I found a job in an unorthodox way and it renewed my confidence!


 Every title I tried making it sound like I joined an MLM scheme, and I did not, I swear. Lol.

I'm a stay-at-home mom currently, really suffering from feeling isolated, PPD, and just not having enough adult interaction. When I quit my job to stay home with my daughter, our income went down by $2400/month, and now we're living paycheck to paycheck, rather than comfortably. It's all a means to an end and temporary, but I really wanted to help boost our finances a bit.

I needed something flexible since we can't afford childcare. I had to be able to take my daughter with me or work from home. I wanted part-time work, and I wanted to get paid at least as much as I used to make ($13/hr). I know, BIG ask. I moved to a new town at the beginning of the pandemic, so I had no connections or leads. I couldn't find any jobs on the internet that would work for me, but I was willing to do anything as long as it fits those criteria.

I was bored a few nights ago, so I just got on the Nextdoor app and posted a bit about myself, my degree, work experience, background, and that I was willing to babysit, do some housekeeping, run errands. I said I just wanted to meet more people in the community and make a little extra money. I also mentioned that if anyone needed help and couldn't pay, I would share my time as much as I could - the good company is as refreshing to a SAHM as money! I should mention that I'm not overly skilled or experienced in anything. I have a degree in child development, I worked at a research preschool for a year, but I was a supervisor at a restaurant for 5 years before I left to be a stay-at-home mom. To me, this didn't seem all that impressive. At the very most, I was expecting maybe a couple low-paying offers to clean houses or babysit for date night. At worst, I figured a few people would ask me to help out for free, and I'd do it just to be around someone that knew how to talk. Lol.

I got over 70 replies! People were offering to connect me to the director of their churches and preschools, got lots of full-time cleaning gigs and nanny offers. I had a couple people tell me I sounded like a great fit for jobs they were hiring for. I had a few people ask to get coffee just because I seemed like someone they'd want to be friends with! I actually didn't have a single person ask me to work for free - everyone offered to pay. I had so many offers, I actually found two jobs that fit my needs, and I got both of them!

One is cleaning for a lady who had back surgeries and just needed help getting her house in order, and one is babysitting for a family, 8 hours a day, 3 days a week, while mom is at work. I can bring my daughter to both, and they both pay $15/hr!

Obviously, these aren't my forever jobs, but they work perfectly for me right now, and I am happy to have the references for when I DO try to get back to a normal job. I am so excited! This all really renewed my confidence in myself as a desirable employee. It also made me realize that if I put myself out there in a genuine way, people will want to hire me. Just some food for thought for anyone looking for a job right now: Put yourself out there and be your genuine self. It might land you something perfect.


JA:

Wow! Congratulations on this win! Not only were you able to find a few that fits your needs but you now have a little more knowledge and resources available for support. So proud!

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