Tips to Turn a Temp Job into a Permanent Position

There is no guarantee that your temporary position within a company will parlay into a permanent one, however, it is certainly possible if you play your cards right.

Working as a temporary employee allows you with the opportunity to work inside the company and ultimately give you an advantage over external candidates when applying for permanent jobs. Securing yourself a temporary role is the most productive strategy for finding a permanent position at the end of your contract. When a permanent position becomes available, an employer’s first preference is to consider the temps who are already working within the company.

Of course there are people who deliberately seek out temp work because of uncertainty in their own lives, because they need some extra cash, or because they simply want to try on a job for size, says Michael Kerr, an international business speaker, author and president of Humor at Work. “[But] the vast majority of temp workers I know are desperately hoping to parlay that experience into something full-time, either with that company or by taking the experience they gain and moving on elsewhere.”

Furthermore, the size of temporary positions’ applicant pool over the past few years has increased as well as an improvement in the quality of those applicants according to James Essey, president and chief executive of The TempPositions Group of Companies. Essey also denotes the trend in temporary work is due to the large volatility and uncertainty in the economy.

Temporary jobs offer more flexibility to employers as finding the perfect employee for a role is often challenging - especially when they need to find the right person with the right skills and cultural fit. Henceforth temporary roles are favourable in order to evaluate the individual on the job and the period services as an extended job interview and the number of temporary jobs turning into permanent positions is at an increasing rate over the years.

Essey also states that his firm has found that roughly 70% of people in temporary positions ultimately get a permanent job at that company, proving that ‘it is indeed an effective backdoor way to get hired’.

So what can you do as a Temp to increase your chances of becoming a Permanent staffer?

1.Treat your Temp Job Like Permanent Job

Be reliable, punctual and do not lose your motivation because you are a temp. Treat it like an extended interview and utilise it as your opportunity to shine and deliver quality work and communicate effectively with your colleagues.

You can still go the extra mile by coming in early or offering to stay late – this shows your commitment, enthusiasm and flexibility.

Avoiding the mindset that you are a temporary worker is also important. The company has accepted you into this temp role because of your skills and by thinking you are part of the company, it changes everything.

2. Find out whether permanent employment is a possibility

Before you commence your temp role, find out the company’s policy towards hiring temporary employees and the prospects of temporary roles turning into permanent roles.

3. Network and build relationships

If you network well, there is also a higher chance you will land the job. Be sure to keep in touch with your contacts at all time, rather than when you are on the lookout for a new opportunity.

Reinforce the value you provide and try to get to know the leaders who make the hiring decisions. Even though you are only there for a short time, getting the time to know your colleagues are also great sources of information about who is hiring and where the opportunities lie within the company.

4. Get to know the company

Research the company that you are working for and try to understanding the history, mission and values, goals, earning reports, culture.

5.Leverage your fresh perspective

You may identify ways to make processes or systems more effective and efficient within the company. Making a list of ideas an sharing them with your manager not only shows initiative, but also show that there is a lot of useful and important work to be done and that could justify hiring you permanently.

“Identify a gap in the company that you could fill.” He says to be proactive by suggesting ideas for improvement, getting involved in implementing the changes, and volunteering for opportunities that arise.”*

6. Adapt to the culture

It is important to blend into the work environment and being a person that is friendly and approachable, provides great visibility and opportunity to showcase your work and gain new projects.

7. Ask for the job.

‘Plant the seed early on with your employer that you would like to become a permanent employee, Find out what it will take to get the offer. Make sure you will be considered when they are ready to fill permanent positions.’* Letting the person of influence know from the beginning that you could possibly be interested in working permanently for the company is also important.

Do you have any other tips to increase the chances of turning a Temporary role into a Permanent role? Do you agree with these tip? We would love to hear your thoughts.

Source: Jacquelyn Smith, How To Turn Your Temp Job Into A Permanent One, <http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/09/28/how-to-turn-your-temp-job-into-a-permanent-one/>

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