There are different schools of thought on contract or temporary work roles. Some people prefer to work directly within a company because they view it as a more stable environment, or they would like to have the benefits packages that some companies offer.
But for others, being your own boss and having more flexibility in a job may be a more appealing option. Others still want to know a company’s values, ethics, and opportunities before working with them full-time, and a temporary position allows them to see how a company truly operates.
Whatever your belief on contract roles, they are a great fit for some people, which is why over 14 million people chose to pursue them in 2021 alone.
At One Tech Staffing, we support your choice to try contracting and offer some reasons why this working style may be right for you.
What Is Contract or Temp Work?
A specific company does not permanently employ contract employees. Instead, a contract worker is either self-employed or works through a staffing agency to provide specific services to a client.
As a contractor, you may be responsible for completing a single project for a company, or you may provide a service for a set period of time. You are paid for those services, and when the job is done or the time is up, you move on to something else.
Since professional contractors are temporary employees and not fully employed by a company, they can quit a job or be relieved of their contract at any time.
Advantages of Being a Contract Worker
It may seem counterintuitive to be a temporary employee, but job seeking with guidance from an agency opens doors you may not have imagined.
Here are some important benefits to contracting that shouldn’t be overlooked or discounted.
1. Maximize Your Compensation
As a contractor, taxes are the only money coming out of your paycheck, so you can manage your money however you see fit. With permanent positions, a company may automatically deduct money from the paycheck to cover benefit packages, like health insurance or retirement plans.
Also, employees with salaried positions earn the same amount no matter how many hours they work, whereas a contractor is usually paid a guaranteed hourly wage and earns time and a half for overtime hours.
2. Maintain Consistent Benefits
By partnering with a staffing company like One Tech Staffing, you can get help finding exciting placements and qualify for our employee benefits package to maximize your compensation. Maintain single or family health care plans, as well as life, dental, and supplemental insurance.
Additionally, One Tech provides company-matching retirement plans and paid time off.
3. Enjoy Less Commitment
Since you aren’t tied to a company as a temporary employee, there is less pressure to stay in a specific position or continue working with a particular client after a job is done.
Similar to internships, once you’ve completed your assignment or served for the agreed-upon time, you can move on to other job experiences, work with different clients, and not feel attached or pigeonholed into one area of expertise.
4. Move Around as You Want (Literally)
For some workers, needing to stay in one location for the sake of family or lifestyle is important. But you may prefer having more flexibility and freedom to travel. Contract work can allow you the space to travel or take jobs in cities across the country or the world.
Find places you really like being in or that provide you with different experiences you would never have gotten to do in your hometown or state.
5. Control Your Success
In traditional full-time positions, success is often defined by a boss or the company as a whole. After the initial introduction and adjustment period, a manager may track an employee’s productivity and progress on tasks, as well as expect them to meet certain milestones by the employer’s timeline.
Conversely, in a contracted role, you get to determine your professional growth and productivity rate and set personal goals and milestones to measure your progress and performance. Similarly, you get to control your approach to completing tasks and work on projects in ways best suited to you, not submit solely to the client’s way of doing things.
6. Customize Your Schedule for Better Work-Life Balance
As a contracted employee, you often have the ability to work the hours you want and not subscribe to the standard operating hours of an organization. You can designate your availability to clients and create a schedule that suits your life.
Doing so allows you to easily balance your work life with the rest of your day-to-day activities and enjoy a more enriched, fulfilled life free from job burnout. When working within a company, it can be easy to fall into the trap of overworking, giving more time to projects, or adding more onto your plate than you can handle.
Plus, depending on the company, taking time off can be challenging, or you may have restrictions on how much time off you can request.
7. Gain More Opportunities to Learn New Skills
By regularly working with new clients and different companies, your temporary position enables you to learn new skills or extend your skills to meet the needs of each unique placement. Some organizations may even provide you with specialized training for a job or introduce you to new technology to better your ability to do the work.
This, in turn, enhances your problem-solving skills and encourages you to develop even more innovative solutions when working with another organization. The more skills you acquire, the more you can build your resume and make you an even more valuable candidate in your career path, whether that entails staying in contract work or seeking permanent employment.
8. Attend More Professional Development Opportunities
With flexible scheduling, contracted employees often have an easier ability to take the time to attend conferences, trade shows, certification classes, and other professional development possibilities.
Instead of having to use PTO or running yourself ragged trying to manage work and training pursuits, you have more freedom to invest in the opportunities that will help you pivot into future full-time career paths or develop skills you’ve been wanting to acquire.
9. Take Advantage of Less Competition in the Job Market
In some fields, like IT, it is difficult to find a full-time position because so many people are applying for a limited number of vacancies. By seeking a temporary contract role, however, you can save yourself some rejection and get a foot in the door.
It can be expensive and time-consuming for a company to hire new full-time employees and get them fully trained on their duties, procedures, policies, and the company culture, so organizations will opt for temp workers to help them complete projects instead.
As a contractor, you create a win-win scenario by saving time, money, and resources for a company while you learn about the position and company and gain the advantage of moving into a full-time role there.
10. Experience Easier Entry Into Full-Time Positions
Contract and temp roles help you develop a network of companies and clients that can help progress your career in ways that staying in a stagnant position can’t, and that, in turn, builds your confidence in your skills, work ethic, and resourcefulness.
If obtaining a full-time position is something you want, working as a contractor allows you to gain the valuable experience that organizations are looking for. Plus, you can discover which companies are worth working for and share your values and motivations.
Contract employees who impress their employers are often considered first when job openings occur because they won’t need as much training as a new hire, so putting that foot in the door as a temporary employee is truly beneficial.
Find Advantageous Contract Work With One Tech Staffing
Let our expert team with over 40 years in technical recruiting help you find the perfect temporary role that rounds out your resume, enhances your skillset, and leads to the career path you’ve always wanted!
Maximize your experiences in the job field you’ve wanted to pursue while maintaining your benefits through us. Send us your resume today to get started, or check out our job board to see what exciting job opportunities are available to you right now.
For more advice and information, or if you have questions, connect with us online or call 952-844-9199.