I’ve been working a temp position since August 20th, but it is currently set to end later this month. How long should you work at a position, before putting it on your resume?
The reason I ask, is because my last long term job ended June 22nd. I worked a total of 7 days for one agency (PP) as an exec. admin asst. in late July/early August. Then I was placed on my current assignment with another agency (A), which should be around 6 weeks long. Looking at my resume, it’s pretty much full of temp agencies. I worked for a few years (2001-2005) in California, then for agency A for a few months after moving back to Indiana. Then I found a direct hire position, but left that position for a placement with another agency (FPS), where I worked for 11 months. The position through FPS ended in June, which brings me to where I am now.
Should I put my 7 day placement with PP on my resume, as it will give me something for the months of July/August on my resume? Or leave it off, since it was so short? I think that if I am careful with my wording, I can probably fit both on my resume, and still keep it to 2 pages.
Well, you are smart to limit the length of your resume. The maximum you want is two pages–unless you are an often published writer and need three pages to list all your publications.
To include a 7 day temp job or not–this is how I’d do it. I’d write:
Temp Agency, June 2006 to Present
- Acme Corp, Executive Administrative Assistant
- Bob’s House O’Pancakes, Administrative Assistant
- Big Corporation, Administrative Assistant
- Then under that I’d list all the stuff that I did. Especially since one administrative temp job is very similar to another. (In my experience–your experience may vary.) You don’t need to put that you scheduled meetings at Acme Corp, and that you scheduled meetings at Bob’s House O’Pancakes and that you scheduled meetings at Big Corporation. One time should be sufficient.
If the temp jobs were longer term and had greater variety then maybe you would want to list them out separately, and just leave off the one week job.
For the record, I think temp agencies can be a great way to get your foot in the door to a company or a profession.
I wish you the best of luck!