Temporary or short-term jobs can help fill an employment gap or prepare you for permanent employment. To decide if temp work is a good fit for you, it can be helpful to understand the kinds of jobs you might find in your search. Temp work can be a solution if you want to pursue a variety of opportunities to define your career path.In this article, we discuss how to become a temp and some jobs available in the field.
What is a temp?
A temp is an employee who works for a company for a defined, short-term period. Sometimes that work is to act as a substitute for a permanent employee on leave, help with a short-term project at the company or potentially as an open-ended position that may lead to permanent employment (temp to hire). Many also work on a seasonal basis, providing help during busy periods. For example, a retail store may hire temp employees for the holiday season.Temps work for a wide variety of companies in many industries for varying lengths of time. They could work in offices, restaurants, retail stores, manufacturing companies and shipping businesses. The length of time depends on the needs of the company. Some temps may work for one month while others could stay with a company for more than a year.Many companies use staffing agencies to fill temporary roles. These agencies provide companies with pre-screened employees who then fill a gap in their workforce. The temp agency acts as human resources, matching you with available positions that fit your skills, arranging interviews and providing your pay. Temporary staffing agencies, like Indeed Flex, can help guide candidates to find temporary jobs that fit their skills and lifestyles.Related: Transferrable Skills: Definitions and Examples
How to know if a temp job is right for you
When it is time to change careers or find a new job, temp work may be a good path to consider. Here are some common situations this type of employment may be right for you:
- Change in your career path
- Immediate employment
- Temp-to-hire opportunities
- Work in a specialized field
- Exposure to different jobs
- Seasonal work
Change in your career path
If you have determined you want a change from your current career, temp work can allow you extended time to make decisions about your future education or relocation. Temporary work can allow you to try jobs in different industries and companies and compare your experiences to decide the path to pursue.
Immediate employment
Though signing on with a staffing agency doesn't guarantee immediate work, they provide an advantage in their pre-existing relationships with companies and awareness of a variety of available jobs. When searching for jobs, you may need to send applications to several different employers, but a temp agency can help you find employment more quickly since they have established relationships with companies. Additionally, many companies have immediate openings, making the process faster.
Temp-to-hire opportunities
For some companies, hiring temp employees provides a method for narrowing the field of potential candidates outside a more traditional hiring process. By allowing the first level of vetting to happen at the temp agency, companies can evaluate you for your skills within the job setting right away, with an option to either continue looking for someone else or offer you a permanent position. Employers may also create a position for you if you excelled in the temp role.
Work in a specialized field
Some temp positions are highly specialized or may require travel or temporary relocation. Specialized temp agencies are set up for these kinds of jobs and can help you with short-term living arrangements. Working in these types of fields that require frequent travel can help you experience new areas where you may want to start a long-term career.
Exposure to different jobs
If you are new to the workforce and want to explore the kind of work you would like to do permanently, working temporary jobs could give you exposure that helps narrow your search. If you are interested in administrative work, for example, you could take temp jobs in both the medical field and the legal profession to see which kind of office environment you prefer.
Seasonal work
Industries like landscaping and holiday retail require extra employees at certain times of the year only. If you have other responsibilities or employment for part of the year, seasonal jobs can provide short-term work that has a definite endpoint.
Common temp jobs
Temp agencies staff a wide range of jobs for companies in need. If an agency does not specialize, it may provide employees for some of these common jobs:
- Retail sales associate
- Home health aide
- Landscape technician
- Data entry clerk
- Administrative assistant
- Translator/interpreter
- Courier
1. Retail sales associate
National average salary: $43,169 per yearPrimary duties: Sales associates work in retail establishments processing transactions, stocking merchandise, offering customer service, and cleaning and organizing the space as part of opening and closing the store. Depending on the type of business, sales associates may receive a commission for items they sell as part of their salary.
2. Home health aide
National average salary: $46,329 per yearPrimary duties: Home health aides provide limited medical care, medication assistance, bathing, housekeeping, meal preparation and driving for elderly or homebound patients. They may spend all day with a patient or work a few times a week, assisting in all kinds of basic life needs.
3. Landscape technician
National average salary: $52,089 per yearPrimary duties: Also known as "groundskeepers" or "yard maintenance workers," landscape technicians take care of outdoor spaces with tasks like watering, mowing and trimming grass, planting, pruning, weed eradication and plant fertilization. Retail nurseries and greenhouses also employ landscape technicians to water and maintain indoor plants and inventory.
4. Data entry clerk
National average salary: $40,389 per yearPrimary duties: A data entry clerk enters company or customer information into a database, spreadsheet or specialized software program for billing, tracking or searching. They may scan paper files and documents for digital preservation.
5. Administrative assistant
National average salary: $40,052 per yearPrimary duties: An administrative assistant provides support to other staff members. They answer phone calls, receive and reply to emails, deliver correspondence, run errands and keep schedules for executives or managers in an office. They may take notes in meetings and be responsible for additional tasks as needed.
6. Translator/Interpreter
National average salary: $45,891 per yearPrimary duties: Translators and interpreters take written or spoken word from one language to another to facilitate communication. They often work in places like hospitals to help patients understand diagnoses and care instructions or in government agencies for clarity on laws and regulations.
7. Courier
National average salary: $41,385 per yearPrimary duties: Couriers transport documents and packages from one destination to another on foot, by bicycle or by car. They usually meet time-sensitive deadlines or fill daily delivery quotas. Specialized couriers may only transport one type of item, such as flower deliveries from a florist.
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