There are lots of reasons why you might not be employed right now. Perhaps you haven’t yet picked up your first job after leaving college? Maybe you’ve recently lost your job? Or perhaps you haven’t found the right post with the right company to put you where you want to be in your career? Don’t sit idly waiting for that job to fall in your lap. Instead, bring the money in and boost your resume at the same time. Here are 5 ways to do it:

One Assignment at a Time

Whatever your special talent may be, you could be earning from it by freelancing. You might have a good writing style, or maybe you’re pretty good at graphic design? There are several websites you can set up a profile on. Then all you need to do is advertise your services and bid for the contracts you want to take on. Set realistic prices and be sensible with your turnaround promises. If you do a job well, you may even be offered more work from your client.

Freelancing doesn’t guarantee you a weekly wage or offer you any benefits like holiday pay. All of your taxes and insurances need to be managed by you. It can be a lot of hard work, and there will always be someone to undercut you. But if you’re good, this could become a career for you. Most importantly, you’ll be building up a portfolio of work to bolster your resume and help support that next job application.

Franchise

Buying a franchise often requires a fair amount of capital. This might be your savings or a loan. What you’ll get for your money could include marketing support, operating strategies, and the opportunity to wear the brand of a well-known company. If you follow their rules and make it work for your business, the earnings could be generous.

Working a franchise like the ones at FranNet can give you your first taste of entrepreneurship. It will also give you valuable experience in accounting, management, HR, and business. This could help you stand out from all the other candidates for your next management job application. An affiliation with some well-known brands could also make you highly desirable as a candidate. Of course, after this taste of success, you might choose to enjoy the life of a franchisee for a bit longer!

Contractor

More and more businesses are keen to cut their HR bill down. The cost of all those taxes and insurances on top of a wage and leave allowance is simply too much for many companies. Instead, they want to contract out the work of some of their departments. This way they pay a single bill for a single job, without the hassle of recruitment or retaining their staff. This is where you can find a way in as a contractor.

If you’re willing to go it alone and take on bit-jobs, you could have a lot more flexibility in your lifestyle than as a full-time employee. Of course, you wouldn’t have any of the job security an employee could enjoy. Still, you can charge by the hour, by the job or in whatever way you feel is best. All you need is a specialist skill and a proven track record. What can you do that companies need right now? Marketers, particularly digital marketers, are often recruited this way rather than hired.

Create A Course

If you know what you’re talking about, why not talk about it? There are several reputable online education providers that offer educators like you a platform. If you have specialist knowledge about something, you could create a course that will help teach others about it. Your topics can be about anything you like, but the most successful ones tend to offer something that people need to earn money. You could teach creative writing, business management, marketing law, or anything you feel could be of interest to someone else.

You don’t have to restrict yourself to online courses. Perhaps you have something to say in your own community, and you could put together a seminar? You might be able to teach skills like cookery, crochet, or music from your own home. The opportunities are endless. You just need to put together a few resources and lesson plans to make it work. Add your ability and experience as a trainer to your resume to boost your chances of winning that management position.

Write About It

More and more people are finding it easy and profitable to write books. You can write about anything. If you publish online, you will have zero outlay and be able to earn money for the rest of your life. What you need is a story to tell. That would be the case with non-fiction too. People love to hear the story behind success as well as failures. Why not write a book about your time out of work? Or maybe the tale of your time in your last job is more interesting?

If you’re willing to do the research, you can find stories of interest to write about. Of course, if you’re feeling particularly creative, you might be able to pen an entire novel. Writing or creating something while you’re out of work can help prevent the unemployment blues. It gives you something to do that leads to something others can make use of. That’s what a job is, ultimately. It also fills that gap in your employment history if you can say you took time out to write a book!

Unemployment can be a miserable time in your life, but it doesn’t need to leave you broke. You may not be employed right now, but you can certainly fill your time and make some money doing it. Look for projects that can be related in some way to the skills and experience your desired job might need. Almost anything can fit if you’re creative enough! Most importantly, you can build a physical portfolio of your achievements to take into an interview. You’ll be the most interesting candidate of the day.

This post has been contributed by Ryan Gatt, it may contain affiliate links.