Economic realities may pose problems for your resume
You probably worked hard on your resume making certain that all the t’s are crossed and all the i’s are dotted. You have to be sure that it’s perfect. You can’t allow for anything to slip through that may hurt your chances for that perfect job.
But yet you’re out of work. Not only do you need work; you need cash. Then along comes XYZ Company with an offer to complete a project for them. The good news is that they will pay you. The bad news is that the assignment will last only 90 days.
What’s the problem?
There is a problem and it’s somewhat of a thorny one. Although it’s good that you’re working and getting paid, there could be problems with your resume going forward.
You remember that resume, don’t you? The one in the opening paragraph that you worked so hard to perfect.
On the plus side, you have relevant, recent work to show. That’s more to talk about and more evidence that someone else sees value in who you are and what you do. It’s all good. Almost.
While you want to show it on your resume, it will show that you only worked there for 30, 60, or 90 days – or whatever the length of the assignment is. To someone just casually inspecting your resume, it may look like you only worked there for three months. That can be a red flag. Why such a short tenure?
You need to clearly and plainly identify that work experience as a project with a defined start and end date, such as: XYZ Company, Project Manager for 90-day project that was completed on July 31, 2001. (Or, “scheduled to be completed September 30, 2021" – if the project is not complete.)
It’s a new resume wrinkle… thanks to the gig economy.