you have learned in the temporary job.
Moreover, having a gap in your resume is something you must avoid and it will affect you even worse. So, it makes better sense to include the temporary job that has helped you in sharpening the skills.
2. Stand alone or under a group:
When we are talking about temporary employment, then it definitely means that the work you have done is for a short period of time, so you will have to decide for your own good whether it will be best to group them or not.
If the stint is really short, then you can group them up, but in case the temporary job was for a period of a few months, then it is better to mention them as a standalone because that way it will highlight the experience that you have gained from that particular job.
3. Need of the hour:
When you are applying for a new job, you must look at the requirement that your current employer has asked for.
If you have any relevant temporary job experience, then you must include it immediately, without any second thoughts.
This is important because the hiring managers generally look for the applicable experiences and if you manage to provide one, then your chances increases.
The decision of including the temporary job can be taken based on the job description that is provided by the company.
4. Highlighting the achievements:
Achievements are something that must be on display when you are looking for a job. So, it really doesn’t matter whether you have achieved certain feat in your temporary job or in a permanent job.
Valuable skills are always welcomed by the employers and that is the reason, in today’s time temporary job is said to be a path to secure permanent job.
The main issue here is about how to include that particular experience! You must define the accomplishments in a manner that it should add value to the next job that you are applying for.
5. Explaining the role:
The hiring managers have the knowledge of the market, so they know there are people around there who are trying to settle down after doing some temporary jobs.
Therefore, it is better that you include the name of the company and also explain the roles and responsibilities that you shared.
6. Same role, different company:
If you have done more than one temporary job with the same role, then you can list the name of the companies under one role.
For example, Marketing Coordinator, ABC Company and XYZ company and don’t forget to mention the time frame you were in that role because that would help you in filling up the gap in your resume.
7. Formatting is important:
While adding the temporary jobs, you must remember to format the temporary positions properly.
You must not forget to add the job title properly defining that the work experience is a temporary one.
8. Employment dates are crucial:
It is imperative to mention the date you have worked at your temporary jobs, but if you want to get into each detail of the date, then you will go crazy arranging them in a format.
Therefore, what you can do is take the start date of an assignment and the date when you have completed the work, no matter how many clients were involved and how many temporary work you have engaged in.
9. Leave it out:
In case, you see that the temporary job that you have been doing is not relevant to the current job, then you can just leave it out. There is no obligation of including all the work experience.
10. Can be used as resume profile:
Resume profile is the one where you jot down all your job experiences just under your contact information.
It will help you highlight all your relevant experiences, including the temporary job experiences as well.
11. Include the reference:
Your temporary job might work as a perfect reference for you, which will help you in your next job.
You can get your supervisor write you a reference letter for your permanent job. Therefore, you must not forget to collect the reference letter before you leave that assignment.
12. Mention the initiatives:
No matter whether it is a temporary job or a permanent job, you can highlight where you took the initiative and completed the task, which helped the company in a big way.
Small or big initiative doesn’t matter as long as you have positive outcome, it always matter a lot in your resume.
13. Separate section might be handy:
If you have been part of various temporary jobs, then it will be wise of you to have a separate section for your temporary jobs in your resume.
You can include the name of the agency you have worked for, location, work types and work dates.
14. Selective temporary jobs:
There is no need to mention each and every temporary job that you have done, instead you can pick the best of the lot and mention them out there.
15. Journey from temporary to permanent:
There might be many of us who have started off as a temporary hire and then went ahead to work permanently in that position. This will show your potential and will prove that you were valuable to the present company a lot.
