Why you should give temporary work a chance.

Are you a little bit lost in your career path? Are you struggling to find a job that suits you? Is the future a daunting prospect? Well, you are not alone!

So many people leave school or university and enter the next chapter of their lives with the expectation that they should know exactly what they want to do career-wise.

However, for many people, this is not the case. For me, personally, it wasn’t.

I left university envisioning that I would move to London and find a fantastic job in exactly what I wanted to do, but when I sat down, opened my laptop, and hit the keypads to search for this job, nothing came to mind.

It was then I realised that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I ended up applying for different jobs, not really knowing if that was the job I wanted to do and transparently lacking passion, not getting anywhere.

After speaking to a recruitment company and them helping me to understand my current position, a temporary job came up within their firm. It was the perfect opportunity. I could get a feel for working and living in London without committing to a fixed contract role. It gave me the chance to figure out a clearer idea of the career path that I wanted to pursue. Temporary roles are full of opportunity, and you never know what you may get out of it.

So, there I was, two weeks later, heading down to London for a month of work. I got into the office bright and early to meet the team. I got stuck in and cracked on with every task that was handed to me.

I must admit, it was not the most exciting of jobs, and I knew this going into it, but everyone must start somewhere. My advice to those wanting to do a temporary job is, although the likelihood of the work you will be given is not going to be the most interesting, it’s all experience and every job is a job that needs to be done, so just do it. Do not dilly-dally around the boring tasks and do them half-heartedly. My mindset is the faster you get the job done, the faster you will move on to more interesting work, and that is exactly what happened to me! I finished the work I was given in half the period they expected me to do it in, and what happened next? I got given more exciting tasks. So here I am now, three weeks in and writing my own blog! I can tell you this was not what I was thinking I would end up doing, and I am loving it!

Temporary work is a chance to show employers your potential and how you work. Employers can tell what type of worker you are very quickly, so why not start off by showing your potential? No matter the work, it is the perfect environment for an employer to see how you act under instruction and how fast you can get a job done. Additionally, if you can complete the work they give you and they can see your potential, there is an increased chance of them (potentially) offering you a full-term job at the end of it, which you can take or leave.

What more could you want?

It gives you experience and time, and sometimes, can be a huge stepping stone. Therefore, my advice is to go for it. Take every opportunity you get given; you never know what may come from it...