Adaptability, a willingness to learn and a problem solving attitude are some of the soft skills employers look for in today’s rapidly changing world of work and they’re also skills that can be gained in temporary assignments.

Early in my career I completed dozens of temporary assignments and from this experience I know that there’s no faster method of learning the soft skills employers need nor of proving the employability of your existing skills than undertaking such assignments.

As a young graduate I temped my way around London, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Auckland, Perth and Canberra, working for a wide variety of organisations. This experience opened my eyes to the possibilities and the realities all around me. The knowledge I gained from working in different environments with different people using different technologies helped me determine what I wanted – and didn’t want – in a career.

In fact, this is one of the reasons I advise people to undertake a period of temporary employment at some point during their career; it opens your mind to the amazing variety of roles and possibilities out there.

Temping also allowed me to learn several new jobs, understand the various ways that businesses operate and gain experience using a range of new technologies.

How to think on my feet

One of the most valuable soft skills I learnt as a temp was how to adjust rapidly to the situation around me. I was willing to learn, open to new experiences and often had to think on my feet in changing environments. When walking into a new organisation as a temp, I’d make a quick assessment of the environment, hierarchy, tasks set for me and the resources available. This allowed me to know what questions to ask to get the information I needed to solve the problem before me and do a good job. It was sink or swim, so I rapidly developed the skills I needed to swim!

Adaptable

My experience also taught me a lot about how different organisations operate and how to be adaptable, flexible and appreciate and utilise the knowledge and skills of the people around me.

These are aptitudes I took with me into my recruitment career and they remain critical for career success given the pace of change in today’s working environment.

First-hand insights

I also found that, because I showed interest in my assignment, I would be given a solid brief on the organisation and how it provided its services or built its products. I was often taken into confidence as I was an outsider and I learnt to keep that information private, which helped build my reputation.

In fact, I was often asked to stay beyond the end of my assignment and I made many friends during my time temping.

How to ask for help

Of course there were challenges too. Every organisation has its own way of doing things and some do not provide their temporary employees with instructions on what they expect of them. Sometimes I was given work with no indication as to how to do it. Learning how to ask for help was a steep learning curve for me, but one that’s also vital for us all in today’s complex world of work.

In return for all I learnt in each new temporary assignment, I too shared my knowledge and skills with the teams I was placed within. With technology advancing so rapidly, I believe that this knowledge exchange and upskilling of both temporary employees and the team/s they work within is one of the greatest advantages of this form of working, both during my time as a temp and today.

I hope my reflections help you identify what you've learnt or could learn from temporary assignments or contract roles.

About this author

Kathy Kostyrko, Director, has had a career in the recruitment industry in Australia and New Zealand spanning over 30 years, the last 20 years of which have been with Hays. Her roles within Hays have been at a senior executive level, either locally based, nationally or internationally. Over the last ten years Kathy has presented to our clients across Australia and New Zealand on workforce related topics.

Presenting at well over 30 events a year, in every capital city in Australia and New Zealand, to audiences from 20-350 people, Kathy has become known as an engaging and informative speaker. She is often sought after to facilitate round tables on key topics as well as launching our annual Hays Salary Guide at events in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Kathy is currently on the Board of the new Canberra Business Chamber and has previously had several terms on the ACT Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board where she held the position of Chair twice. Kathy is a member of the Canberra Institute of Technology Advisory Council and is a Board member of CIT Solutions. She is a Member of the Governance Committee of the Institute of Public Administration Australia in the ACT, and is a mentor of their Young Professional Network Council.

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