It’s not uncommon for candidates who are out of work to take “bridge” jobs… these are jobs that people take out of necessity, to earn quick money but they don’t plan to stay at them for very long.
I understand the need to eat, pay the mortgage or rent, car payment etc. but be aware that often times… very often these “bridge” jobs get in the way of finding a more professional, permanent job.
The problem I have with these kinds of jobs is that they actually get in the way of the candidate’s ability to interview… they get an interview, but can’t go because of their own bridge job… their attitude is “Tony, I have to be able to keep this job in order to pay the rent and an interview for me with having to take off work, would interfere with that”… okay, I get it but if you can’t make interviews you can’t get hired and most employers have so many candidates to choose from these days, rearranging an interview specifically for you isn’t likely to happen.
So, if you have to take a “bridge” job get one either for the first half of the day, the last half of the day or maybe waiting tables, bartending etc. in the evening so you have the daytime to be able to interview… getting a retail job during the day isn’t going to help you to get normal interview cycles… selling cars with its long hours, is going to get in the way of your interviewing.
I can’t tell you the number of candidates that I have seen over the years whose “bridge” jobs, that they took, thinking it was going to be for a very short period of time found themselves in these jobs for six or seven months and then they have the additional problem of trying to explain to a prospective employer why they take a job for six or seven months and are now looking for a more professional one… no matter what anyone says, a hiring authority is going to wonder about this.
When a candidate tries to explain that they took their present job as a “bridge” job and it has lasted for six or seven months, that they didn’t have any idea it was going to wind up having to last that long and they are still serious about finding a more “professional” job, it just becomes another hurdle that they have to overcome with a prospective employer… and then to make matters worse, candidates will get frustrated and downright mad saying things like, “can’t they understand that a person has to have a source of income,” etc… bluntly it’s a no win argument.
So, take a “bridge” job if you must, but do it wisely realize the consequences.
