Is a job-for-life a thing of the past? We welcome the new approach of project-based hiring.

Until recently, switching jobs regularly was often considered a negative and seen as a sign of unreliability. An attractive CV was one with lengthy periods of time at each company with one role leading swiftly into the next. But could having the same role for decades fail to provide a worker with fresh challenges and new experiences?

The narrative has begun to change, especially over the last decade, and employers are far more open minded to candidates who are considering a career change or who have had different roles within their career. Experience in a field is great, but experience in several fields could be even better - demonstrating that a candidate is adaptable to change and keen to approach a new challenge.

Having a job for life has certainly been superseded by a new approach. If a company’s needs suddenly peak or if they are approaching a period of change where more help is needed, organisations can consider the specific requirements of the task or project rather than creating a new permanent role. This is where hiring on a contract basis could be the solution.

Permanent staff are the perfect constant to keep a business running but in those times of change, organisations can bring in individuals on an interim basis to help the team. Interim professionals can use their experience of working within many different companies and teams, approaching a wide range of varying problems to approach the task at hand. The added benefit of it being that once the problems or period of change has subsided, the assignment comes to an end and the organisation is freed up from the cost of having an extra worker.

As the working world continues to evolve, we envision even more value to be placed on interim professionals who have amassed a broad knowledge and range of skills from their assignments. We expect that organisations will continue to explore contract hiring and the many benefits this provides for project-based work as we move even further away from the job-for-life model and towards the new experience-focused approach.