Job Search Outside the Box:
Explore Interim Work as a Short-Term Option
BY WENDY ALFUS ROTHMAN
in Your Long-Range Vision
In today's tough job market, where some of the brightest, most talented people have been "destaffed"--sometimes more than once--you need every advantage you can get. Interim work (also called consulting, freelance, or temp depending on the profession or industry) can give you a leg up. While working interim, you can find out more about a new industry and make some money. You can gain experience and get a foot in the door of some of the best companies. You can learn new skills or just flex the ones you have. Many job hunters are finding that interim work provides the bridge they need to achieve their short-term goals and long-term success.
Employers today are more interested in using interim staffing. They need highly skilled workers willing to roll up their sleeves and get the job done. They want proof that their new hires can really do the job. One way to get that proof is through interim staffing.
Today, many job hunters prefer to work interim while they search.
"Prove It To Me First"
When hiring managers see a worker in an actual job setting, it's much easier to tell whether or not the person will work out. Interim work gives both sides a chance to let a short-term situation evolve into a more permanent one that makes sense for both parties. There was a time when this approach was advocated by hiring companies, and candidates went along with it when they had to. Today, however, many job seekers actually prefer to work interim. They have experienced firsthand the disappointment of finding out that a real-life job can be very different from what was presented in the interviews. Interim assignments allow workers to make a permanent commitment when and if they feel it's right. Both the hiring company and job seeker have an opportunity to build a more stable relationship by working together on a short-term basis first.
That's Why They Call It Temporary
Working interim is a great way for career changers to differentiate themselves from the pack and create a bridge to new industries. For example, if you have 10 years' experience in financial services as a marketing director and now want to break into broadcasting, you might say to a prospective employer, "I'm willing to do anything to learn your industry." How does the prospective employer know that's true and not just an empty promise? You can demonstrate your sincerity by actually doing some of that learning. For a period of time, take interim assignments in broadcasting. You may find senior-level consulting assignments, or you can take lower-level assignments that allow you to learn the industry from the bottom up.
Jan, with a Master's in Library Science, was a director of research in the $75,000-$100,000 salary range at an advertising agency. She wanted to be a director of research in a similar salary range at a consulting firm. This represented more than just an industry change. The culture of the two industries was very different. Because of that, consulting firms kept telling her that the switch would never work.
She decided to find out for herself if they were right. Using her very current technical skills (a must for any job seeker), she accepted a six-week assignment as a $13/hour administrative assistant to a partner in a prestigious consulting firm. Her colleagues told her she was crazy to take a position so below her qualifications, but she insisted that this was the best way to quickly gain firsthand knowledge about the issues facing consulting firms. Besides, it wasn't forever. That's why it's called temporary work.
At the end of the six weeks, supporting a revenue-producing partner, Jan felt that she understood the stresses and challenges from a grass-roots perspective. She then interviewed with other consulting firms. Because she had actually experienced working in a consulting firm, she was able to overcome the objections of the hiring teams. She landed a plum permanent position as director of research at a consulting firm, beating out candidates with years of consulting experience.
Steve is not only earning money while looking for a permanent position, he can put this assignment on his resume if it helps his pitch.
While Jan is an example of someone who temporarily took a lower-level position, many Five O'Clock Clubbers find senior-level freelance or consulting assignments. Steve, for example, was an equity derivatives operations manager with a major global financial firm. He took a six-month assignment to create infrastructure in a department prior to its relocation to another city. Steve is not only earning money while looking for a permanent position, he can put this assignment on his résumé if it helps his pitch, and he also has a good answer to the question, "What are you doing now?" In today's market, interim positions are important. Five O'Clock Clubbers report on all the jobs they land, whether interim assignments or "permanent" positions. In fact, a large number of Five O'Clock Clubbers report that their interim assignments have become permanent positions.
Interim Work and Your Overall Career Plan
Interim work can be part of an overall career plan. Unfortunately, most temp services do nothing to foster that idea and simply treat their people like a commodity. So be selective when choosing an interim services firm.
Good companies do an extensive screening process up front. If a client has little chance of finding an interim assignment, they tell them that and why.
Five O'Clock Clubbers take a long-term perspective, and so does Advantage. We need to understand why someone is considering interim assignments so we can give them assignments that fit in with their goals. Ask yourself: How do you see interim work fitting in with your career goals:
- Do you need help marketing your freelance or consulting services?
- Do you want to research an industry by taking a temporary administrative position (if you are lacking computer skills, we will train you).
- Or perhaps you simply want to earn some extra income while figuring out what you really want to do.
You may be afraid that you will end up as a permanent temporary. Here's the news: We're all permanent temporaries. Victoria, one of our clients, was offered an interim assignment at the same time she was offered a permanent job by another company. She loved the interim opportunity, but went for the stability of the "real" position. Three months later, that real position was gone because Victoria's entire department was eliminated. Meanwhile, the interim assignment is still going strong nine months later. It's a changing world, and there are no sure things. But many Five O'Clock Clubbers seriously consider interim work an important part of their job search.
What To Look For in an Interim Service
1. The better services pay benefits--medical, dental, even paid vacation and holidays. Ask how you qualify, and make sure your benefits aren't dependent on the client you are assigned to.
2. How do they recruit (referrals, not ads), and how long do people stay?
3. The best interim services work closely with the hiring department as well as human resources.
4. A good service knows their accounts--the culture, the work challenges--and why they need interim help.
5. Make sure the service has contacts within your job targets. Call and ask about their industry specialties.
6. Are they a member of the National Association of Temporary Services?
Wendy Alfus Rothman is an organizational psychologist who has been in the staffing and career management business for 15 years. She began working with Advantage Staffing Services as a consultant, focusing on executive assessment, recruiting, interviewing, and staffing measurement. Four years later, what started as a temporary involvement became a permanent commitment. Today, Rothman is managing director at Advantage and a member of the company's executive committee.
Rothman was one of the original Five O'Clock Club counselors, started two Clubs, lectures on behalf of The Five O'Clock Club and is a major contributor to both Job-Search Secrets and Targeting the Job You Want.