Career situations
How to list agency and temporary work on your resume
Make the agency relationship clear, group assignments where it helps, and bring the relevant work forward for the next role.
Several short assignments through one agency can make a resume look like a series of unrelated jobs. A clear layout helps the reader see who engaged you, where you worked and which experience matters for the next role.
The starting point is the arrangement that actually applied. Our contract-work guide distinguishes agency assignments, fixed-term roles and freelance projects. This guide concentrates on presenting the agency and assignment history clearly.
Make the agency relationship clear
Use the names and dates supported by your records. If an agency employed you for assignments at client organisations, show that relationship rather than presenting each client as a direct employer.
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s labour-hire guidance describes arrangements involving an employer supplying workers to another business. Your own agreement and employment records establish your situation; this resume layout does not determine employment status or entitlements.
| Information | What the reader needs | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Agency | The organisation that engaged or employed you | Name used in your records |
| Client or host | Where the assignment took place | Permission to name the organisation |
| Role | The work you actually performed | Title and responsibility, without upgrading either |
| Assignment dates | When the particular work occurred | Actual start and finish, including any breaks |
| Contribution | What you did during the assignment | Tasks, outputs and results you can explain |
Group similar assignments when it helps
One agency entry can work well for several short, related assignments. Put the agency and the overall relationship in the heading, then show the relevant assignments underneath with their own dates.
An overall date range should not hide substantial breaks or imply continuous full-time work. The sub-entries are useful precisely because they show what happened within the wider period.
If one assignment was substantial and directly relevant to the vacancy, a separate entry may make the work easier to assess. Keep the agency relationship visible whichever layout you choose. The purpose is a clear history, not the largest possible number of employer names.
A worked example: agency and assignment entries
This fictional example reuses the contractor scenario in our published contract-work guide. Ben Carter, the agency, clients, dates and project figures are teaching examples, not real applicants or employers.
Project Coordinator (Contract), through Example Recruitment · Jan 2022 – Dec 2024
- Example Bank · Jan 2022 – Jun 2023: coordinated testing for a payments platform upgrade.
- Example Insurance · Jul 2023 – Dec 2024: ran the project office for a 40-person claims system program.
The heading establishes the agency relationship, while each line explains the assignment. For a vacancy centred on testing coordination, Ben could give the bank assignment more detail and summarise the other work.
A separate-entry alternative could start:
Project Coordinator (Contract), Example Bank — through Example Recruitment · Jan 2022 – Jun 2023
The same relationship and dates remain visible. The layout changes the emphasis, not the employment facts. Ben should choose the version that makes relevant responsibility easiest to understand and use it consistently with the application form.
Give the relevant assignments useful detail
For each assignment you retain, explain the work, your role and the output. “Supported various clients” does not tell the reader what you did. A line about coordinating testing or maintaining a project office provides a clearer starting point.
Add detail only when you can substantiate it. A short placement does not become project ownership because the next job asks for leadership. If the work was supervised, keep that context clear.
The University of Sydney’s resume guidance recommends emphasising relevant, recent experience. Use the resume tailoring guide to decide which assignments need full bullets for this application and which can be summarised.
Check the full history before exporting
Check that overlapping assignments are understandable and that the dates agree with your records. Where a gap needs explanation, use an accurate account rather than stretching an assignment’s dates. Our career-gap guide discusses how to keep those explanations proportionate.
Respect confidentiality when naming clients or describing projects. Use a description you are permitted to share, and keep private customer or operational details out of the document.
If you need different versions for different vacancies, multiple resumes explains the existing OfferUnderway approach. Keep the underlying history consistent while choosing the most relevant assignments for each version.
Questions about agency work on a resume
Should I list the agency or the client?
Make both the engagement relationship and assignment context understandable. If the agency employed you, do not present the client as a direct employer. Use your actual records to check the wording.
Does every short assignment need its own heading?
No. Grouping related assignments can make the history easier to read. A separate entry can help when a particular assignment needs more relevant detail. Preserve the dates and agency relationship either way.
What if I cannot name the client?
Use a description you are permitted to share, such as the type of organisation, while keeping the work and your responsibility clear. Check the relevant agreement before including confidential names or details.
Can I leave out older assignments?
You can summarise older or less relevant work on a tailored resume. Answer application forms accurately when they request a complete history; a shorter resume should not create contradictory dates or claims.