Fill gaps with part-time, freelance, or consulting work

- One of the most difficult parts about job searching during a layoff, especially a prolonged one, is not having recent professional accomplishments to talk about in job interviews. Finding temporary, part-time, or project-based work is a great way to stay professionally active so that you'll have something meaningful to talk about in your job interviews. Now, I have some personal experience in this area. About six years ago I was between jobs and I was actively searching. I was also writing articles as a side gig which was something that I'd been doing for several years, and even though I was only writing about one article each week which is the equivalent of a few hours of work, I had something to talk about when I went on job interviews. I really think that the job offer that I received to work as a writer for Flex Jobs came as a direct result of that very part-time writing that I was doing at the time. So how can you find part-time, temporary, or project-based work to fill some time and keep yourself active while job searching? Of course the internet is basically a one stop shop for all kinds of work. There are plenty of job search websites where you can search for part-time, temporary, freelance, and project work in practically any career field. But try using smaller niche sites rather than those big job search sites so that you're not overwhelmed by millions of listings. Do a keyword search for part-time or freelance jobs and your career field to see what comes up. And use your professional network to let people know that you're available for part-time and project-based work. LinkedIn is a really good place to spread the word that you're available and interested. Even sending a simple email to several of your favorite networking contacts is a great step. You can also work with a recruiter who specializes in temporary work or freelancing. If instead of offering your expertise and knowledge, you'd rather do specific project work, consider looking for temporary freelance or contract work. Freelancers help individuals and organizations in so many ways like writing, design, accounting, tutoring, and consulting. There are several different job search sites that specialize in freelance work such as Upwork and Flex Jobs. And there are smaller sites that list freelance work for one particular industry or career field, so do some research to find the best ones for you. But you may be wondering, am I qualified to be a consultant? A consultant is basically anyone with a particular area of expertise who can help other people in that area. Think of it this way. Consultants provide an outside objective point of view to help organizations spot problems or improve their performance in ways that the organization might not be able to see for themselves. Is there anything you feel qualified to help people and organizations with? If so, consulting might be a good strategy for you. Consultants are in a huge variety of fields, like business, healthcare, education, IT, and communications. Part-time, freelancing consulting jobs are all on the rise which is good news if you want, or need, to find some work quickly. The key with these types of jobs is to do a lot of research to find the opportunities that align with your experience and your skills. And then make sure that all of your online profiles demonstrate your abilities in these areas. For potential employers to take you seriously, you need to take yourself seriously. Update your LinkedIn profile to show how qualified you are and that you're available for part-time or freelance opportunities. Let your network know and you'll be surprised at the opportunities that present themselves.