Employers use temporary staff for many different reasons, but the main reasons tend to be, to increase staff levels during busy periods and to try out potential staff members with a view to selecting the best of the bunch to become permanent workers.
Therefore, while a temporary job may seem like a stop gap on the face of it, it can quickly lead to permanent work if you know how to make the most of the opportunity.
As we saw in a recent interview with a Blue Arrow recruitment consultant, the secret to success in temporary work is quite simple if you know what to do.
“The key to success in temporary warehouse work is 100% effort in and you will get 100% back.”
What does this mean exactly? It means you get out what you put in. Consider going to work every day, dragging your feet and complaining about how tired you are. You pass the time doing just enough to coast through the day, waiting for someone to tell you that you can leave again.
Not only is this unpleasant for you but also for those around you. How you carry yourself, the effort you put in and the affect you have on those around you plays a big part in how others perceive you, not in the least your managers.
Continue in this manner and you will no doubt find that when an opportunity for a permanent position crops up you are not going to be very high on the shortlist of potential candidates. However the temp worker who turned up to work most days happy and enthusiastic, who pushed themselves to achieve their targets and made an effort to help others, is sitting right there at the top of the short list ready to accept their new permanent contract and the pay bump that goes with it.
5 ways to make sure that you are the one at the top of the permanent contact shortlist.
1. Turn Up
Be reliable and turn up for work when you are supposed to. It is also advisable to turn up well before your shift is due to start so you have chance to prepare yourself for the shift ahead.
2. Work Hard
Warehouse work is all about targets, personal targets and team targets so pull your weight and do your bit towards the good of the whole team.
3. Minimise your absences
Try not to take too much time off, not only will you not get paid, but it will have an effect on how your commitment is perceived.
4. Build relationships
Making friends, helping others and being an active team member does not only make for a more enjoyable work life, but it is also a great way to build relationships that could come in handy later on. These people could one day be the team you are managing, or they could be the ones managing you. The relationships you form early on could inform your future successes so make some friends.
5. Think Perm
Thinking long term and focusing on where this temporary job could lead is a sure-fire way to ensure you are giving off the right signals to those make the decisions.
