Tips to Make Ends Meet During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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As in many other areas of life, the coronavirus pandemic has had a significant effect on employment. If you’re among the thousands of people who have already lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19, you are probably feeling anxious to replace some or all of your income until you’re able to find another full-time job. For an executive, replacing all of your income with side work may not be realistic unless you are able to land a lucrative consulting assignment, but below you may find some ideas and inspiration for using your skills to help make ends meet for the time being.
Try Your Skills in New Ways
If there’s any silver lining to be found in losing your job, it might be that you now have the opportunity to try your hand at different skills. For example, if you’re good with programs such as Adobe Photoshop, you know the basics of marketing, and you have a good eye for color, typography, and layout, you might consider doing freelance logo design to make some money.
Using sites like Upwork or even Fiverr allows you to post your freelance services over a wide range of industries. When offering your skills online, keep in mind that there’s often a lot of competition. Knowing how to make yourself stand out from the rest can help you find success as a freelancer.
If you’re more comfortable with other skills, such as caring for animals, there are lots of other ways to make money. For example, becoming a pet sitter or dog walker is one way to bring in some extra cash. If you opt to bring pets into your home, it doesn’t take much to set it up for pet-sitting services. When pet-proofing your home, start by doing a walk-through to identify houseplants, household cleaning products, and other things that might be toxic or pose a choking hazard for dogs. It’s also a good idea to lock up cabinets and garbage can lids to keep dogs from getting into anything they shouldn’t.
Monetize a Hobby
Just as your skills can be used to earn money as a freelancer, hobbies can be turned into a money-making endeavor. If you have a knack for photography, crafts, home improvement, or other skills, it’s entirely possible to put your hobby to work. For example, if you’ve got a good camera and an eye for composition, you can sell stock photos online. Or if you love to knit, selling items on a platform like Etsy can bring in a little extra income. Many people with sewing skills have earned substantial cash by going into business making masks during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The money you earn from a hobby probably won’t replace your full-time earnings. However, if you love pursuing your passion and find some success with it, there are also ways to turn a hobby into a successful career.
Fill an Employment Gap
While many employment sectors are facing huge cutbacks, keep in mind that others are struggling to find enough people to meet an unprecedented demand for workers. According to Kiplinger, more than 30 companies are posting thousands of job listings to meet the demands of increased business. For example, Amazon and other online-only retailers are facing a huge increase in orders, which means there’s a greater demand for workers to fill and deliver these orders. Something like order delivery may seem miles below the status of an executive, but it can put food on the table in a pinch.
Any time you venture into a new sector, it’s important to effectively market your skills. By crafting your resume carefully, you can highlight ways that your existing skills apply to this interim situation or new career. Even if you’re only looking for temporary employment, you will want to demonstrate how your skills will translate.
There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in general, but it’s even tougher if you’ve lost your job on top of everything else. Until you’re able to find new employment, a little creativity can go a long way in marketing and reworking your skills to keep the wolves from the door.
Guest post courtesy Craig Brown of yourcareerboost.com.