Is temporary work for you?

Is temporary work for you?

Working in a permanent full-time role doesn’t always suit every lifestyle.

Whether you need flexible hours to fit around the school run or you’re not a fan of the routine 9-5 hours, there are plenty of reasons why you may want to venture into temporary work.

Luckily, KPI can offer these kinds of opportunities in abundance. You just need to register with one of our branches and let us know when you are available to work and we find a job that suits your needs.

Generally speaking, you’ll be working shifts on a contracted basis. So if a certain role doesn’t quite work for you, at least you know you can find something fresh in the next few weeks or months.

However, when you’re new to the temp industry the grass isn’t always greener. So it’s important to identify whether that kind of role is perfectly suited to your personality, requirements and mindset.

Here’s everything you need to know before you make an informed decision.

What is temporary work?

When you work on a temporary basis, you are technically employed.

However, this is on a contracted basis either directly via the company/organisation or through a recruitment agency.

Here at KPI Recruiting, temporary work can range from a matter of days to months, with the rate of pay usually calculated on an hourly basis.

Although you may find some positions offer a pro-rata salary which is an annual salary divided by the number of hours that you work every week/month.

You may find that working in certain areas of the country will pay you differently as well.

For instance, temp warehouse jobs based in London will usually offer slightly more to compensate for the high living costs in the capital city.

The pros of becoming a temporary worker

You’ll quickly realise how simple it is to get a new position as a temp.
If you’re looking to work flexibly around your lifestyle, this type of contract is absolutely ideal for you.
Another plus point is the fact that no day is ever the same with temporary work, as you can easily change roles once the contract is up.
Similar to freelancing in other industries, you essentially have more control over your career, instead of being tied up in long-term permanent roles.
If all the HR and payroll is dealt with by the recruitment company, you’ll have the added benefit of having someone proactively working on your behalf to ensure you’re paid on time and your needs are adhered to. This is an added peace of mind, especially when you’re new to the temping world.

The cons of becoming a temporary worker

On the flip side, one of the biggest challenges with contracting is the uncertainty it can bring jumping from one role to another.
Plus, you must accept that you might not always jump straight back into back-to-back roles. Therefore, this requires a particular mindset to keep yourself motivated again and again.
The only other real con to temping is that you don’t always get the added benefits of permanent care workers.

The main element to consider is just evaluating the pros and cons.

Do the pros of a more flexible lifestyle outweigh the slight uncertainty you can get with shorter-term contracts?