How a Temporary Position Can Help Restart Your Career

Even when you prioritize your career, life can get in the way. Events happen that force you to take a break from your professional life. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay away forever. Temporary positions provide excellent re-entry points, helping you restart your career following an absence. 

The list of reasons to pause your career is almost endless. People take breaks to raise a family, go back to school, take care of sick relatives, fight illness, or any other personal situation that might come up. There’s no shame in focusing on another part of your life for a period of time. However, when it comes time to re-enter the workforce, those gaps can cause problems. 

Temporary positions represent an excellent bridge back to a thriving career. Here’s how: 

Get Back in the Habit 

Returning to the workforce can take getting used to. You need to re-learn simple habits, like operating in a corporate hierarchy or dealing with annoying coworkers. Even things like setting an alarm and getting used to the rhythms of working life can take a certain retraining process. Meanwhile, you’ll have to fold this new career responsibility into an already busy home life. It’s a major adjustment. 

Temporary employment can help ease this process. You can practice the subtle art of being an employee again, without making a major commitment. It takes some of the pressure off and helps you make an easy transition. 

Stay Flexible  

You put your career on pause for a reason. Whether the decision involved school or family needs or something else entirely, you needed a different situation than the typical 9–to–5. Going back to work, you might still need some flexibility, if only during the transitional period. Temporary work provides an excellent way to keep your schedule flexible. 

Fill Up Your Recent Work Experience  

Building a career is all about “what have you done for me lately?” When you put your career on hold, it’s tough to answer this question. Your last work experience might have happened years ago. To really build momentum, you need to put a few items into your recent work history.  

Turn to temporary work to get this done. Taking a temp assignment allows you to rebuild your resume after a long absence. 

Expand Your Skill Set 

Adding experience to your resume isn’t just about filling in blank space on a hiring document. You also want to gain the practical experience necessary to succeed in the modern workplace.  

After a long absence, some of your skills may have atrophied. At the same time, the world moves on. You might need to learn new technology and updated techniques. You can get these opportunities with temporary assignments. 

Make Contacts 

Building a career is all about networking. That’s the first advice you’ll hear when you start searching for a full-time position. However, when you take a break from your career, your contacts can become stale.  

Rebuilding your professional connections can provide a major lift as your career develops. You need to start that process somewhere.  A temporary position gives you this chance. 

Restarting your professional life comes with a lot of challenges. Temporary employment can make the process easier. By partnering with a strong staffing firm, like SmartTalent, you can jumpstart your renewed career. 

Contact SmartTalent today to find out more.