Earning Some Extra Cash While Job Hunting
For those who are seeking full-time employment, even if you are a fresh graduate, are between jobs, or got recently laid off, there are ways to earn and save money as you look out for jobs. As we understand how challenging it can be for you to pay bills and expenses on top of unemployment, here are some tips and advice we have for you to stay afloat until you find a stable job.
Those who’ve landed an interview can read more about how to ace the tell me about yourself interview.
Look Through Your Spendings
If you notice only declining bank balance and no cash inflow, it is a clear sign that you should take a look at your expenses and crackdown ways to minimize unnecessary spending to save money, even if it is just a little bit as every cent counts. Perhaps you have been paying for streaming subscriptions that you haven’t been using and this is something you can save on. Besides, another suggestion is to cook for your meals as this can help you save on takeaways and you can incorporate a meatless diet to save money on expensive poultry.
One approach to this way of saving costs is to treat it as a game, and have a positive mindset towards it so that you can stream along with the momentum. To make things even more fun and enjoyable at the same time, you can recruit help from your friends to join in with you so that everyone who is in the same boat can work towards saving money. You can begin to cut things out by going through your list of priorities, those that are ranked low can be removed first. As you accumulate these savings, make sure to stash them into your emergency funds so that you would not touch them and it is kept for greater and important use.
Now that you have analyzed your expenses and spending, you can set aside a new and leaner budget so that you know how much money you can spend. Meanwhile, it is also important to learn to commit to it.
Side Hustles
Having side hustles is a good way to earn cash on the side. Besides, this is the perfect opportunity for you to earn money on a flexible basis by taking on jobs such as delivery driver, rideshare, doing surveys with Survey Cool, or even be a boss of an online store, as long as you are making use of your marketable skills.
Not only that, but you also choose to work part-time or be casual at any coffee shop or local grocery store near your neighborhood if they are hiring. Even though it may not be your ideal choice of job, it will still bring money to the table and most of all, it connects you with the community during this period of isolation and uncertainty, and who knows, the job might introduce you to people who may assist you in the future, be it career-wise or overall life-wise.
Furthermore, this side hustle may potentially inspire you to seek the new passion you did not exist in the first place. Even when you have found full-time employment to pursue, you do have to necessarily give up this side hustle too as you can keep up with it as a free-lancer and gain extra income on the side, making this a win-win situation.
Invest in Yourself
Next, when you are faced with unemployment, one of the best things you can do is to seek further education or gain new skills to brush up on your knowledge and boost your resume profile. To do so, there are plenty of options, ranging from online tutorial videos on YouTube to online courses and webinars, or even classes and extension programs at a local university.
Also, for those between jobs, this is the best time to consider investing in yourself. Although the word ‘invest’ may seem intimidating to a lot of people, there is no need for that as it can be as simple as getting help from your friend to take for you a nice portrait headshot and setting up an online portfolio or website. Pouring in these efforts and energy to make your LinkedIn profile look good will pay off big time when hiring companies come across your profile. As opposed to working full time when you do not have the time for this, now that you have the time, do make good use of it by investing in yourself!
Saving goals
Unlike before with regular income, it is now harder for you to churn out money to be deposited into your savings account every month. This means putting your savings goals on hold. Although it is not ideal, this is inevitable with a lack of income. However, we are not prohibiting you from saving money, if you do have some spare money coming in, make sure that you save them. Also, you can consider transferring some of the money from the non-urgent savings account to your emergency fund, which is the account in charge of covering the necessary expenses.
Spend Your Time Wisely by Being Productive
Despite how difficult the situation can get, you do not have to feel dejected and wait aimlessly for a job to land on you. Instead, be proactive and keep a lookout for any potential opportunities. Be it investing in yourself, make sure that you utilize this period to not only get through but accumulate valuable experience that will help you in the future as well. Prolonged unemployment does not look good to hiring managers so you should be actively bridging on gaps. To illustrate, you can engage in activities like volunteering, classes, or even clubs to show that you are a go-getter with spare time on hand.
The Bottom Line
With that said, we have reached the end of this article and we hope that it has been an informative read for you. As bleak as this situation may seem to you, do gather the strength to overcome it and we are sure you can do it! We wish you all the best, be in finding your next full-time employment, or working on your side hustle. Good luck!