When a Contract Position is Better than a Full-Time Job

There is an old stigma attached to contract work that it is a last resort, the job you take when you can’t find full-time work. But that is not the case in today’s business environment. In fact, there are many situations in which candidates actually choose contract work because it provides opportunities they have been unable to find in regular, full-time jobs.

For example, a contractor named Ali Brown explained in a guest post on the Brazen Careerist blog how she actually quit a full-time job in order to take a temp position. Why? She was not satisfied with her job and saw no opportunities for advancement. Now instead of answering phones and ordering office supplies, she gets to work on HTML and XML for an Internet retailer.

So which job do you think looks better on her resume, the one where she basically just pushed paper, or the contract position where she is using and developing a specialized skill? Not to mention the fact that she is much happier with her contract work.

Here are a few other take-away points that you may want to use when talking to your candidates about contract positions:

• If your candidates feel that contract work is just a dead-end, this article provides a great example of how “Temp” jobs have evolved. They are no longer exclusive to low-paying, entry-level positions. Nearly every industry is hiring contractors in positions up to and including C-Suite level executives.
• Contracting not only provides great experiences to include on a resume, it can also help expand a candidate’s network to find future opportunities. Brown notes that, in addition to putting her in touch with more people doing the work she is interested in, her contract position also improves her attitude when networking because she actually likes what she does!
• Brown talks about purchasing her own health insurance policy. Contractors who are employed through a contracting back-office, such as Top Echelon Contracting, usually do not have to go through that additional hassle because the back-office offers benefits to them. For example, our contractors are offered a full menu of benefits, including health insurance through Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
• In most cases, contractors are eligible for unemployment after their contract assignment ends, so that takes some of the risk out of giving up full-time work in favor of a more fulfilling contract position.

So if you have candidates who are not satisfied with the full-time offerings out there, especially in this challenging economy, you may want to suggest that they at least look at the contracting opportunities available. If they look at contracting with an open mind, they may be surprised about what they find!