Third-Party Recruiters and Staffing Firms - Part II
Below are two of the four ways I mentioned yesterday that you might work with recruiters and staffing firms. I’ve also added my thoughts about the pros and cons of each.
Contract employment is usually described as a long-term, project-based job during which you use professional-level skills. Projects can be short term or long term, and you are either self employed as a consultant or employed/paid by a third-party firm. However, it’s most likely you’d be working through a third party.
Pros
- Contract jobs usually offer excellent wages.
- Contract jobs offer freedom and variety to move from place to place, company to company, and/or project to project, adding skills and interest to your career.
Cons
- There’s a certain lack of stability, so the contractor’s lifestyle may be better suited to a risk-taker type of personality.
- It is uncommon for contractors to be offered benefits, so costs may offset the relatively higher wages if you plan to secure self-funded benefits.
Temporary assignments can vary in length – from a day or two (e.g. while an employee is out sick, is out training, etc.) to several months (e.g. while an employee is on medical leave). Often, but not always, temporary assignments entail duties requiring lighter skills, especially the short-term ones. Many people refer to temporary jobs as “transitional” jobs, but I’ve met a few professional temporary employees over the years. These types of workers usually have other interests such as acting and music, so being non-committed to a traditional employer suits them.
Pros
- Can fill the gap between employment and can help provide some income when you need it.
- You can keep your skills up-to-date and just maybe even add new ones.
- Can sometimes open doors. Through networking with those you encounter on assignments, you might hear about a great job opening inside or outside the company.
Cons
- Might take your focus away from a full-time job search.
- Sometimes assignments end abruptly, and this can be disconcerting to a you if you’re someone who likes to know where the work is coming from tomorrow.
- Wages are often lower because the tasks tend to be entry-level.
Tomorrow, in Part III of our three-part series, we’ll look at the other two ways you can work with a staffing firm, temp-to-hire and direct hire.
Angela Loëb is an author, speaker and co-owner of Great Occupations. She and her partner, Jay Markunas, help people make successful career transitions through workshops, webclasses, personalized coaching sessions, as well as through The Job Search Boot Camp Show. Find out more at www.greatoccupations.com.
[...] firms, we’re going to look at the last of four ways you can work with a staffing firm. Yesterday, we examined contract and temporary - today we look at temporary-to-hire and direct [...]