How to List Temporary Work on Your Resume

Whether you’re applying to a full time position or another staffing agency, a resume may be required. But what if most of your experience was temporary work? Here are four things you can do to create a stellar resume.

Group Short Term Assignments Under the Staffing Agency

If the bulk of your work experience is through a staffing agency, you should list the temporary work company as your employer, including the city and state the office is located in. The start and end dates will cover the time you worked with them and if it was only for a few months, you can just include the year. Underneath you can add a few sentences about the type of work the agency specialize in as well as the general work you did for them. Finally, include a few bullet points about each of your job assignments along with the companies you worked for.

Example: Labor Finders Victorville, CA Carpenter 2016 Worked as a skilled carpenter for a variety of residential and commercial companies.

• Framed walls and cabinets for a residential development for AllStar Construction Company
• Oversaw crew of form carpenters for Seaside, Inc.
• Worked on a three-month bridge project for the Department of Transportation.

List the Company for Long-Term Assignments

What if you’ve been on an assignment for over a year or, even better, was hired full time after working as a contract worker? You would show this temporary work experience as if it was a regular full time job and just add in temporary worker or contractor next to your job title. This format also works well if you only had one assignment with a staffing agency as well.

Example: Valley Way Contractors Theodore, AL Iron Worker (temporary worker) June 2015 - 2016

• Aligned and welded iron beams
• Ensured iron frames met blueprint specifications
• Fastened beams to heavy equipment prior to lifting them
• Brought on as a full time worker six months into the job assignment

Highlight Your Achievements

No matter which format is used to list your temporary work, be sure to highlight your biggest achievements at each position. What new skills did you learn? Were you given additional responsibilities in a short amount of time? Did your recruiter recognize you as a star employee? You want to show potential employers that you have the skills and experience they’re looking for in a new hire. If you aren’t sure how well you did on a job assignment, you can always ask the recruiter at your staffing agency for feedback on your work.

Only List Relevant Work Experience

Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to your resume is to only list the temporary work that’s relevant to the job you’re applying to. A staffing manager is only interested in experience and skills that apply to the position they’re looking to fill. This goes back to the concept of tailoring your resume to each job you’re applying for as well as keeping the document itself easy to read.

Now that you have a great resume listing your temporary work, it’s time to find that next job opportunity! Click here and let us help you find your perfect match.