How to survive life as a ‘between’ interim

I am probably still a novice really, having only last year celebrated 10 years as an interim. 10 fantastic, challenging and extremely stressful years. It’s not the interim work that takes its toll on me, it’s the ‘in between contracts’ that is hard.

When I was about 9yrs old I was home schooled in Yugoslavia. I remember the time really well because subjects were fun. Maths was checking change as I paid for sweets and things out shopping, history was the outings to museums and conversations with old people, Art was colouring whilst mum and her friend has coffee, cookery was baking cakes for tea and English - well I was in a Foreign country so everything was about languages.

It would have been too easy for this to be my everyday at school, of course it wasn’t like that. I did have set school times, lesson in the class (dining) room and subjects marked by my teacher (mum). Some days were really structured and some days less formal, but every week was fun and varied, and I did learn what I needed to.

Being between contracts feels a little like that. It would be too easy to spend everyday laying in bed until late, shopping and eating out. But that’s not the real world. It’s important to plan your week so that you spend time searching for that next interim opportunity, researching and upskilling yourself as well as spending sometime relaxing and recharging your batteries.

The risk is that without planning your week, you could end up searching for jobs every time you pick up your phone - there are too many job sites, so temptation to log on is high. As time ticks by and fear of not finding that next opportunity kicks-in you end up applying for everything and anything. Before you know it your entire week becomes a vicious circle of ...search for job-apply for job...and it’s never really the job you want. You stop seeing the wider world of opportunities. Chances to have new experiences, make new friends, learn new skills and update your CV.

So my advice to survive the ‘between’ contracts is to stay focused on what you really want, remember your worth and don’t spend everyday job-hunting. Recharge your batteries, reach out to friends and contacts and above all else remain confident that the right opportunity is out there.