Giving up permanent job to temp instead?

[PermToTemp]

Has anyone done this?

I haven't been happy in my current role for a couple of years. My boss does not value any aspects of my job that are important: procedures, automation, data integrity, policies etc. These are key qualities for the finance and compliance role I have. In a speech to all staff he referred to our department as 'making up rules to make it look like they're doing something'. It gave everyone else a laugh but it's really not funny.

I've applied for various jobs and gone to three first interviews but I'm not good at interviews and they didn't progress further than that.

I have a varied skill set which makes it hard to explain what I can do. I've got a Maths & Computing degree, have been a programmer and freelance web developer. I really disliked being freelance, I found I was working very long hours for very little money. In the last few years, I took on an admin role (for convenience) that has developed into the finance and compliance role I have now. I'm expert at Excel, can build complex online forms, have used Power Automate to build quite detailed automations etc.

I wonder if temping would give me some more confidence. It would mean I could hand my notice in now (have to give 6 weeks) and be done with the job. They owe me 24 days' holiday that I have to take before September anyway.
I'm lucky in that we don't rely on my earnings at all. However, I need to work because I love the actual work. I happily spend my evenings learning how to do things better.

I earn £30K at the moment and my ego would like to continue to earn around that amount.

Does anyone think this is a good idea?

Yes, I do. I think it is a jolly good idea, and you have a wide variety of skills that you can mix and match depending on what is required.

And I did it some years ago, although temping morphed into being freelance in the end.

I did this last year after a thoroughly miserably year with a new company and it was 100% the right decision and actually felt very liberating (& piss off my boss even more which I was ok with ).

I only did a couple of weeks temping before I spotted a job ad for something totally unrelated to work experience but a real passion of mine, interview x 2 and offered the job a week later. There is no way I would have even seen the ad let alone considered applying had I been in my old role. And yes I love my job

Go for it - life's too short to put up with shit if you can afford to leave

@gingersplodgecat @lechatnoir Thank you both so much! I feel lighter just considering it.

@gingersplodgecat - Even though I said I didn't like freelance work before, I'd love it if it morphed into being freelance again. When I was freelance, I attracted the wrong clients through lack of confidence. I needed clients I wasn't intimidated by and so ended up with those who didn't have a clue what they wanted and didn't really know their business. This meant lots of extra work for people who didn't want to pay very much.

I think temping might give me a confidence boost by pushing me out of my comfort zone and having to get on with it.

I hope I'm not kidding myself!

I think this sounds like a great idea and can’t see a reason not to - you sound excited by the thought of it and you have a good skill set for it. It would probably give you more flexibility too and you wouldn’t feel under appreciated like you do now. Go for it !

What helped me a lot was that for a year or so (funnily enough the job I ended up walking out of) gave me a lot of experience with different clients and requirements - accounting software configuration-related, so when I went self-employed I had a lot more background knowledge of different industries. Usually I was taken on either to sort out other people-s foul-ups or to implement an entirely new system and train everybody how to use it. Then I could happily wave bye bye and let them get on with it. The thing is, you will always find some business owners and managers who, despite having engaged you to do the very thing they don't know how to do, will argue the toss about why things need to be done that way, and then not do it. You just have to smile and wave. 😂

Thanks for your replies, I feel really excited now. I've felt trapped for years and had never considered this as a possibility.

My job could be so perfect. There's loads I could do to improve things there but it's never going to happen if the person in charge doesn't see the point or even understand what I'm suggesting. He very pointedly completely ignores me.

I need to move on!

What do I do now? Phone agencies or send in my CV?

Any particular agencies you'd recommend?

Go for it! I have done this before. Being a temp worker gives you a little more flexibility and it feels like a weight is lifted off your shoulders as you are not committed to the new place. It's good to get out there and put your skills to use elsewhere. You have the added benefit of not having to rely on your salary to get by.

Just register with your local temp agency if there is one. Or just start sending out your CV for jobs you see online. A lot of them will keep you on file even if you aren't suitable for the job you applied for.

Give Pertemps a go, they specialise in temp work.

I did this 6 years ago. I was miserable in my permanent role and there was bullying going on.

It was scary to hand in my notice but it was one of the best things I did. I was very lucky - I got a long term temp job very quickly. There were opportunities in the company and I am still there.

I would advise you to do a Google search on the type of job you want and your location. For example "finance officer London. See what the search brings up and if there are any agencies recruiting for that role.

Also, temporary roles in large organisations can lead to other opportunities if you have a good attitude and work hard. I did a boring data entry temp role for a few weeks and it lead to more interesting jobs and and over a year of work.

Good luck and follow your gut instinct. If you enjoy what you do you are probably good at it.

Oh and if you enjoy your temp role and want to stay on in the company make sure your boss knows. Don't be scared to ask them to keep you in mind for more work.