At Ambrion, we have dozens of people who love working on a consulting basis. Meaning, they sign on with a company for a particular amount of time or project duration, and when their time or project comes to a close, they look for a new opportunity/ contract. Our consultants often tell us that they love their work, and a permanent job is not something they’re interested in. Below are the top 5 reasons we hear from our consultants explaining why they love working on a contract basis:
1. Work/ Life Balance
In a traditional, permanent position you’ll be allocated a certain number of weeks of paid time off. As a consultant, you are generally an hourly employee, reporting the hours you work at the end of a pay period. Depending on your employer, as long as you complete your required tasks in the number of hours allocated during a pay period, you have flexibility in when you work. Additionally, if you want to take a six week vacation, you would have the opportunity to take it between consulting gigs.
2. Avoid the Office Gossip
In terms of office gossip and politics, you are usually able to avoid it. Because you are only on a job for a limited period of time, you are not brought into the “unprofessional” side of some office environments.
3. Make More Money as a Consultant
Many times, as a consultant, you’ll be able to work for more than one client. This allows you to work as much or as little as you’d like. You can take on projects simultaneously in different capacities and optimize your work schedule. As a consultant, you get paid for each hour that you work, unlike a salaried position where if you work 100 hours a week your compensation remains the same. As a consultant, if you’re working 100 hours a week, you’re billing 100 hours a week and could make more than if you were in a permanent position.
4. Broaden your skills
Have you worked in the same industry for most of your professional career? Would you like to put your experience to work in a new way? Taking a consulting job could give you a great introduction to developing your skills in a different capacity, and could function as a way to add a new skill set to your resume. You’ll be able to add diversity to your resume without taking the risk of committing to a long term position in an area or industry you’re not guaranteed to like.
5. Try Something New
One other benefit to working as a consultant with Ambrion is that our consulting clients are some of the most sought after companies to work for in the Twin Cities. Consulting work can offer an opportunity to get introduced to positions that may lead to permanent roles. So if you’re an employer who is looking to add someone to your team to support a project, or an employee who is looking to change industries or broaden your experience, make sure to talk to us about contract opportunities.
When you work as a contractor, you are committing to a certain contract period but not the years of working for the company. This allows you to take an assignment that allows you to test out a new type of role. In addition, you don’t have to tailor your vacation schedule to avoid “busy season,” or to accommodate other employees taking time off. Essentially, your sole obligation is to do a great job on the project you’re working on and develop relationships that lead to a great reference for your future career growth. If the project turns out not to be something that you’d like to repeat, you can talk about it in any upcoming interview situation as an experience that you are glad you had, but would not look for in a future position.