Temp positions on Resume. Delete some , extend other dates?? (employed, temporary, employer)

[allen96817]

Hi. I am updating my resume at this time, as a friend of mine on the mainland has asked me for my resume so she can give it to her manager who is looking for someone. I've had an awful time here in Hawaii for the past seven or so months (Plus), and have really been considering moving back to the mainalnd for a few years now. Time is probably right to do so. My friend is highly respected at this co. and luckily I haVe kept in contact with her since I left about 9 years ago. My friend there manages the 'requesing of managed resources ie. temps) at a large financial co and says she can 'get me in' as they have a variety of temp positions. She also says her manager is looking for a person to direct hire (hence the resume I am being asked for).

I have been caught in a temp job world for the past 3 years for various reasons. I have had some pretty good roles and many that have last from six months to one year. They've ended for various reasons without being hired, such as it being solely project work, or a co. unable to hire directly, new management or for whatever reason which is another topic. None have been any bad errors on my part, they just never led to being hired permanently.

For much of 2012, I've had short term assignments while looking for full time work. One month, 3 weeks, here and there. Some look good on a resume, and some really could not matter.

My question, what would be the best way to add this or leave off of a resume? I was thinking :

June 2012 - December 2012
XXX Agency, Honolulu Hawaii
Provided temporary admin and marketing assistance to a variety of companies such as xxxx, xxxxx, xxxx .

basically grouping this group of short term assignments/roles into one category, thing is the previous long term assignments are from the same agency so I have thos listed as:

Bank of Polynesia via ABC Agency, Honolulu, Hawaii
January 2011 to February 2012
Mortgage Division Sales & Marketing Administrator: Explanation of role here..

First Bank of Polynesia via ABC Agency, Honolulu, Hawaii
July 2010 to January 2011
Residential Loan Assistant: Explanation of role here..


Regarding the first example above, I would just hate t list about 4 different companies in a 7 month period each with their own paragraph, and literally a few I would like to leave off altogether.

Even If I extended the dates on some of these (ie stretching the dates of assignments), do you think the mainland company would know about this? I assume if they called the agency for a reference or something, the agency would simply just say Yes, he worked with us from July 2010 to December 2012 and NOT venture into the various assignments and their start and end dates.

for example, one of the assignments was at the Sheraton Waikiki Resort and lasted 3 weeks. I would love to stretch it and list that it lasted 2 months. Who would even realize this?? I know any backgrounch check would only list "ABC Agency" employed from xxx to 'Dec 2012" as that agency is who paid my checks.

This friend is throwing me a life line back to stability and a life and I am trying out how best to present this. I feel me being a temp for several years , at least here in Hawaii, has painted me in a different light, even though Ifeel I was being dedicated to the agency and company I worked for and was grateful to learn exceptional skills, it still comes across to some employers here as "why were you a temp for so long' and even potentially "why didn't they hire you". Of course that opinion is dependent on the hiring manager, so I have just not found 'the fit' here for awhile.

Any advice?

[Merchant_ZZZ]

Can't you just list abc agency down as an employer with the dates then add in your two assignments below it. Who cares about the job description, put down your accomplishments and achievements instead.

[jghorton]

These days, time gaps and temporary jobs are not as big a deal as they used to be. However, you need to be smart about how to present this gap. The best way is to turn the truth to the advantage of a potential employer and yourself.

Do not list every part-time position ... particularly if they have no relevance to the type of position you are seeking! Instead, cover the 7-month time period with something like: 'Various temporary positions' ... followed by bullet-level highlights that directly support your career objective/s.

[allen96817]

Thanks for the responses. I tend to be very wordy. Apologies. I like the idea of bullets for them. Maybe even short like listing the company (ie, Amerian Savings Bank: Secondary Marketing Assistant, but LEAVE OFF the specific dates. and Sherataon Waikiki Resort: Catering and Convention Assistant.


so I guess I should have just simply asked if it would be found out if I either did NOT list the start and end dates of these random ones, or even fibbed about how long they lasted.

I just feel so screwed to be honest.

[groar]

i have some temp jobs on my resume and i do what other people have suggested - i just list the agency as my employer and list relevant experience/assignments/accomplishments where i'd put my job duties and accomplishments for a regular job. i wouldn't worry about accounting for the length of every single assignment.

temping isn't generally looked upon that well by employers (and it should be, if you're good at it) but it is what it is.

if you do decide to fudge your assignment lengths, it might or might not come back to haunt you. it really depends on what the prospective employer asks, and what the particular person at the agency decides to tell them. i doubt some random agency person would be able to easily find out the dates of your assignments, but who knows. and if they happen to get someone who dealt with you a lot, you could be in trouble. the chances are not great that you'd be caught but this seems like a silly thing to risk lying about.

i'd just leave the dates off but if you had a particularly long assignment i might note that (like: "6 month assignment doing doodly doo for whatever"). i wouldn't worry about listing everything, either; just the highlights will do.

[allen96817]

Thank you for the response. I would be sending this resume to a company in California, whereas I am currenty in Hawaii. It is doubtful they would ask or receive 'specific' assignment details. Some of the people who I was affiliated with at that agency are no longer there. I am sure they would just say 'he worked with us" and if pressed for speicfics, would say 'until December 7, 2012". If even that, as I'm sure I would be listed as employed at that agency from 2009 to 2012 if a background check was performed..

I like the idea of listing the time range and the bullet points. I think that is a better solution rather than list each of those short termers one by one with start and end dates. that way also I would not have to fudge the dates.