This is a thread bump! Some folks have configured their Cove threads to show the latest post first so I am repeating some new material I added in edit to the first post. I highly recommend folks seriously considering working as a temp or contract worker read through this thread in chronological order - from post 1 to the last.
Here's the copied material added to post 1:
Let me emphasize - there is no shame in taking temporary work to keep yourself and family fed and a roof over your heads.
Some things you have to keep in mind:
- The contract job is TEMPORARY! (always be aware ANY day may be the last - for reasons that have nothing to do with you or the quality of your work)
- Find a way to keep up health insurance - the vast majority of personal bankruptcies are triggered by outsized medical bills
- You may not qualify for unemployment compensation when the contract job disappears
- Be aware you may have to work a long distance from home - too far to commute - keep in mind you may have to support your family from a distance and won't be around to help out your spouse or play with the kids.
- Don't stop researching and looking for a permanent job if that is your ultimate goal.
- Continually update your resume as you gain new skills and experience pertinent to your long term employment goal.
- You may require two different resumes - one for getting contract work and one for getting interviews for full-time employment - don't mix them up!
- If you don't have a close friend you can trust to gve you an honest appraisal of your resume and cover letter, consider finding an employment club or community-based counselor to find one or more QUALIFIED folks to assure you are not your own worst enemy by sending out resumes that don't adequately reflect the value you can offer to an employer. (To do an adequate review, a professional who doesn't have personal knowledge of your skills may have to interview you for an hour or more before looking at the resume so he can get a feel for whether your resume adequately does a true job of describing your value.)
- Find a way to rehearse and practice interviewing so you can do the best possible job of marketing your value when face to face with someone who can hire you.
All good advice, but a few comments:
ALL jobs are temporary! The only permanent jobs are King, Pope and Court Justice. "Permanent" jobs are merely jobs where the employer does not have a specific end in sight for the position
at this time. The end may come into sight tomorrow, or even this afternoon. And when it does, the "permanent" employee is just as gone as the contractor.
If you are working through an agency, you are probably legally the agency's employee. If they are taking Social Security out of your check, and you are going to get a W-2 not a 1099 as a tax statement of wages, you are an employee. In this case, contract employment should provide you with unemployment and worker's comp benefits justas any other employer. Some fly-by-night agencies will not pay the unemployment insurance and worker's comp insurance, hoping for no claims. If this happens, talk to the state employment folks and get a court case started.
Figure in what you need to buy your own benefits when deciding what your rate will be. Start with what the average worker in your field would get as an hourly equivalent and then go UP based on cost of benefits the agency is not providing. Contractors cost MORE per hour than direct employees, not less. And you don't want to establish a low price point for yourself when looking at either a direct position or your next contract.
Have multiple resumes. If an agency calls with a specific requirement, be willing to email a "targeted" resume withing the day which highlights your experience in the area. Don't lie, the worst thing you can do is have your last reference be a bad one, but no one resume can highlight everything.
Protect your references. Many low end agencies require references MUCH too early in the process. They are not using them to screen applicants, but as leads for new business. Check with your references, make sure this isn't happening and make sure you are getting good words.
Geoff Withnell