Although some job seekers may be hesitant to list their temporary employment on a resume, such information, when used effectively, can actually be highly beneficial. Moreover, those who have little to no full-time experience may have no other choice but to list the temporary assignments they’ve had in the past. Luckily, there are several techniques you can utilize in order to draw attention to your temporary jobs and paint them in a positive light for your potential employers, interviewers and hiring managers.
Functional Resumes
One of the most straightforward methods of dealing with a career history that includes a lot of temporary assignments is to use a functional resume as opposed to the standard, chronological resume that is most commonly seen. Instead of listing each and every job in chronological order, the functional format gives you the ability to group individual achievements and accomplishments, from either temporary or permanent positions, into multiple different areas of expertise.
While you’ll still want to provide a chronological listing of your career at the end of the resume, this approach draws attention to the contributions you’ve made throughout your career, as opposed to the temporary nature of each position. A functional resume is also a sign of an employee who is self-motivated, proactive, diligent and versatile in the workplace.
List Staffing Agencies Instead of Individual Positions
Another method of taking the attention away from the temporary nature of your past positions is to simply list the staffing agencies you’ve worked for. You’ll still want to include specific accomplishments and achievements, and you may even want to break those down according to individual projects or companies, but this trick can do wonders when trying to fill gaps in a resume that has too much whitespace for your liking. Moreover, this is a great idea when trying to list multiple temporary positions through a single staffing company.
Highlight Your Progression
If possible, try to highlight how you’ve been able to progress from one position to the next. Ending one project and taking on another is not inherently a negative thing, so it’s important that you demonstrate the ability to grow and progress throughout your career. If you’ve taken on an increasing amount of responsibility throughout your temporary positions to date, make sure to highlight that, as well.
Offer Valuable References
Temporary roles do offer some advantages over full-time positions, including the opportunity to meet new people and network connections. As such, many temporary employers are able to draw upon a diversified and reputable pool of potential references. When choosing references for your resume, try to focus on those who already have experience in the industry you are targeting. Doing so could add increased merit and respect to a resume that may otherwise be lacking.
Detail All of Your Skills
Finally, temporary assignments typically give workers the chance to try out a number of different roles, take on various responsibilities and develop multifaceted skill sets. As such, you should always try to draw attention to the diversified nature of your abilities by listing as many different skills as possible. These skills can also be used as keywords for today’s electronic applicant tracking systems.
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