By Ellen Mable, CTS, CSP | Senior Staffing Manager
This past weekend I took part in a wonderful excursion with friends on a scenic tour of the Finger Lakes Region. As we traveled through the beautiful countryside, quaint villages, and took in the views of Seneca Lake, I reflected on how much I love living in Syracuse, and how glad I am that I made the decision to move here 11 years ago.
After living in a much more metropolitan area that had an extremely high standard of living as well as living in a rural, economically depressed area that had a very poor job market, Syracuse seems to fit me best. Making the decision to move to Syracuse was the perfect option. For me personally it was the happy medium between the two areas I had lived in previously. Syracuse had so much more to offer in terms of job opportunities, affordable housing options, and is centrally located to so many of the diverse regions of New York State.
Of course once I moved to Syracuse I needed to find employment. I pounded the pavement through all of the typical search methods that were available at the time: newspapers, job boards and more. But with being new to the area and not having any sort of networking opportunities, I finally found myself registering with a staffing firm. This process was very new to me, and was something that I hadn’t thought of before. The recruiter that I met with was extremely helpful, and suggested that I start out doing a few temporary assignments. The assignments that I was placed on gave me excellent exposure to many types of companies in the Syracuse area. I also began to expand my network and met some wonderful people! I eventually landed a permanent job that in turn ultimately started my career as a recruiter at Contemporary Personnel Staffing.
Eleven years later I am still an Administrative Temporary and Temp to Hire recruiter. A large portion of my candidate database is individuals that have recently moved to the Syracuse/Central New York area or moved back. We often find so many return to this area for what it has to offer after trying out the big cities in the US. I meet with several candidates every week that have relocated to Syracuse for many of the same reasons that I did: centrally located, affordable housing market, better job market options, and overall better quality of life.
During the interview process I always go over the option of doing temporary assignments and candidates are typically surprised that it can be such a good option on many levels. You can try out different companies; you can meet more professionals and expand your network. You can try out jobs within companies that wouldn’t be available to you otherwise. Even in 2010 temp work can be a hidden gem as our economy grows and expands again.
Working temporary assignments can be an excellent avenue in your career. I am living proof that it does work!
Interested in temporary work? Contact Ellen today to give it a try. Like this post? Like our facebook page.