Starting a temporary assignment can feel a little different from starting a permanent job. You may have only a few weeks or months to learn the role, understand the organization and make a meaningful contribution.
The technical skills that helped you land the assignment matter, but they are only part of what will make you successful. How quickly you learn, how you work with the people around you and how you respond to an unfamiliar environment can make just as much of an impression.
Whether you are looking for short-term flexibility or hoping a temporary opportunity could lead to something more, the goal is the same: make the most of the opportunity in front of you.
Make an Impact From the Start
A strong start doesn’t mean having all the answers on day one. Take time to understand what the organization needs, learn how the team works and find the right ways to contribute.
Why Are You There?
Your job description tells you what you will be doing. It may not tell you why the organization needs you.
Perhaps someone is on leave. Maybe the accounting team is heading into a particularly busy period. There could be a backlog that needs attention, a project that requires additional support or a vacant position leaving a gap on the team.
Understanding the bigger picture can help you recognize where your contribution matters most.
Ask about priorities and expectations early. What needs your attention first? Are there deadlines you should know about? What would a successful assignment look like from the employer’s perspective?
Thoughtful questions can help you become productive more quickly and demonstrate that you are interested in more than simply completing a list of tasks.
Building that kind of trust is an important part of developing your professional reputation. Our How to Build a Great Reputation as a Contract Accounting Professional article looks more closely at how reliability, resourcefulness and follow-through can help you become someone employers want to work with again.
How Do You Make a Good Impression When You May Not Be There Long?
You don’t need months to demonstrate how you work.
Arriving when expected, following through on commitments, communicating clearly and being willing to adapt all make an impression. So does the way you interact with the people around you.
Try to become part of the team rather than thinking of yourself as “just the temp.” Learn how people communicate, understand how your work connects with theirs and be willing to pitch in where appropriate.
Temporary employees are often brought in because an organization needs help now. Being someone the team can depend on can be just as valuable as knowing every system or process on your first day.
How Much Initiative Should You Take?
Being proactive is valuable, but there’s a difference between taking initiative and immediately trying to change how a new workplace operates.
When you first arrive, spend some time observing. Learn the processes, understand who relies on them and ask questions when something doesn’t make sense. There may be a reason something is done differently from the way you have seen it done elsewhere.
Once you understand the environment, you will be in a much better position to recognize where you can help.
Look for opportunities to make the team’s work easier. Offer assistance when you have capacity. If you spot a potential issue, ask about it rather than assuming it has been overlooked. If you have an idea for improving something, understand the context before suggesting a solution.
Sometimes making an immediate impact starts with knowing when to listen and learn.
What If You Don’t Know How Something Works?
Temporary employees are frequently expected to get up to speed quickly, but learning quickly doesn’t mean knowing everything immediately.
Every organization has its own systems, processes and ways of doing things. Ask questions when you need clarification rather than guessing and potentially creating more work for someone later.
Listen carefully to the answers, take notes where appropriate and use what you’ve learned the next time you encounter the same situation.
The goal isn’t to avoid asking questions. It’s to ask the questions that help you become increasingly independent and useful to the team.
Think Beyond the Assignment
Even a short assignment can have value beyond the work you’re doing today. The experience you gain, the relationships you build and the impression you leave can all influence what comes next.
What If You Hope the Assignment Becomes Permanent?
Some temporary assignments lead to permanent opportunities. Many don’t.
If you would be interested in staying, let your Mercer Bradley recruiter know. But don’t spend the assignment treating every interaction as an audition for a job that may not exist.
Focus on doing the work you were hired to do well. Build relationships, be dependable and contribute wherever you reasonably can. If a permanent opportunity does become available, the reputation you’ve built during the assignment can speak for you.
And sometimes an assignment can lead somewhere you hadn’t anticipated at all.
One Mercer Bradley candidate accepted a temporary accounts receivable assignment without knowing exactly where it might take her. The role was extended and eventually became permanent, but her career didn’t stop there. She went on to work in accounts payable, automation implementation, team leadership and Process Optimization. You can read her experience in Temporary Accounting Role Career Story.
How Can You Make a Temporary Assignment Valuable to Your Career?
The value of an assignment isn’t measured only by whether you are offered a permanent job.
You may learn a new accounting system, gain experience in another industry, take on responsibilities you haven’t handled before or develop examples you can use in future interviews. You may meet people who become part of your professional network or earn a strong reference for your next opportunity.
Keep track of what you accomplish while you’re there. Think about the skills you’ve developed, the problems you’ve helped solve and the ways you’ve contributed.
Those experiences can strengthen your résumé as well. The Real Reasons Why a Temp Role Looks Fantastic on Your Resume explores how temporary assignments can build experience, skills, connections and professional references that continue to benefit your career.
Finish as Strongly as You Started
Your final few days are still part of the impression you leave.
Complete outstanding work where possible and make sure someone knows the status of anything that remains. Document processes or provide a handover when appropriate so the next person isn’t left trying to figure out where you stopped.
Thank the people you’ve worked with and stay connected with those relationships when it makes sense.
And don’t forget to reconnect with your Mercer Bradley recruiter. Let them know how the assignment went, what you learned and what you would like to do next.
Make the Opportunity Count
You may know from the beginning that an assignment will last only a few weeks. You may hope it turns into something permanent. Or you may simply be open to seeing where the experience takes you.
Whatever the situation, focus on the opportunity in front of you.
Learn quickly. Ask good questions. Be dependable. Understand before you try to improve. Look for ways to contribute. And leave the team in a better position than when you arrived.
You may only be part of the organization temporarily, but the skills, relationships and reputation you build can stay with you much longer.
Looking for your next temporary accounting, finance or payroll opportunity? Explore current opportunities with Mercer Bradley or connect with our team to discuss what you’re looking for next.
