If you’re looking for full-time work, a contract position may seem unappealing. Beyond knowing that it’s temporary in nature, you may have heard that contract work won’t look good on your resume or lead to better opportunities. Or perhaps you’ve heard that contract positions should only be a stopgap between permanent roles.
However, the gig economy has been flourishing across all industries – including the engineering and IT sectors. Gig – or contract – positions have evolved significantly in the 2020s. As employers adapt to shifting market conditions, they’ve learned that contract workers are invaluable. Engaging with contractors can help employers complete specialized projects, fill skills gaps, scale their workforce, and support overall business growth in a financially responsible way. And so, contract workers are in demand.
While this change has been driven by employers, it provides exciting and flexible opportunities for workers. Taking contract work can benefit those who are:
- Just starting on their career paths;
- Hoping to pivot into a new niche or industry;
- Returning to the workforce after time away;
- Keen to remain productive during semi-retirement;
- Taking steps toward a better work/life balance; and/or,
- Simply looking for the next stepping stone in their career.
Taking a contracting role just might accelerate your career in unexpected – and ultimately satisfying – ways.
Stop Thinking Of Contract Work As Temporary
By its nature, contract work is, yes, temporary. For that reason, many people seeking employment shy away from it. They think that the stability of a permanent role is a better choice.
But, life is temporary. You never know when your situation will change – or when that permanent position you coveted for so long will no longer suit you. Perhaps, at some point during your career, you will:
- Need to move closer to your aging parents;
- Need flexibility to manage daycare, schooling, and/or extracurricular activities for children;
- Discover that your niche has become redundant; or,
- Experience organizational restructuring that creates a culture that no longer resonates with you.
Instead of focussing on the temporary nature of contract roles, consider that most jobs are temporary in some way. And when you set aside the goal of permanency in any job, your evaluation of work will shift. Any job – no matter how long you work at it – can add value and meaning to your career.
Contract roles have a unique benefit: because they are usually created to work on a specific goal or for a set duration of time, contract positions often involve defined projects. By choosing project-based roles, you can focus on work that challenges and interests you, complete meaningful work, improve your proficiency in your favorite skill sets, and engage with opportunities where you can make important contributions.
When evaluating any job opportunity, rather than asking, “How long will I be able to work here?” try asking, “How will this opportunity help me grow personally and professionally?”
Accelerate Your Acquisition Of Specialized Experience
The focussed nature of contract positions can make it relatively easy to acquire or further hone specialized experience. Contractors are often hired for very specific reasons, and their workdays are structured around tasks that require their expertise. Permanent employees, on the other hand, often need to balance project work with various administrative and organizational overhead tasks. That limits the time they can spend developing niche expertise.
As contract workers devote significant time to highly specific work, they develop marketable skills to take to their next contract role. They gain experience with new systems, technologies, and processes at each new placement. They also learn to adapt quickly to new company cultures, build relationships with new coworkers, and contribute to new cross-functional teams. This allows them to develop the soft skills that the engineering and IT sectors value. These adaptable skill sets and the diverse project experience can provide a launchpad to further contract positions.
Explore Different Industries
Many technical skills are highly transferable, but once people find a permanent position that they’re happy with, they often stay within the same sector for the long term. Contract roles, on the other hand, more easily allow people to explore different types of work in different industries. As you seek out contract positions, you might discover that your skills are in demand across highly diverse sectors like energy, medicine, and manufacturing.
Understanding how your skills can be applied across different industries and staying open to new opportunities can help keep your workdays fresh and exciting. As well, taking on diverse roles allows you to develop a variety of skill sets which can be a terrific boon for your career. In today’s workplace, organizations highly value employees who can use their existing skill sets to adapt and pivot as needed.
Actively Build Your Professional Network
Having a strong professional network is one of the keys to a successful job search – for anyone in the job market. However, because contractors move from role to role, their network takes on considerable importance. Every contract role creates connections with new managers, colleagues, clients, vendors, and industry professionals. Any one of those people may be a link to a future position.
Remember that many job opportunities are never posted on public job boards. Instead, recruiters and hiring managers often reach out directly to those who performed exemplary work in the past. Someone may remember you and your work years down the line, and contact you about a new opportunity.
While candidates are often advised to build their professional networks online and through industry events, contractors are uniquely positioned to develop a strong network based on established professional connections.
Fill Career Gaps With Meaningful Experience
While some people may embrace contract work for the long term, others might accept a contracting role only during an employment gap. Job loss is always unfortunate, but career gaps can occur for many different reasons. For example, you might become temporarily jobless due to:
- Economic downturns;
- Layoffs;
- Family responsibilities;
- Relocation; and/or
- Health issues.
Rather than extending the gap in your resume by waiting for the perfect permanent position to open up, a contract role can be a stopgap. This type of situation can assist with the financial stressors that unemployment can cause. But further, taking one or two contract roles to bridge the gap between permanent positions can help you stay active in your industry, continue developing skills and building experience, and contribute to your overall professional development.
Further, recruiters and hiring managers are more likely to look favorably on candidates who take the initiative to continue learning and contributing instead of disconnecting from their profession while they await the perfect opportunity.
Explore No-Commitment Career Transitions
A contract position can provide a lower-stress and no-commitment way to explore a career transition. Looking for work is hard. Once a job is found, it can be difficult and stressful to adapt to a new workplace (and potentially a new niche or industry) too.
If your niche is becoming redundant and you need a new career direction, if you’re returning to work after an extended leave, or if you’re just seeking a fresh start, contract roles can give you a way to explore possibilities in a different sector without committing to a permanent role.
And once you’ve found possibilities that speak to you and that are a good fit for your skill set and knowledge, you can use your contract work as a springboard into a new career.
Contract Roles Can Lead To Permanent Opportunities
One of the biggest misconceptions about contract work is that it engenders a lifetime of job hopping. While some people may deliberately choose to continue accepting contract work indefinitely, contract roles can lead to permanent opportunities.
In some cases, an organization might use contract-to-hire arrangements as a way to assess potential permanent hires. By offering you a temporary role, a company can evaluate your technical skill set, soft skills, and overall fit before extending a full-time job offer.
In other cases, an employer might identify you as a good fit for a permanent role that opened after your contract ended. They might reach out at that time to assess your interest.
There is further good news: this process works both ways. A contract role also allows you to evaluate the company, including its culture, leadership, and internal opportunities. This provides a better basis for a decision on a permanent job offer than a short job interview.
Ask The Right Questions When Considering Contract Roles
Contract work can be a lifelong journey or an effective stop-gap. Whatever your reasons for considering a contract position, it’s important to ensure that the role aligns with your career path and values.
Of course, it’s possible to accept any contract work offered. But a thoughtful approach can lead to long-term positive change. Before accepting a contract role, it’s helpful to ask yourself:
- What new skills can I develop through this work?
- Will the projects I work on be meaningful to me?
- Is there potential for further work, possibly even permanent work, with this company?
- Will this role add value to my resume?
- Is the compensation sufficient for my needs?
- Is there any flexibility in work arrangements, such as flex time or hybrid work?
- How will this position impact my work/life balance?
If the contract role you’re considering doesn’t feel like a good fit and/or does not add value to your life or career path, it’s advisable to seek other opportunities.
Set Yourself Up For Success In Any Role
Even if a contract position is a temporary stop-gap solution for you, that position can successfully propel you further down your career path. It’s important to remain open to any opportunities that can set you up for success.
Bypassing contract work that checks all the boxes – except permanency – can narrow the opportunities available to develop your skills, expand your professional network, and land a meaningful permanent job down the line.
Instead, treat every role as a learning experience and potential stepping stone to something even better. Regardless of whether your role is permanent or on a contract basis, or whether it’s your dream job or just a stepping stone:
- Show up prepared;
- Be dependable;
- Ask thoughtful questions;
- Embrace learning;
- Support your teammates;
- Look for ways to practice leadership; and
- Work on developing your hard and soft skills.
The most fulfilling careers are rarely those where someone works in one role for their entire work life. Instead, a meaningful career is usually created through a series of experiences, continued learning, and unexpected opportunities. Contract roles can provide a terrific way to develop a career that you love.
