How to Include Temporary Employment on a Resume

Listing temporary employment on a resume can be a difficult thing to do. A lot of people look at temp workers with an extensive history of temporary employment as unstable. Some people decide to leave the experience off, but it is best not to leave any large gaps of unemployment on your resume. There are ways to include your temporary employment on a resume that will be sure to get you noticed by a potential employer.

1. Figure out if it is necessary to list your temporary employment on your resume. If the employment has no relevance to the job position you are applying for then it may not be necessary to list it. List irrelevant job work only if it will leave a large gap in your work history.


2. Use normal resume format. When listing your temporary work it is okay to use the "typical" resume format.


3. List the actual company of where you worked, for example, "ABC Co., Raleigh, North Carolina." Do not list the temporary agency.


4. Tweak the name of the job title. If you were an Office Assistant then list it as, "Office Assistant, Temporary 2004-2005."


5. Include temporary employment job experience in the normal "Experience" category. There is no need to make a section to pin point the temporary employment if it was only for a single job. The only time you should make a separate section for temporary work is when you have done multiple jobs for an agency or have worked for multiple agencies.


6. Be sure to include why you were a temp worker within your cover letter. This will tell the recruiter what the circumstances were. For example, perhaps you worked temp jobs while in college.