Working in temporary jobs in London allows you to quickly gain valuable experience and skills. However, many people can wonder how best to put temporary work on their CV, particularly if there are several different placements. It does require a slightly different approach, so here is the Love Success guide to how to put temp work on your CV to help make you attractive to future employers.
Using temping to avoid careers gaps
If you’ve worked as a temp very intentionally to avoid career gaps then you can list temping on your CV in much the same way as a standard employment history section. The purpose of these positions was to avoid gaps in your CV, so use them as such! This shows a prospective employer that you are committed and can make an impact from day 1.
This approach is particularly best for longer temp positions, given that many can last 1-2 years.
Present things strategically
Beyond this, and certainly if you’re a ‘career temp’ or have a number of placements you wish to showcase, then you won’t just be able to list temp jobs under your career history. It’s important that your CV doesn’t run over two pages of A4 and so there often isn’t room to list every single placement if you are a regular temp.
As such, it might be important to group different temping experiences together, by types of role and experience. Remember, captivating CVs don’t simply list a number of job duties, but specify achievements. This can be particularly effective for demonstrating the benefit of temporary roles. You can list notable achievements within a temporary position, picking out different ones according to what they highlight e.g. project management or problem solving.
Your CV is designed to whet the appetite of the hiring manager, so listing achievements over job duties is effective. Should you be invited to interview, the interviewer can then probe more about your specific experience with different employers.
Use bullet points and keep things succinct
As with all CVs, we highly recommend using bullet points and keep things very succinct. This will enable a hiring manager to follow the CV. With many roles in your employment history, a CV can quickly become unwieldy but using bullet points makes it easier to make sense of when reading.
Take care with your personal statement
A personal statement is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how working in a number of temporary jobs in London has developed your skills and experience. You can briefly explain here why you have worked as a temp and highlight the benefits such as exposure to numerous companies, gaining transferrable skills and gathering new experiences. Often the personal statement is the make-or-break part of the CV, so use it carefully.
Are you looking for temporary jobs in London?
If you are looking to do temp work in London then at Love Success we are here to help. Our team of temporary consultants can help you present your CV appropriately to get the best opportunities.
Learn more about temping in London with Love Success.