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Career wisdom has long offered dire warnings about part-time work.… “Your career will tank,” “no one will take you seriously”, “you’ll be passed over for promotion.”…  Across the globe, women’s careers have been particularly hard-hit by this attitude, often accepting lower paid jobs as the cost of the “bonus” of flexibility to raise families.

But all that is changing.

The new economy is bringing with it a demand for skilled part-time workers and progressive organizations are embracing agile workplace concepts. At the same time, educated job-seekers are seeking out high-level part-time jobs to better find a work/life balance.

Job-sharing and part-time work is a hot trend – and getting hotter. Part-time work, has risen from about 15 per cent of all jobs in the 1980s to more than 30% today.

Renee Anderson, a Communications Consultant in Sydney was an early adapter of this move to part-time work.

“I wanted to work 3 days a week,” she says “but all the part-time jobs I could find were menial, boring and low paid. There was no way I was taking that kind of a career hit and I figured there had to be a better way.”

There was. In early 2017, Renee and a former colleague applied for a full-time dream job – working for a big not-for profit. They pitched a job share, got it and have been there since.

The U.K seems to be leading this trend, with a number of high-profile roles being created as either part-time or job share.

Alix Ainsley and Charlotte Cherry, for instance, share the role of HR Director at Lloyd’s, one of the UK’s biggest banks.

Another pair of working high-profile part-time gigs are Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley who have been elected co-leaders of the Green Party in England and Wales.

So how to you go about finding these well paid part-time gigs?

You don’t find them. You make them.

Here are my key steps to making well-paid part-time gigs:

 

Step One

Back away slowly from the job board.

Seriously. It’s a trick.

The odds of you getting a job that way are slimmer than those of you choking to death on a bottle cap.

 

Step Two

Figure out your Superpower.

Fill out this super technical formula.

I help [audience] [get result].

This phrase is deceptively simple but over the years, I’ve seen these simple words transform over and over into a clear and powerful sales pitch.

The very cool thing is that you only have to answer 2 questions.

Who do I help (and voila – you have your target market)

What do I do for them?

 

Step Three

Put Your Game Face on

Use all your new found self-awareness to get your public profile sorted.

Update LinkedIn – Get your photo sorted

You’re about to get active so now is a good time to clear out any people from your connections that you don’t want to show that the bright and shiny new you. For example, you might like to remove people from your current work (in particularly your boss) or anyone who you might feel self-conscious around.

Step Four 

Find your own damn job – here’s how.

Don’t underestimate yourself. Figure out who needs your talents (but maybe haven’t realized it yet).Then put together a pitch.

No, you don’t have to be in advertising to make a pitch. No matter what industry you are in – it can work for you.

Think small. There are many small businesses that really want and need the services of a talented professional but may not necessarily have the budget to hire someone full-time.

You can solve an enormous problem for these people. You have exactly what they need. No, you aren’t going to reduce your prices, but guess what? You are happy to work, say 2/3 of a week which means your services will well and truly come within their budget.

Or think different.

There are some really cool people doing some really cool things in this new space. Do some research and see if you can use these new inroads to land an amazing role.

Rather than trying to fit into a system that doesn’t fit you, actively seek change to allow you to redefine your career, at any age!

 

Step Five

Consider Job-Sharing

Increasingly – it’s a thing. And for senior, well-paid and challenging roles.

As well as the benefits to the job hunters (flexibility, challenging role, back-up) there are also massive benefits to the employer. Think about it. By using job-share candidates, you bringing in double the expertise, double the years of experience and in some cases double the skill sets. It also means that when and if the need arises, there is the ability to scale up rapidly (e.g. for a launch/end of financial year/time-sensitive report).

 

Step Six

Apply – like a real person, not a robot. ie Take it offline.

Here’s how to do it.

Once you’ve found your dream job (and yes, its okay if it is still an imaginary job at this point.) Apply.

Write a great cover letter that is uber specific to the role you want. Tailor your C.V. as well. Remember you are a human being, not some robot.

Write like one.

Send  a personalized request.

Give it a couple of days and then call. Yep like on the phone.

DO NOT SEND AN EMAIL. You will disappear into a black hole like something out of Dr Who.

So there you have it. A complete, step-by-step blueprint for getting an awesome part-time job.

 

Kathy Wilson from www.elitereputations.com gets women headhunted. She knows that starting a job search can push everyone single, insecure button you have and she has a plan for you to follow that is simple and easy and will get you a new job in 4 weeks or less. And she’s just about to release a course called “The World’s Most Real Guide to getting a part-time job that isn’t crap and pays what you deserve.”