There Has Never Been a Better Time to Look for Online Jobs

November’s here, and we’re counting down to the holidays – an exciting time of the year for sure, but also one where time is even more precious than usual. Why stick with a traditional job with a commute – sure to get worse during these busy months – that chips away at time for your life and family? This is a great season to look for online jobs and make that transition to remote work – or even just to pick up a side gig you can do from home! And it’s not just because more employers are hiring folks for the holiday season.

Balance Your Life

There’s nothing wrong with wanting a better work-life balance, and taking on the remote worker life is a great way to do this. No matter whether you’re a parent with young kids at home or someone with disabilities that limit your work options, working from home is a fantastic opportunity to balance your needs with the necessity of having an income. Depending on your flexible work path, you can work on the fly – you can manage social media from a coffee shop while waiting for your kids to finish music or sports practice, or you can get freelance writing done even in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. Flexible work means fitting work into the best shape for your needs, not shaping your life around work.

Opportunities to consider:

• Social Media Management – Either find your own clients or get connected through virtual assistant platforms such as Time Etc; read my post on how to make it on your own!
• Customer Service – To maximize your schedule flexibility, go after customer service jobs like Alorica@Home.
• Freelance Writing – This is the ultimate position for flexible scheduling – all you have to do is meet your deadlines! Check out “Freelance Writing Jobs for Beginners.”
• Crowdsourced Tasks – Put your skills to work on various small tasks when and where you have time! I’ve got a list of sites including Mechanical Turk, Fancy Hands, and Tongal here.
• Tutor – There are many tutoring sites out there for adults and children overseas right now that can accommodate an early morning or late night schedule – and can be as casual as a short video chat! You can read about 12 such opportunities here on my site.

Give to Others

Another great motivation to look for new work during this season is in order to give back to others – either by changing your career to one that provides for the less fortunate or taking on a side gig that does the same. You might consider becoming a remote worker for a nonprofit or charitable organization – they may need virtual assistants, website designers, copywriters, PR pros, or any other number of support employees. The key is to look around your community (whether local or online) and identify these opportunities. If you’re able, you might even offer your services freely – but only for a limited period, and use the experience to improve your résumé for the career you really want.

Opportunities to consider:

• Virtual Assistant – Contact nonprofits directly to see if they need help, or keep an eye out for similar clients through VA companies like Worldwide101, Fancy Hands, and so on. Need more help? See “Virtual Assistant Jobs: Top Places to find Legitimate VA Work from Home.”
• Website Design – Build your own website design business, offer your services through Fiverr, or look out for job listings on boards like FlexJobs.
• Event Organizer – This is another job you can try contacting nonprofits directly concerning – or find a virtual assistant job.
• Research Assistant – If you enjoy research, consider doing it for others through a company like Wonder.

Earn for the Holidays

This is the perfect time to earn extra cash for the holiday season – there are many companies hiring more work-from-home customer service agents right now and there’s probably a corresponding increase in the call for online moderators or social media managers as well. If you’re a crafter, this would be an excellent occasion to sell your wares on handmade sites like Etsy or Artfire. If you enjoy thrifting or antiquing, search for holiday-themed items or items that make great gifts then flip them for a profit on eBay. And don’t forget, you can even use your own holiday shopping to make a little cash – sites like Swagbucks and Ebates are really useful around this time of year! (Don’t forget to take advantage of any cashback opportunities on your credit cards, as well.)

Opportunities to consider:

• Customer Service – If you spend large amounts of time at home with a quiet environment, consider a more rigid customer service job.
• Online Moderator – Help various websites and brands wrangle their social media interactions for the holidays by working with companies like ModSquad or ICUC.
• Handmade Items – Put your crafty side to work sewing, knitting, beading, and more with “Legit At-Home Craft and Assembly Jobs.”
• Get-Paid-To Sites – Use sites like Swagbucks and Ebates, or take surveys and more.
• Task Apps – Use apps on your phone like GigWalk, FieldAgent, and TaskRabbit to score some extra cash while going about your usual daily errands.

Distract from the Holidays

While this winter holiday season can be a great time for many people, it can also be a lonely or sad time for others. If you’re in need of distraction this holiday season, a new online job is fantastic for that! You’ll be so focused on training and learning the ropes, that the season will pass more quickly – and you’ll be making money, to boot. Also, if you feel isolated during this time, consider a position that gets you out of the house – but not into an office! Look for tasks you can do for others around town, walk dogs, help with deliveries, or even drive people around.

Opportunities to consider:

• Dog Walker or Pet Sitter – Help people busy with the holidays or extensive out-of-town trips by walking their dogs or taking care of their pets! One way to do this is with Rover.
• Uber or Lyft Driver – With so many people traveling this season, there are sure to be plenty of gigs available through apps like Uber or Lyft.
• Delivery Gigs – You could deliver flowers with Blooms Today, deliver food with DoorDash or UberEATS, or even deliver packages with Amazon Flex.
• Blogging – Take this time as the perfect opportunity to throw yourself into writing and building your blog in your non-holiday-related niche!

If you’re interested in finding more ways to make money for the holidays, check out my post “40 Ways to Make Money for Christmas.”

Remember, everyone: tis the season to try new things, be grateful, and take a step outside the traditional – won’t you join me?