After months of searching, your first concrete job offer has come in. It's a contract job that you wouldn't have considered a year ago, but you've decided to accept. Six months with a reputable firm seems like a safe haven in turbulent times. Besides, it's a foot in the door and could lead to more.

Not all contract positions have long-term potential, but some do, says executive recruiter Andrew Stockton, managing partner of Gilmore Partners in Toronto.

Employers offer contract work to be upfront and honest, Stockton says.

"They're letting people know that they have some work now and could down the road, but they're not sure.

"Generally speaking, they'd rather hire people as full-time employees," he adds. "It's a bit cheaper than paying contractors and it promotes a better foundation for a company. That being said, you have to be a bit lean and mean these days."

Accepting a contract position puts you in the ranks of the self-employed, for the duration of the agreement at least.

The challenge, says executive coach Dick Cappon is the need to "ride two horses at the same time."

On one hand, you need to adopt what Cappon calls an "owner's mindset." On the other, you need to function as a dedicated employee committed to meeting the firm's objectives.

Managing the dichotomy, Cappon says, "is as much about attitude as it is aptitude."

Self-employed contractors have to be independent self-starters, for example, and take full responsibility for getting up to speed.

"You probably won't get the same orientation process as a full-time employee," Stockton says. "So you need to take the initiative and do some research to find out about the organization and the company culture. That way, when you get in there you can show your work, not only on the skill-set side, but on the cultural-fit side as well."

In some ways, he says, a contract job is an ongoing interview or audition with the advantage of proximity to decisionmakers over time.

Don't be sycophantic, Stockton cautions, but "get to know your boss; get to know his or her management style and try to adapt to some degree.

"Also, get to know the bosses in any related groups in the organization. If you can shine to them, as well, if they have need for staff themselves, they'll think of you.

"A lot of people take the mindset, I'm just here on a contract, so I'll do my job and then I'll leave," he says.

"That's certainly one way to go about it. But a better way, especially if your long-term goal is full-time work, is to get to know management, become ingrained in the company so that when that contract comes to an end, the company says, `Wow, we can't afford to lose this person.'"

Employers often find it difficult to hire people who have both the right skill set and who fit the company's culture, Stockton says.

"Contract workers who have an obvious fit with the staff and everything else, already have one big foot in the door."

To research an organization's corporate culture, review its website and track down articles in trade publications and newspapers. It's also worth talking to people who work there or who have worked there in the past.

Copyright 2009 Janis Foord Kirk.