The next time you ponder the thought of temporary work and fear it may devalue your resume or reflect an inability to find permanent work, think again. Getting into the temporary market is a great way to gain experience from a variety of different roles and companies that wouldn’t necessarily be available to you on a permanent basis.

The latest Robert Half Finance and Accounting Workplace Survey has revealed that 82% of Australian HR and Finance Managers believe work experience gained as a temporary employee is valuable. This attitude is prevalent in other countries surveyed by Robert Half and has stated that it reflects a new "modern workforce", which is increasingly flexible in its outlook.

Managing Director of Robert Half, David Jones said " It may come as a surprise that so many HR and Finance Managers recognise temporary work as a valuable experience, but we have noticed a trend towards temporary work in recent months and are increasingly placing many candidates in professional contracting roles"

Mr Jones continued to state that although previously temporary work seemed to reflect instability and an inability to find permanent work, in today’s market many people actually prefer temporary roles and contract work to permanent positions. People now want more flexibility in their life, balancing work life and home life as well as the opportunity to gain a variety of skills in different roles.

This trend, already common in the US and Europe is catching on in Australia and 25% of the Australian HR and Finance Managers surveyed said they hired temporary workers in cases of specific skills shortages.

As companies downsize or upsize and/or during their peak times "interim teams" may be brought in to assist with projects. As are as highly qualified professional contractors for their specialist technical or accounting skills to work on special finite projects.

The survey has also revealed that cost is not an issue when hiring temporary staff (cited by 3% of respondents). But amongst the benefits of hiring temporary staff flexibility was mostly widely recognised (43%) and experience was also noted (11%).

If you would like more information on temping, joining our team of temps or to simply update your availability on our database, please call Discovering People today.

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