Temporary Work

This past week I’ve spoken to several people who have been doing contract/temp assignments for at least a couple of years.  I asked them why they worked contract instead of regular fulltime, and what they liked and disliked about contract work.  Their responses are very similar to the ones I’ve heard over my twenty plus year’s in the accounting staffing business.  But, I did ask one question that I’ve rarely asked:  Why did you consider contract work in the first place?  The staffing industry “spin” on why people choose temp/contract work is for the flexible lifestyle it provides, and the variety of assignments provide new learning opportunities.  While this may be true for a very small portion of the people “working temp”, I don’t believe it’s the main reason.  The main reason is:  they needed to earn a living.

What I’ve learned is that most people take temporary assignments for one of two reasons:  1. they need an income and are out of work, and/or 2. they hope the assignment becomes a “permanent” job.  A third reason for doing contract/temporary work is more complicated.  Many seasoned finance and accounting professionals become independent consultants and/or temporary workers because they feel there is no other alternative left for them.  I know many people in this category.  At one time they were the pre-IPO controllers, smaller company CFO’s, or big company accounting and finance managers whose firm was either acquired or went bust.  Their networks were unable to help in their job searches; the bankers and V.C.’s they knew weren’t able to help either.  Since job opportunities were not available to them, their only options then were to teach at a community college, or start their own one-person consulting firm.  Or do both.

There are many very successful “single shingle” independent contractors in the Bay Area.  Many make the same as or more than they made as a regular fulltime, corporate accounting manager.  But they need to hustle all the time to keep their pipeline full of assignments.  Many of the people doing this type of work tell me they love it and would only go back to a traditional job if it was too fantastic to pass up.  It’s a great lifestyle if you are good at networking, and are able to sell your services well.  It also helps if you have a great skill set such as revenue recognition, mergers and acquisitions, or SEC reporting and you are able to stay fresh in it.

But, as I said above, for most people working temporary assignments is the best option available to earn a living or have a chance at a “permanent” job.  Doing the work is the easy part of being a temporary employee.  You win the assignment because you have the closest skill set match to the job requirement and you are the best value available. In fact, feeling good about job performance is the number one thing people like about temporary work.  They feel great that they are able to provide good quality work.  They also like seeing how different companies are run; learn about new products and services and be able to expand their professional networks.  What isn’t so nice about temporary work is:  knowing its temporary and knowing the assignment can be terminated at any time for any reason.  The other major issue with temporary work is not being treated as part of the team.  Even long-term temporary employees often feel left out. 

I once placed a person on a temporary assignment that was expected to last for three months.  The assignment lasted eight years!  Not once did the client have a birthday lunch for this person, or invite him to the company holiday party (he came to my company’s party).  I tried every six months to get him converted to regular fulltime, but the client would tell me that he didn’t fit the regular employee profile for the job!  When the client did offer to “convert” him (six years later), he turned it down and stayed on as a “temp”.  Good for him!  One needs to grow a thick skin to do temporary work, and be great at budgeting one’s personal finances.  On the other hand, I have had many clients treat temporary workers the same as their regular fulltime people.  It’s all in how a company defines “employee”.

Now that the economy is showing a stronger heart beat, the employment market will begin to expand.  In prior downturns, temporary employment leads the way.  Right now there are many highly-qualified accounting professionals available for or currently doing temporary assignments.  Most of them would like the opportunity to show what they can do and be considered for a permanent assignment.  All the ones I know perform their job functions at the same or higher levels than the regular fulltime employees they work beside.  Our clients’ next great hire may be the temporary employee we placed with them.  Thanks for all the hard work.