Worked as a temporary in the past? Wondering the best way to highlight that experience on your resume? As one of today’s leading staffing agencies, Peoplelink has a few suggestions for showcasing your temporary work history – and the full range of expertise you’ve gained through it:
Tip #1: Don’t Shy Away From It
Some candidates are fearful about putting temporary work on their resume because they don’t want to look like job hoppers. However, in today’s employment landscape, temporary and part-time work is more common than ever. And if you worked on assignments that helped you gain or sharpen valuable skills, then it only makes sense to include them.
Practical advice: Having an employment gap on your resume will look far more suspicious to a hiring manager than a few temporary jobs.
Tip #2: Focus on the Employer
When adding temporary assignments to your resume, consider the position you are applying for and the needs of the employer. Hiring managers will quickly scan your resume looking for applicable experience, so certain temporary assignments are going to be more important to highlight than others.
Practical advice: Look to the job posting as a place to start when trying to determine the skills and experience most important to each employer. Keep in mind, too, that means you’re going to need to tailor each resume you send out to a particular employer!
Format Your Temporary Experience Properly
When including temporary work assignments on your resume, be sure to format them properly. You should include both the temporary agency the assignment was through, as well as the names of the companies you worked at. After the job title, you can state something like “Temporary Position” in quotes or parenthesis.
Practical advice: If you primarily work through one staffing agency, then list the name of that firm and bullet each company you were assigned to, along with a description of your job duties and responsibilities.
If you’ve worked on many assignments, then listing every single one out separately is not an effective use of space. Instead, you can group them by skill or category – for instance, “Customer Service” or “Administration” and then list the most applicable assignments and skill sets you put to use.
Highlight Relevant Achievements
Think about one or two accomplishments that are important to highlight under each assignment. Again, when identifying these kinds of achievements, consider those that are most pertinent to the employer and the position they are looking to fill.
Practical advice: If you’re having a hard time thinking of any accomplishments, then contact your staffing agency and ask if managers from past assignments have given them positive feedback about you.
Still need more resume help? If you do, contact Peoplelink. As one of today’s leading staffing agencies, we will listen to your needs, find out about your career goals, and do our best to help you get where you want to be – from resume to interview to job offer.
Ready to get started? Contact us today.
