What’s the Working Life of a Temp Worker Really Like?

You’ll never stop marketing yourself. Even once you are in an assignment, you need to start thinking about your next role, starting with the organisation at which you are currently temping. Ask if there are:

  • Any other areas or departments where your skills might be needed.
  • Let your face be seen.
  • If you can see opportunities but don’t feel comfortable investigating, let your managers know and they will make enquiries for you.

Constant upskilling is another reality in the working life of a temp. I’m sure you’ve heard examples of people who’ve earned significantly more money as a contractor than in a similar permanent job. However to do this long-term you need to invest in your own learning and development.

Your Working Life will Never be Uniform

This is why temps are always ready for, and cope well with change. Most temporary assignments have a finish date, but it can be extended. Equally, it may be cut short. Sometimes plans change, on both sides, and successful temps understand this and act accordingly.

Of course as a temp you are also the quintessence of professional. For example, you respect the policies, procedures and culture of each organisation you enter, you hit the ground running, you never get involved in office politics or gossip and, you learn quickly. It’s standard to prepare appropriately before each new assignment. This element of a temp’s working life involves knowing who you need to report to, the tasks you’ll undertake and what the organisation’s culture is. You must walk in the door and contribute appropriately from the get go, which requires you to prepare before each assignment.

Needless to say, a temp’s personal life never crosses over into their working life in the way that it can for permanent employees. An example of this would be your mobile stays in your bag on silent and the organisation’s telephone or email is never used for personal communications.  A temp’s working life is also one in which expectations of your abilities and results are higher than those of your full-time counterparts. While most temps thrive on this, some find it daunting. After all, there’s nowhere to hide in a temp assignment and you’ll never become too comfortable.

To be Successful

You need to be the sort of person who thrives on constantly meeting new objectives. You’ll walk in the door on day one of a new assignment and after a short induction you’ll immediately start work on your new brief. No two are ever the same, just as no two organisations are ever the same.

Finally

A temp’s working life can provide the ultimate freedom – they can take time off between assignments when they choose to and they enjoy meeting new people and working in a broad range of organisations.

We have more information on our Temp Worker section of our website here.

We also have a blog on what it’s like to work as a Temp with Three Q you can read here.

Our Three Q Temps our fantastic every year when it comes to our Spare an Hour campaign. Check out our Blog showing the involvement our temp workers have on our Spare an Hour campaign! Read here: Three Q Temps are The Heroes of Our Spare An Hour Campaign

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