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How to make an impression on a team if you are a Temp worker

Kate Allen, Executive Chair and Marketing Director, Allen Associates

It’s never easy being the new starter. Joining a business where the culture is well-established and the people, processes and practices haven’t changed in some time is daunting to say the least. However, when you are filling a vacancy in a Temporary contract, making an impression is made all the more difficult by the time constraints of your Employment: as much as you want to make an impact, you might find yourself feeling like an outsider.

While keeping your head down for the duration of your contract may seem like the best way to avoid getting caught up in it all, opting for this approach is unlikely to do you any favours in the long-term. You might only be at your current workplace for a short period of time, but the impression you have on a team as well as your line manager can bode well for future opportunities.

If you are uncertain of how to make an impact and be recognised for your valuable input, the following tips can ensure you won’t be forgotten once the contract comes to an end:

Build relationships

Even if you aren’t taking a Temporary role in the hope that it will eventually become Permanent, connecting with your colleagues and building relationships will ultimately make your time with the company more enjoyable. When the contract comes to an end, the contacts you have made in the business might prove valuable additions to your professional network: should they hear from someone in their circle about an opportunity that would benefit from your skills, a recommendation could see you landing a new and exciting role in the near future.

Contribute your knowledge

If the company is dealing with a recurring problem, strolling in with a solution can be uncomfortable for a Temp worker. Perhaps you’re worried about undermining Permanent colleagues and fear it may jeopardise your relationship with them; maybe you simply doubt your own abilities and aren’t sure whether your idea will be effective in solving a particular challenge. If this sounds familiar, it’s time to put your fears aside and start contributing – after all, the chances are your boss has hired you for the unique skills and experience you bring to the role. If anything, your fresh perspective will be celebrated – not criticised.

Throw yourself into the culture

Knowing you won’t be putting down roots, you might find it difficult at first to truly engage with the team and involve yourself in the office culture. However, in most cases, Employers will be eager for their Temporary staff to feel just as part of the company as their Permanent Employees. As such, they will usually make an effort to involve you in group chats, after work activities and office-wide incentives to ensure maximum engagement and motivation. While you might not have had years to establish your own presence and place within the workforce, you can still feel central to the culture on a Temp contract by making a point of getting to know your colleagues and the company in general.

Always seek ways to add value

You may have been hired on a Temporary contract, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go above and beyond on a day-to-day basis. Of course, that isn’t to say you should say ‘yes’ all the time and overload yourself for the sake of making a good impression. However, showing others that you are keen to help where you can and contributing your expertise to the benefit of the business will quickly prove your value to the rest of the team. Whether it’s staying late to finish a task or completing your work in a timely fashion to help others around you, your input certainly won’t go unnoticed.

Need advice on the best way to make an impression on a team as a Temporary worker? Get in touch with us today.

Over the last 20 years, we have grown as a business to become one of the leading independent recruitment agencies in Oxfordshire, and in 2018 have opened our first London office, to service Clients in the capital.

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