You may have doubts about listing temporary jobs on your resume, your LinkedIn profile or a job application. No worries: in fact, as long as you handle it correctly, this experience can be a real asset to your career.
You may have been temping to try out a new role or industry, to balance working with other commitments, or for financial reasons as you searched for a full-time job. Either way, use it as an opportunity to show you’re ambitious and that you’ve sharpened your skills and/or learned some new ones. When adding them to your resume or other materials:
Label temporary jobs.
It’s perfectly fine to label work as temporary. It may even signal to hiring managers that you’re now ready for permanent work. Just be sure to describe temporary jobs in a way that makes sense, promotes your success, and is easy to read.
- When labeling jobs, keep your verbiage consistent. Call them all “temporary, temp” or “contract” – and stick with it.
You may want to group temporary jobs together.
If you have held more than two or three temporary positions, you may want to group them together on your resume – especially if the experience involved a series of short-term projects.
- You can list jobs under the name of the temporary agency you worked for – or as your own consulting business. Among the advantages of grouping them is: you don’t have to list every single employment start and end date, which can become lengthy and cumbersome.
- An exception would be a job that included involvement with a significant organization in your field and that you held for longer than a few months. Letting this position stand alone could give it more credibility and make more of an impact on a hiring manager.
Stick to the basic principles of resume writing.
Quantify your bullet points. Focus on results, accomplishments, and the positive results you achieved. Keep all your formatting consistent. And accompany your resume with a well-crafted cover letter.
Our track record, reputation, and vast client and candidate network make the PrideStaff Fresno name highly attractive to top employers throughout the southern Central Valley region. Consider partnering with us as you seek your next temporary or permanent career opportunity. Contact us today to learn more.