The advantages of temping and contracting for marketing &

Having worked as a temp and contract specialist for over 15 years, I have witnessed first-hand how temping or contracting can benefit marketing and BD candidates within professional services.

In a market that is very buoyant, with employers under increasing pressure to secure candidates with previous experience within the sector, the temp/interim market has become a great way for ambitious marketing or business development specialists, who can afford to be flexible, to really develop their careers.

Accelerate your career

I have witnessed many candidates who have ‘fast-tracked’ from assistant through to executive and manager level positions through taking on interim roles where they have had to go into a firm, hit the ground running and demonstrate their true potential within a short space of time.

I take genuine delight in seeing candidates that I have placed in interim roles ‘fast-track’ their careers (and their salaries!) either through moving between firms or by being promoted internally from an initial contract position because they are driven and determined to succeed, whatever it takes.

Gain experience across the BD & Marketing Mix

Such interim roles and assignments can often give candidates experience of projects they wouldn’t normally be exposed to and by adopting a “nothing to lose” attitude, many candidates handle these new challenges very successfully.

This valuable experience in turn strengthens their CV, making them more attractive to future employees for more challenging posts, often with higher salaries.

Develop new skills in different areas

Another real advantage for marketing and BD professionals who are willing to take the ‘plunge’ into the interim market is that they can bolster their skill sets in different areas across the BD and Marketing mix.

This in turn enables them to identify which areas they would be keen to specialise in and/or if they would prefer to remain in a broader role. It is rare for candidates working in permanent roles to be able to gain such wide exposure and experience within such a limited time scale.

Furthermore, although traditionally, interim candidates were exempt from the perks offered to permanent employees, I have recently witnessed many firms offering fantastic internal opportunities to interim contractors including overseas secondments, overtime, full benefits and access to their onsite facilities and clubs.

Temping doesn’t have to mean short-term

With many longer term options currently available (contracts of 12 months or longer), taking on a fixed-term contract can be a great way for a marketing and BD professionals to take advantage of these exciting career advancements.

Similarly, taking the bold step of temping if you are from a broadly related sector, is a great way (due to your immediacy in terms of availability) to be able to gain exposure to professional services and really gauge if this could be where you future career lies.

There is the added advantage of a quicker interviewing process and the potential of working for a great firm who perhaps might not have considered you for a permanent opportunity due to a lack of experience or other reason.

In summary, temping can be a great way of getting that real door opening opportunity on your CV and remember, temp contracts can very often lead to permanent positions!

Interested in exploring temping opportunities in BD & Marketing? Get in touch with Marguerite for a confidential discussion!