Temporary Recruitment: The Benefits

There are countless reasons why employers may require a temporary employee to cover a maternity leave/sick leave cover, to provide support whilst running a permanent recruitment process, an overall busy period, unexpected resignations, new projects, deadlines and more, but what are the benefits to you as a candidate?

Flexibility

One of the greatest benefits of temporary work is the flexibility aspect. Perhaps you need flexibility to work part-time hours a few days a week or you only want a short term role prior to starting a new, permanent role or perhaps you are unsure about the longer term career path that you want to take so you would like to try a short-term role that offers the flexibility to try out a number of departments and get exposure to various tasks/responsibilities.

Speed

If securing a role quickly is the main priority for you, temporary roles can easily offer you this. The speed at which employers can hire a temp is usually a lot quicker than the timeframes it takes them to run a permanent recruitment process consisting of typically 2-3 stages of interviews (sometimes with the need for testing as well). You can skip all of this with temp roles as the employers tend to be a lot more flexible with their requirements in relation to the desired skills and experience they need for a short term assignment. Additionally, the sign off process for a temporary hire is often simpler and more flexible which as a result, gives the hiring managers more freedom and control over the process.

Professional development

Temporary roles offer you the opportunity to broaden your experience, keep up to date with the newest technologies, gain exposure to various industries and if you are looking to gain further experience in a particular area, temporary work can allow you to transition into a new industry. On a permanent basis, employer tend to be a lot more rigid in their hiring processes, whereas on a temporary basis they often have more freedom on the speed at which they can hire and the types of activities they can have you involved in. As a temp, the more versatile and dynamic you can be, the better for the employer. It allows them to utilize your experience to the fullest often to help plug gaps in a number of areas to assist the organization.

Earning potential

One of the great benefits of temporary work is the ability to be paid for each hour that you work. Recording your hours on a timesheet ensures that you are paid for every hour that you put in, meaning that more often than not, the expectation is that your hours are pre-determined and/or if you do work any additional hours you reap the benefit of overtime pay at overtime rates which in Cayman is any hours worked over 9 hours in a day or 45 hours in a week. Although the security of having a fixed salary for some, provides reassurance when you are a permanent employee, you may find that you often work longer hours unpaid.  

Networking

Never underestimate the countless contacts you may make whilst undertaking temporary work. Even if the role you commence on a temporary basis is not your long term ideal position you will be rubbing shoulders with new contacts internally and assuming you do a great job, will be making a name for yourself positively within the company. If they need a reliable, hard-working and knowledgeable temp again in the future of course the preference will always be someone familiar who can jump right in and apply their existing company experience.  

“Try before you buy”

Temporary assignments can allow you to test a company culture firsthand. You will have the opportunity to work for the organization to get to know the people that work there, get a feel for the working environment, trial the regular commute, trial their internal processes and procedures and gain an all-round in-depth experience of life as an employee of that  organization. It’s very common for temporary roles to convert to permanent ones once an organization has had the opportunity to see what you can do and if you’ve managed to make yourself indispensable during your temporary assignment, where there is scope to, many companies will want to keep you on. This could be in another role or department or should you wish to apply for a permanent position within the company, you will have a competitive advantage over applicants who have not had the opportunity to demonstrate how they work.   

The temporary recruitment market in Cayman is consistently busy and we are always keen to speak with immediately (or soon to be) available, on-island candidates. If you would be open to learning more about the temporary roles that we currently have on, please get in touch. We would love to hear from you: chelsea@theagency.ky