At this time of year, many businesses take on additional staff to handle seasonal demand above and beyond their usual level of trade. This equates to great news for many jobseekers looking to increase their income at an expensive time of year and gain some key experience to boost their CV along the way.
This week’s blog looks at how to feature temporary work on your CV to bolster your confidence, employability and get your CV on to the recruiter’s ‘yes’ pile. By highlighting three of the issues I’ve heard my customers raise about featuring temporary work on their CV, I can show you how to turn concerns around and use your experience gained through temporary roles to your advantage.
“Temporary work will make me appear flaky and uncommitted.”
In fact, if portrayed in the right way, temporary work can demonstrate the polar opposite of these negative traits. Taking on a temporary contract requires the jobholder to show resilience, flexibility and a total willingness to be thrown in at the deep end and run with whatever needs to be done.
CV Tip: Use your CV to describe how you committed to get quickly up to speed within a busy and challenging environment, and how you became an asset to your team by carrying out assigned tasks to the required standard in line with demanding deadlines. Outline the skills you applied to make sure you were successful in the role (quick to learn, flexible, calm under pressure), as these are all valuable competencies that can strengthen your employability.
“Recruiters will wonder why I didn’t seek, or wasn’t offered, a longer contract or permanent role.”
Recruiters are more accepting than you think; after all, they know the job market better than most. Temporary and zero-hours contracts are increasingly common, giving employers the flexibility they need to take on additional staff without incurring unnecessary costs.
Your willingness to take on temporary assignments in line with businesses’ seasonal demands demonstrates versatility and a positive attitude to your own employment.
CV Tip: State clearly that you were employed on a short-term contract basis to meet seasonal business needs. Outline any ways in which you grew your role beyond the initial requirements, for example by taking on extra shifts and tasks. This will show you are willing to go the extra mile and that you have the appetite for progression.
“I was only there a short while, what can I say on my CV?”
You can learn a lot in a short time, and anyone who has undertaken a temporary contract will remember the steep learning curve that comes with the territory. Thrown in at the deep end, the pressure to survive and make a difference often gives you no option but to swim rather than sink.
Whether you worked on a temporary or permanent basis, chances are that many aspects of the role would have been the same.
CV Tip: Consider what a permanent member of the team would say on their CV and then select the aspects (I suspect there will be many!) that apply to you. In addition, the pressure and challenges of the peak period during which you were employed, will mean there are probably a number of bonus responsibilities and achievements you can include.
“Too many temporary roles will make my CV way too long.”
If you have maintained your own employment through a series of temporary contracts, this can be used as evidence of your personal determination and ability to adapt to the environment and job market. Being flexible in the face of change is an attractive trait to many employers.
The fact that a series of businesses have offered you employment earmarks you as someone who other employers have seen as worthy of employment, which can be reassuring.
CV Tip: If you do have a lot of short-term contracts on your CV, you can make the recruiter’s life easier by grouping them together, placing like-with-like roles to avoid repetition. Ordering your experiences in a sensible structure will make it easier for the recruiter to assimilate them and understand the value you can bring to the role.
What next?
If you are currently employed in a temporary seasonal role, I can imagine that you have been working hard. Make sure you use your time off from the rush, rush, rush of work to recuperate; me-time is extremely important when you are giving a role your all.
Then, once it’s over and things are calmer, take some time to collect your thoughts and update your CV. After all, how you present your experience is as important as gaining your experience.
Lis McGuire
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Good post, I spent 7 years working as a contractor & it provided a diverse range of opportunities. It was challenging to group it together in less pages.
Good post, I spent 7 years working as a contractor & it provided a diverse range of opportunities. It was challenging to group it together in less pages.