Becoming a contractor can sound scary right?
Well it doesn’t have to be! Contracting is a great option for people breaking into the Australian market, graduates, returning from maternity leave, coming back from a career break, or simply someone who is between jobs.
Here are 3 key reasons why becoming a contractor can benefit you and your career:
1. Try before you buy
As many of you know, not all opportunities are what they are promoted to be. Working in recruitment, I have had my fair share of candidates come to me seeking a new role because of this exact reason. This is why contracting can be a great option.
Whilst not every temporary or contracting role has the potential to transition into a permanent position, many of them do. If this is the case, you have the ability to suss out the following before committing long term:
- The culture of the organisation
- The companies values and principles
- The hiring managers style and if you work well together
- The scope of the role and expectations
This is becoming an increasingly popular reason why people are choosing contracting over permanent roles as you can only get burnt so many times.
2. Learn and develop new skills
Completing short, medium and longer-term assignments in different businesses exposes you to new methods and ways of working. It can also teach you a variety of new technical and soft skills which will help you build your resume to secure that dream permanent role in the future.
Below are some examples of what technical and soft skills you can learn through contract roles:
Technical Skills
- New systems and software you have not used before
- New applications within systems you have been exposed to
- New business processes
- New functions within a wider scoped role
Soft Skills
- Develop a flexible communication style by liaising with a variety of new internal and external stakeholders
- New problem-solving skills
- Becoming a fast learner and ability to hit the ground running
- Adapt to different types of working environments
- Build up your resilience and self-motivation
- Build up your confidence by successfully completing contracting assignments
3. Break into new industries
When hiring, companies can be extremely particular about the need for identical industry experience. However, this isn’t always the case in contracting. I have found companies looking to hire a contractor are a lot more flexible providing their skills are transferable.
Having the ability to test out different industries can help you make a more informed decision on where you want to take your career long term, or can simply give you more options when applying for roles online.
Does becoming a contractor still sound scary?
Hopefully not! Whilst contracting is not for everyone it does have some great benefits if you find yourself in the immediately available market.
As contracting processes move extremely quickly, I am constantly engaging with immediately available candidates for future opportunities. If you are open to contracting and would like to have a discussion please feel free to contact me on laura@millerleith.com.au.
At Miller Leith we also have our Melbourne and Sydney permanent divisions with specialist consultants who are always willing to work with a variety of candidates relevant to the specific industries and professions we recruit for.
Be sure to keep an eye on our website – www.millerleith.com.au and our LinkedIn page – www.linkedin.com/company/miller-leith/ for any upcoming job opportunities.
