What to do if you're between jobs...

Are you in between jobs at the moment through no fault of your own? Do you need some help to make a bit of cash while you find your perfect role or set up your own business?

I know how you feel. I’ve found myself in this position twice. The first time I had been made redundant unexpectedly. The 2nd time my fixed term contract had ended and I was unsure whether to apply for more roles or give the freelance life a go. I was convinced that I was going to end up in a huge amount of debt unless I found another role fast. I even accepted a role that was 100% not right for me. Luckily I didn’t go through with it in the end. I was panicking because I didn’t live at home with my parents, I already had a mortgage and was living on my own paying all of the bills myself. Plus I had 2 cats to provide for as well! Couldn’t let the kitties go hungry…

I think a lot of us have this idea that in order to go freelance or set up your own business, you need to have a full roster of clients ready, waiting to throw money at you. This is just not realistic. Equally there is pressure for us to continually climb the corporate ladder and never have a break in our employment. Again, this is completely unrealistic. Sometimes personal issues arise, other times the job market is not what it once was and things don’t work out as we planned. It happens to all of us. So what can we do in the meantime to keep the our bank balances healthy?

Once I took the pressure off myself and looked at my options, I quickly realised that I could enjoy this journey instead of resisting it. I didn’t need to keep going on the path i’d been on, I could do other work that fitted with my interests as well. And there was something really exciting about that!

So here’s a list of a few things that I tried and tested (some of which I’m still doing now), to give you some inspiration if you’re keen to go freelance or just wanting to earn a bit of cash while you’re in between roles. Plus a few discounts thrown in for good measure 😜

My top recommendations to earn a bit of extra cash:

Pet Sitting 

I’ve always loved animals and have 3 of my own at home now, so pet sitting is something I have done on and off for years. There are lots of websites out there but my personal favourite has always been Rover. I’ve met some lovely people (and their pets!) through Rover and managed to earn a bit of extra money doing something I love on the way. Could this be a good option for you as well?

Become a pet sitter with Rover: https://www.rover.com/ambas-refer-a-friend/g73GGlbg

(£15 off for pet owners) Your Promo Code: ELEANR48127

Nanny with Koru Kids 

You may not know this, but as well as an HR Consultant I’m also a qualified teacher. I worked as a secondary school teacher for 4 years before I returned to the field of HR. As much as I know I made the right decision for me, I’ve definitely missed spending time with children. So when I came across an advert for Koru Kids on Indeed, it was meant to be! So far I have worked with 2 lovely families supporting them for a few hours a day with wrap around childcare. This gives me the flexibility to ensure I have time to work on my business during the day, whilst earning a bit of extra cash to keep me going!

Want to earn an extra £50? Click the link below to sign up:

ttps://www.korukids.co.uk/become-a-nanny?promotion_code=GIFT50&referrer_id=AeD3oX

Matched Betting

This was something new I decided to try over the last few months and has really surprised me! I’ve always been very against betting, having heard lots of horror stories, so it took a while to get on board with this one. However once I understood how it worked I decided it was worth giving it a go and it was a success! If you want to find out more about matched betting and how it works you can follow these simple steps created by Outplayed. They offer a free 7 day trial after which you can decide if you want to continue using their service.

(Promo Code) https://outplayed.com/idevaffiliate//idevaffiliate.php?id=10978

Referral Code: https://outplayed.com/refer?code=35896293

These are the things that worked for me, but they might not necessarily be right for you!

Some things that I tried and didn’t work out for me long-term were:

Job	Reason
Amazon Flex	Depot locations all 45 mins + drive away from my home, limited support if you can't find the correct address or experience any issues en route, difficult to secure blocks unless you sit on your phone all day waiting for them to pop up
Care Professional	Too much pressure to take cover shifts at the last minute and experienced difficulty when rejecting shifts. Employer not following correct guidelines for a 0 hour contract

There are so many options out there to try. Some other things that I haven’t tried yet are:

Online tutoring

Teaching Assistant

AI writer

Selling clothes on vinted/ebay/depop

Food delivery uber eats, deliveroo

Uber driver

Music Teacher

Let me know if you give any of the above a go! And I hope you find your next adventure very soon

The HR Bestie

💖