When it comes time to update your resume, is that last contract job going to look bad? Will contract work stand out to an employer and be a major red flag?
Well, ask two recruiters and you’ll get two different answers. Same thing with hiring teams that work in-house for large companies.
Most of the time the decision comes down to what the role is, how impressive the resume is, and the type of contract work and how long it was.
All serious questions that should be addressed. Let’s take some time now to review how exactly one should handle contract work and determine if it’s
What Exactly is Contract Work?
Contract work is a any type of work that is not full time salaried work. This work might be a temporary assignment that a consultant takes to come in a streamline the processes of a sales team. Or it might be a contract assignment that a Nurse takes to do swabbing for a government facility. There are even people who take contract assignments to do data entry for a major audit project.
The reasons for contract work vary. Some people take contract work because they work in a work sphere where contract work is popular. These might be:
- Contract Computer Programs
- Contract Travel Nurses
- Contract Sales or Management Consultants
The end result for all of these people is the same. They are working as non-salaried employees. They are either paid as independent contractors and receive a 1099, or else they are paid an hourly wage for every hour worked and receive a w4.
Contract work is offered by companies for several reasons. Some companies do not want to hire, onboard, and pay benefits to people so they keep them on extended contract assignments.
Another reason why companies hire people on a contract basis is that they do not have enough work. Perhaps there is a project that will be completed in a short amount of time. Well, a contract assignment is perfect for that situation.
Are Temp Jobs the same as Contact Work?
Not quite. Temp jobs are simply jobs that are temporary in nature. They are jobs where you are paid an hourly rate and are not paid a salaried wage. However, in addition to being temporary, they also offer no benefits.
A contract role will have a set deadline. There are three month contracts, twelve month contracts, and even two year contracts. These are common in the business world. Professional employees might be assigned to work on a specific role for a set number of weeks.
Temp jobs can be and often are open ended. The employer simply does not want to hire someone full time and pay them a salary or benefits. Many temporary agencies only offer short term work that will not become permanant. It's one of the reaosns not to deal with temp agencies.
Contract work is a bit different. There’s usually never benefits associated with contract work, but these jobs are almost never open ended. Contract work implies that there is a set end.
Take for example contract nurses. Nurses are among the highest paid people in the country. The average nurse makes 100k with benefits and works three days a week.
There are three types of nursing roles: contract, per diem, and staff.
Contract nurses sign up to work a 13 week contract for a hospital. They are the highest paid of all. The average hourly rate for a contract nurse in places like Las Angeles, Arizona, New York, and Miami is over $100 dollars an hour.
Staff nurses are salaried. Normally a salaried nurse will make $60-70 an hour. They also receive union benefits including free health insurance, insurance, retirement income, and paid vacations.
The staff nurse works as long as they want. The contract nurse works the contract and then moves on to their next high paying contract.
How To List Contract Work on Your Resume?
It’s very straightforward. Simply list the company name, the job title, and the dates of your employment. Then make it clear that it was a Contract.
Contract assignments look better to employers then temporary work. The phrase contract looks more legitimate.
Also, employers and recruiters know that temporary work is often a temporary to permanent job offering. So, someone who has not been able to transition to the permanent role is somewhat of a questionable candidate.
It’s better to never say that a role was temporary. Employers simply do not like to see roles that were temporary.
Contract Roles: Not a Good Sign if Your Seeking Full Time Work
Contract looks more professional and it also suggests that the role was always designed to be a set number of months.
In certain fields contract work is not a red flag. IT workers are often hired for contract roles. Likewise, travel nurses are often called contract nurses.
Now, employers might be hesitant about hiring someone for a full time role if they have a history of working contract roles.
This is true with nurses. Hospitals are aware that contract nurses are seeking the highest pay and will flay anywhere in the country to work for the highest rate. That is not the type of employee that is a good fit for a long term role.
The businesses that are seeking long term, full time employees will not be likely to look positively upon a list of contract work.
They want to see stability. In certain professions, such as IT, the work is rarely full time. It’s often contact work. In Medical staffing, which is a different animal than professional corporate staffing, employers want to see stability before offering the person a full time role. Especially a role that has a pension.
If you have the option to take a regular job that is not contract work, then you should opt for the full time role. It's going to look better on your resume.
While the contract role might pay more, it's going to be a strike against you when it comes time to interview for and get a full time job.
There are certain red flags for employers. If they seethese things on your resume, then you might not get a call back.
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