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One of the realities of the current economy is that finding a permanent full-time job is hard work. Indeed, some believe that the current situation may even be permanent, with temporary, freelance and adjunct jobs becoming the new normal.

It can be frustrating to be stuck on the job hunt ^[3], and the truth is that you need to be doing something. Once you go more than six months without a job, your employability — such as it is in the current climate — goes down quite a bit. This means that, perhaps, you need to consider doing temporary work. You might even be surprised that it can help you in your career.

How Temporary Work Can Benefit Your Career

Even though it is easy to look down on temporary work, the truth is that it can be helpful in some ways beyond merely bringing in some money. That money is certainly needed, and can help stretch your emergency fund ^[4], but you also need to think of the future of your career. Here are some ways that temporary work can benefit you:

• Provides you with an “in”: Sometimes, a temporary position can become a full-time position. If you do temporary work regularly for a company, or if you can impress the boss with your abilities, you might be hired on for full-time work, or even hired as a consultant on occasion. You now have an “in” with that company.
• Prevents holes from appearing on your resume: Keep holes from appearing on your resume by doing temporary work. You can even intern or do volunteer work as a way to bridge the gaps on your resume. If you can show that you have been doing something, other than job hunting, that can be a tremendous boost to your resume.
• Expands your career network: Even if you don’t end up working full-time due to a temporary position, you still have the benefit of an expanded career network. If you can develop relationships with a few people at the company, you can keep in touch with them after your stint is over. These connections can help you later on in your career, and you might even be able to use some of your new connections as references.
• Allows you to explore other options: In many cases with temporary work, you will be assigned to do something a little bit different each time you go in. This allows you to explore other options. You can even gain experience in a new career area and use that to launch in a different direction that you might enjoy more.
• Supports you while you start a side business: Perhaps losing your job was a wake up call that it’s time for you to start a side business ^[5] and become an entrepreneur. If this is the case, you can do temporary work for funds to help you remain afloat while you get things going on your venture.

Every cloud really does have a silver lining, and temporary work can open doors for you, and allow you to meet new people and try new things. Approach your temporary work as an opportunity, and you might actually find some benefits.

(Photo: Steve Rhodes ^[6])