Liz Ryan is our Life Meets Work Careers Expert. She writes a monthly column where she provides practical and tactical career advice.
Beyond 40 WPM: Part-Time Jobs For Pros
By Liz Ryan
Back in 1997, I was pregnant for the third time. But for the first time, I wasn't working. I took the opportunity to attend a Moms & Tots playgroup with my two-year-old son, chatting with the moms week by week as my tummy grew.
The moms were delightful, and our conversations struck a chord. Nearly every one of the Moms & Tots ladies had an issue about work and life. They weren't working and were starting to get antsy. They were ready to do something with their free time—something to challenge their brains and excite their passions.
But part-time, professional jobs were hard to find in '97. Kelly Temps looked like the only game in town, and the women in my playgroup were lawyers and marketing chiefs and experts at a dozen specialties.
Isn't there a way, we wondered, for smart and capable women to plug into the working world for a few hours each week? Isn't there an alternative—something halfway between staying home full-time and working as a cashier at the local deli?
Out of these playgroup conversations, I started an online network for women. One of the goals was to connect full-time working women and talented stay-at-home moms for mutual advantage.
That group morphed into a global women's community, and then morphed again to embrace men. Now, we still talk about work/life issues along with a wide range of career and business topics. And women are still looking for ways to make some money and exercise their brain cells without typing themselves into oblivion.
Over the years, our group has shared ideas and strategies for securing part-time, professional employment. Here are some highlights:
Part-Timer Advantages & Disadvantages
Most employers don't offer health benefits to part-time folks. So hiring you represents not just a pro-rated salary savings but a big savings in benefit costs too. Not only that, but in most companies it's easier for a hiring manager to get approval for a part-timer than to get the green light on a full-time employee slot.
The disadvantage is that companies don't often think in terms of part-timers. We've got the 40-hour mentality stamped into our brains, and it may take a bit of coaxing to get employers off the notion that part-time workers are necessarily the most junior staff members.
Leverage Your Network
That's why networking is so critical in a part-time job search. It's likely that a friend of yours, right now, has another friend who could use your talents in a part-time assignment that would mesh beautifully with your schedule.
So how do you get the word about your part-time job hunt? Here are three ideas:
- LinkedIn
Create a free LinkedIn profile. Download contacts from your Outlook, Gmail, or other address book and invite the people you know, who are already your 3-D friends, to connect with you on LinkedIn.
Notify this group about your part-time job search adventure. You can do it easily (and en masse) using LinkedIn's "profile update" feature. Write to the group and say "Hi! I am chomping at the bit to take on a part-time assignment using my marketing skills for a flexible company. If you hear of something, please let me know!"
- Job-Search Cards
Get quick (and nearly-free) job-search business cards from VistaPrint. Include your contact info, three bullet points describing your talents and a note that says “Seeking Part-Time Assignment.” Give them out to everyone you know!
- Spread the Word
Let your off-line network know about your job search, pronto—including those Moms & Tots people, the folks at your gym and on your block, and everyone in your address book. It only takes one!
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Ask Liz Ryan is a human resources and leadership consultancy, and think tank focused on the new-millennium workplace. The Ask Liz Ryan online community reaches over 30,000 men and women on five continents with business, career and life advice. For more information, contact Liz Ryan at liz@asklizryan.com
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