“I Want a Job Now”: Should You Consider an Interim Job?

Should you look for an interim job?

I Want A Job Now!

It’s quite normal to want to get a new job as quickly as possible when you’re unemployed. But you might be waiting a while. In the meantime, should you consider an interim job as a short-term solution?

How Long Does It Take To Find a New Job?

According to statistics from the US Labor Department, it takes roughly six months, on average, to find a job. It could take four to six weeks, or as long as a full year.

Several factors determine how long it will take to find a new job:

• Degrees, licenses, certifications
• Current state of employment
• Age
• Level of experience
• Current and required salary
• Position and level you are seeking
• Location
• Industry
• Your resume
• Your interviewing skills
• Networking effort
• Extent of career transition

Should You Consider An Interim Job While Job Seeking?

Even if you have sufficient funds to last your entire period of unemployment, you may still want to consider a temporary or contractual assignment as an interim solution. Not working coupled with the loss in income can result in:

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• Losing confidence
• Losing familiarity with daily responsibilities
• Boredom
• Creating employment gaps in your resume
• More expensive health benefits
• Minimal professional interactions
• No contractual position to convert into a permanent one

If you have been searching unsuccessfully for two months and find yourself no further ahead, you may want to seek temporary employment or a contractual assignment. More people are engaging in this type of activity, including former CEO’s. In fact, there has been a twenty percent increase in the number of people working part-time since 2001.

The steady rise in temporary employment and contractual assignments is a definite indicator, not only of the state of our economy, but of things to come.

Interim Jobs Are On The Rise

Employers are realizing the many benefits of hiring temporary and contract employees:

• They don’t have to go through the screening and interviewing that is typical of permanent placement;
• They don’t have to pay benefits;
• They can try out a person without any obligation to hire if it isn’t working out; and
• They can convert a temporary or contractual employee to permanent status once the person has proven themselves.

Given all these factors, even though you may be thinking “I want a job now!” it might be a good idea to find an interim job while you search for something more long-term.

Feel free to share any questions about your job seeking in the comments below or contact me to book a free call!

If you want to get more from your life, and are looking for concrete action steps to get you there, check out our Request a Coach page. It’s a “cut the fence-sitting and take action” way to tackle your issues and actually find success. You’ll be matched with the coaches most suited to you to get you from where you are to where you want to be. To get off the fence and start to take action, click or tap here.