While most job seekers are pursuing full-time positions, in many cases they should consider temporary assignments as door opening opportunities. This is especially true for IT professionals. The following are the top 5 reasons a job seeker should consider a temporary assignment.
1: Skills Enhancement and Development of New Skills
Temporary assignments can expose job seekers to new skills and help enhance their existing skills. For example, if a job seeker is pursuing an IT certification (CISM, CISSP, etc.) and doesn’t meet some of the requirements such as time in a certain role or specific skills a temporary assignment can offer such exposure.
2: Networking
Like it or not, networking is a vital activity for a job seeker at any stage of their career. A temporary assignment can provide a job seeker with greater access to new connections that can then broaden their reach. This is especially true when talking about forming “loose” connections with other peers. Studies show that in most cases, it’s these loose connections that lead people to their next jobs.
3: Moving to a Different Practice Area
If a job seeker is looking to transition to another role but doesn’t have the necessary experience to catch the eye of a recruiter for a full-time position, temporary assignments may be to their benefit.
An example of this type of transition would be a data administrator who is looking to transition to information security taking on a temp position in a Security Operations Center. A temporary placement like this allows the job seeker to expand their skill set and get exposed to the industry while getting paid at the same time!
4: Business Specific Experience
In some cases, job seekers wish to make lateral movements within different industries. For example, an information security professional decides to go from a retail organization to a financial institution. While there are some similarities in these verticals, there are also huge differences. For example, in retail, aspects around ERP and supply chain management vary greatly from a financial institution. In a financial institution, there are many government banking regulations and rules that a very specific and don’t apply to other environments.
5: Experience with A New Technology
Finally, temporary assignments offer the ability to work for various companies all doing things in different ways utilizing different tools. Temporary placements allow a job seeker to gain exposure to new technology and tools that might not have been possible by having pursued a more traditional role.
Thinking Ahead
In conclusion, temporary assignments may not be ideal for everyone, but they can benefit a job seeker in numerous ways. They can provide many advantages such as networking and development of new skills. If a job seeker is interested in learning more about temporary assignments, its best to consult a professional recruiter. A recruiter can assist a job seeker in developing a career plan and find the best temporary assignment for them and their career.
