Have you got what it takes to be a professional interim?

An interim career path should not be a route taken lightly. It’s often a case of “feast or famine” and so the uncertainty of this career choice can put a lot of people off. However, if you are right for it and it is right for you, the interim career path can be incredibly rewarding both financially and intellectually.

Why would businesses choose to hire an interim as opposed to a permanent candidate?

• Shortage of skill-set in the permanent marketplace
• Inability to add to the permanent headcount (usually due to budget restraints)
• People/process/system change requiring a specialist interim (possibly giving need to a different more substantive hire post-delivery)
• Short-term cover for an absent permanent member of staff who has a niche skillset
• Uncertainty about the future budget, business, location – interims offer a more flexible solution without contractual obligations.

Therefore, good interims need to be:

• Available at short notice
• Limited company day rate professionals (with all the relevant PI and PL insurances)
• Highly qualified/experienced professionals with in-demand skillsets
• Able to articulate themselves and demonstrate, via their references, their ability to effect change
• Flexible, adaptable, and challenging (when needed)
• Unflappable – interims bring professional scrutiny without the confrontation.

What interims are not:

• Fixed-term contractors
• Permanent candidates who happen to be immediately available
• Egotistic! The best interims can leave businesses subtly, having set them down the right track.

To uncover the professional interim market, you need access to the right network, and to be promoting your skills and attributes in the right way. To arrange a confidential discussion as to whether this could be the right choice for you or to further expand your interim network, please email: info@theprojectbench.co.uk or call 07951 271405.

The Project Bench is reserved for  impactful players who can make a difference to the interim market and start to set the record straight on what a professional interim can deliver.