From Cardinals games to outdoor concerts, there’s a lot to do during summers in St. Louis. So why would anyone want to pick up a summer temp job?
Unfortunately, few of us can afford to while away the summers watching baseball and live music. Most of us have to earn a living and summer temp jobs in St. Louis offer both short-term gain and long-term benefits.
Despite what you saw in your favorite ‘80s teen movies, summer temp jobs aren’t just scooping ice cream and lifeguarding. Just about every industry offers temporary work, and these positions can be stepping stones to a successful career path. And yes, summer temp jobs also offer a way to make some money without committing to a full-time gig. There are lots of options out there when it comes to temporary summer jobs. A 2018 study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found a significant increase in open temporary positions during the summer months. In fact, months during the summer tend to see the greatest number of jobs added to the labor market.
What are the Benefits of Working a Temp Job in St. Louis this Summer?
You might not think of summer temp jobs as much more than a way to make money. However, the right temp job can have a number of benefits for your career. You can learn new skills, learn about different industries, grow your network and build out your resume. Summer temp jobs in St. Louis can also give you a bit of work-life flexibility, which is all the rage these days.
Summer Temp Jobs Offer Flexibility
There’s a lot of variety out there when it comes to summer temp jobs in St. Louis. You can use this variety to your advantage and select a temp job that best fits your personal life. For example, if you have children that need care during the day, you can easily find a temp job during the evening or overnight hours.
Temporary work also means not having to commit to a full-time permanent position. If you are going to school through the fall and spring, a summer temp job is a great way to bank money ahead of the upcoming semesters. Once September rolls around, you can easily walk away from a temporary job without feeling like you have burned a bridge. If the job went well, there’s a good chance you can return to it during semester break or the following summer.
Temp Jobs Help You Learn New Skills
Students looking for work during the summer shouldn’t just focus on retail or waiting tables. Temporary summer work is a great way to gain some new skills away from the classroom. For example, if you are going to school for business, you ought to search for desk-based temporary work.
But gaining skills through temporary work isn’t just for college kids. Maybe you want to change careers and gain some skills for your new career path. A temporary job is a great way to get pick up these skills without committing to the higher stakes of a full-time position. If a temporary job in your new career path doesn’t end up being the right situation, you can easily switch to a different temporary assignment and continue to gain the skills you need.
Gain Industry Knowledge with Temp Jobs
It’s understandable to see temp jobs in St. Louis as positions that mostly benefit the employer. But the lack of commitment associated with temporary employment cuts both ways.
If you’re looking to get to know an industry and you’re afraid of diving into the deep end, a temporary job is a great way to dip your toe in the water. Temporary work with several different companies is also a good way to find out what you like and don’t like about a particular industry. Exposing yourself to a bunch of different employers helps you avoid getting the wrong impression of an entire industry based on experience with one employer.
Temporary work is also a great way to understand different jobs within a single industry. You’ll gain firsthand knowledge of your temporary position and the jobs of people around you. But you also have the opportunity to talk to people in other positions across the company. This kind of career research is far more valuable than reading job descriptions on the Internet.
Network with Professionals
How many times have you gotten a new job, only to realize somebody you know is already working for the company? It’s a small world, and you never know when a network connection will come in handy.
Working a series of temp jobs in St. Louis is an easy way to quickly expand your professional network. Simply do a good job and be nice to the people around you. When your temp assignment ends, look up the people you had the strongest connections with on LinkedIn, and connect to them on the social network. If you do this several times, you’ll build a pretty impressive professional network that you can call upon when you’re looking for advice or even a new job.
The great thing about networking this way is you can connect with people at many different career stages. Don’t just try to get along with your coworkers. Focus on making a connection with your boss and people higher up the food chain than them. You never know where people will end up, and your resume might come across the desk of someone you met through a temporary assignment.
Build Your Resume
Like backpacking through Europe, a career path is a series of destinations, and your resume is like a passport that gets you from Point A to Point B. Without a strong resume, you’ll have a tough time making progress along your career path.
Temp jobs in St. Louis are great for building interpersonal soft skills that are so valuable to a resume. In a recent report from Indeed, ten of the most in-demand skills were soft skills like customer service, sales, and teamwork. These skills are useful in just about every single industry, from retail sales to rocket science. They also quite a bit of time to build. Temporary jobs are a great way to build up these essential skills, through both success and failure. Over time, you’ll be able to talk about the lessons in communication and teamwork you learned through temporary work.
Temporary work is also a great way to fill in potential gaps in your resume. If you are out of work for a while, it can be a red flag to potential employers. Temporary positions prevent these gaps from forming, and you can easily look full-time work while holding down a temporary job. Furthermore, picking up temporary work after quitting a job or getting laid off shows a potential employer that you’re a motivated self-starter.
Looking for Temp Jobs in St. Louis, Pacific, or Fenton, MO? Work with a Temporary Employment Agency
Hopefully, you have a better understanding of just how beneficial it can be to pick up a temporary summer job. That being said, not all summer temp jobs are created equal, and enlisting the help of a temporary employment agency in St. Louis is the best way to navigate the massive temporary job market.
A Temporary Employment Agency Will Help You Find Work Fast
We’re all heard the old saying: Trying to find a job is a full-time job. When you work with a temp job agency, you’re getting the additional help of agency recruiters, and it is literally their job to find you a job. A temp agency doesn’t get paid until you get paid, so they’re motivated to get you a good job as soon as possible.
Temp Agencies Have Access to a Large Network of Jobs in St. Louis and Beyond
Also, because it’s their job, temp job agency recruiters have the skill and tools to get you to work quickly. One of the most valuable tools at their disposal is a large network of employers. A good temporary employment agency in St. Louis has connections at dozens of companies based on existing or previous placements. The size and quality of this network would be difficult, if not impossible, for any single person to build on their own.
Find Summer Temp Jobs with the Top Employment Agency in St. Louis, Pacific and Fenton
At Westside Personnel, we’ve been helping Missourians find work in all four seasons since 1994. Over the years, we’ve established ourselves as a small business with integrity that is trusted by both companies and job seekers. We’ve also strived to be responsible, often giving back to Franklin County in the surrounding areas. Simply put, we take pride in being a responsible temp agency you can depend on when you need it. Please contact our job placement agencies in Pacific and Fenton, Missouri to find out what employment opportunities we have in store.