In today’s changing job market, many companies are looking to hire temporary employees to meet their needs and work alongside their full-time staff. Especially during the holiday season, employers need extra hands on deck. This is an excellent opportunity for job seekers to gain experience, sharpen their skills, or fill a block of unemployment until their next permanent placement.

Of course, when an employer hires a temporary employee, they expect the same dedication and work ethic as a full-time hire. The following are a few highly-regarded traits of the best temporary hires:

• A sense of urgency
• Full-time attitude
• Genuine interest
• Self-starter/Fast learner
• Independence with a team-friendly demeanor

One of the main reasons for hiring temporary employees is to prevent being short-staffed during crucial times, so calling out or going on long absences is counter-productive and can make a temporary employee look unmotivated. Employers who hire temps seek reliable, punctual professionals to supplement their permanent staff, fill in on vacations and maternity/sick leaves, and alleviate the stress of busy periods. Make sure you’re not only present at your assignment daily but there on time, if not early. A sense of urgency is integral to a temporary employee’s mentality, as he or she has most likely been hired to help with an immediate need that couldn’t wait for the often extensive process of full-time hiring. Therefore, it’s important for a temp to maintain a professional, full-time attitude at all times on the job, and to treat his or her duties as one would their responsibilities in a long-term position.

The best temporary employees also show genuine interest in the job as well as the company they’re working for. Even if an assignment is short-term, the effects of your performance are often longer-lasting, and an employee who has no interest in the job past its hours and pay is less likely to handle the position with the appropriate urgency and attention to detail as one who has a real interest in the company’s mission and goals.

In order for a temporary employee to accomplish this, he or she will need a good balance of independence and teamwork. Temps have to be comfortable getting started on their own with minimal direction, but also have to be confident enough to interact with the rest of the team—many of which may be on longer-term or full-time assignments. Therefore, employees who work well with others and assimilate easily into a team often make the best temps.

If you remember one thing about temporary work, it should be this: just because you are a temporary employee doesn’t mean you should act like you are. Employers are more likely to keep on or recommend a worker who is obviously invested in the company—not one who treats the assignment as a temporary necessity to slog through. They don’t want to compromise the quality of their permanent staff for the convenience of a temp one, and great temps don’t make them choose.