For those of you busy with job-hunting, have you ever considered taking up a temporary position instead of holding out for the permanent position of your dreams? Well, why not? In a Forbes.com blog post from earlier this year, Kerry Hannon points out the many benefits that temporary positions offer to weary job-seekers.

Here are some of Hannon’s reasons Why Temporary Work Is Worth It:

• Gets you out of bed in the morning. You’ve got something to do.
• Gets you in the door. It may lead to full-time work with an employer eventually. Don’t miss the opportunity.
• Gets you decent pay. You can make your experience a plus. Employers are typically willing to pay you generously, providing you have the chops, if you solve their problem or need quickly. It lets them bypass the hand-holding and learning curve stage that a younger, less experienced, but lower-paid worker, might require.
• Builds your professional network. Nurture relationships with co-workers during your assignment. You never know where a contact may lead you, and who they might be able to refer you to for future jobs.
• Lands you new and au courant references for future employers to contact about what you’ve been up to lately.
• Keeps your resume alive. It’s a bone to stave off the disgrace of those gaping holes of idleness in your resume.
• Keeps your skills sharp. You know the mantra: Use it or lose it.
• Lets you get psyched about a work project–without the pressure of long-term expectations. No job is forever, anyway. This one just might be shorter than most, and that can be tremendously freeing.
  

     Along with outlining the networking, mental-health, and resume-boosting benefits that temporary jobs can provide, Hannon also uses data from a survey of over 3,000 hiring managers and human resource professionals to describe why temporary staffing is “the bee’s knees these days”.

     A CareerBuilder survey shows that 36% of companies will be looking to hire temporary workers in 2012, marking an 8% increase from 2009. Nearly a third of those employers are looking to hire their temporary staff members before April.

Read Kerry Hannon’s full blog-post here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryhannon/2012/01/19/why-temporary-work-is-worth-it/2/

            Two Healthcare Directors from The Execu|Search Group, Amanda Bleakney and Allison Fagan, were recently honored with an invitation to attend a special event hosted by the New York Times, which recognized outstanding professionals in the healthcare industry. Each year, the New York Times pays a “Tribute to Nurses” in a special section of the New York Times Magazine. Distributing awards in education, innovation, leadership, research, and service, the New York Times hopes to bring attention to the field of nursing by recognizing several nurses’ contributions to the field.

            In order to be recognized in the ‘Tribute to Nurses’ publication, nominees had to have first received an award during National Nurses Week, be practicing in NY, NJ, CT, or PA, and have been nominated by a co-worker from the same hospital. Winners, chosen by the New York Times and the ‘Tribute to Nurses’ Editor, receive a $500 prize and an invitation to celebrate their achievement at the annual ‘Tribute to Nurses’ awards breakfast, which was held on December 12, 2011, featuring speaker Tara Parker-Pope.

            Tara Parker-Pope is the creator and writer of “Well,” a daily health blog and weekly column for the New York Times that has recently been recognized as the best blog of 2011 by the Newswomen’s Club of New York.  In addition to writing many award-winning articles, Tara has written three books and has been published in countless magazines, including O Magazine and Reader’s Digest.

            After listening to the informative – and entertaining – speakers, Amanda and Allison were excited to see their fellow NYACC member Michael Tagadaya, Nurse Manager – Ambulatory Services at NYU’s Hospital for Joint Diseases, receive his award for “Innovation and Leadership”, an award that was created this year especially for him.  Michael was honored due to his outstanding commitment to the development of his staff and interns and was commended for exceptional service and inspiration.  The event was filled with warm words and gracious thanks to these wonderful individuals working endlessly to improve the healthcare profession. Being involved in healthcare themselves, Amanda and Allison were excited to see the “nurses’ passion for their patients and clinical teams” (Fagan) and to hear about “all the great ways New York’s nurses are rising above and beyond their nursing duties” (Bleakney).

Honoree Michael Tagadaya, Nurse Manager of Ambulatory Surgery for NYU’s Hospital for Joint Diseases,

Amanda Bleakney, Allison Fagan, and members of NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases‘ Nursing Office