Image credit – assiciationsnow.com
Full-time or a contract position?
Friends and family often ask me this since I have worked in the same industry for some years now and all I can really suggest is, contract employment is nothing very similar to regular employment, except that here also you work and get paid.
This question puzzles everyone who is on a job hunt. In North America ( now after being here for 3 years I can say this), contact assignments have always been popular because of more money that flows in as against a full-time position but in country like India, people are still skeptical. No doubts, job security is first things on our (Indian ) minds and we are not willing to sacrifice that even for more money but the situation is changing. There are far more number of contact employees in India today than about 10-15 years ago when the trend was relatively new for job seekers in India.
So if you have never been into a contract role before, here are few things you should know while you are considering a contract position
1. No job security – Yes that’s correct, even if you are working with big contract employment players ( the number isn’t really great in India), job security is never a surety. You will always be in doubts – what if the contract isn’t renewed? What if you don’t get another assignment on time?… Staying in job, you will still deal with uncertainty at times.
2. No medical insurance and benefits – Unlike regular employment, contract employment does not provide medical insurance and related benefits for employees. Thought there are employers who extend these benefits to contract employees too but the number is not big. If you are not the only one responsible for your family or your parents or spouse already have a medical coverage , it might not be a big disadvantage for you.
3. Performance rating and appraisals will not be for you – Not all employers in India have an appraisal system in place for contact employees. Most contract employers will give you a raise only when your subsequent assignments facilitates them to pay you more.
4. Relocation might be frequent – That’s one thing that you have to be open to if you are going for a contract employment – relocation. Moving from one assignment to another might mean a new city too. There are very limited chances to be choosy in this case, it might be a take or leave option.
5. A strict work hours and deadlines – Contract employment demands more work commitment, time and productivity from employees. Often there are strict deadlines and extended working hours which might mean working/ being available on weekends too. That’s also the rule for success in the game, your reliability and productivity is what that gets you more stability with the project as well as the client.
So is the contract employment right choice for you? I won’t really comment and leave that on you to decide since opportunities are best analyzed based on situation.
In my next post I will share a few benefits of contract employment. Stay tune 🙂
HRDictionary 
Leave a Reply