As an employee, getting a job in the employment world of today is a very different environment from years gone by. The Australian workforce is booming, and there are new channels available to all of us in the form of the sharing economy. For those of you playing a long at home, the term “sharing economy” refers to a hybrid market that exists between peer-to-peer exchange, ownership and gift giving.

It is estimated that almost 4 million Australians have benefited from engaging in independent work, as part of the sharing economy or their own service.

Through the utilisation of the Sharing Economy (and some more old school approaches), you may be able to find your way through while looking for work. Here is a list of ways to thrive in this tough time. Though new roles are being created each day, it is still difficult to find the right fit. These tips are to help get you through.


1. Find a job in an unrelated field to your specialty

It might be demoralising at first, and might feel like you’re going backwards, but rest assured many people who are looking for work in their field will often find themselves in jobs that they didn’t plan on doing, in order to find their way through to their next role. Some examples include part-time retail work, bar work and manual labour to name a few.


2. Leverage your resources in the Sharing Economy

Part of the appeal of the sharing economy is that you can utilise your pre-existing resources in a new way, helping to profit from the utilisation of your resource, meaning you may use what you have at your disposal to make ends meet. If you have a room, rent it out and couch surf for a bit. If you have a car, you can rent it out too. If you have decent clothes, you can sell them. Some examples are below:

Airbnb: ( airbnb.com ) If your housemates approve, you can rent out your room for 12 nights a month, which may be able to cover your rent.

Car Next Door: ( carnextdoor.com.au ) This is a website that helps you rent out your car, as in car-sharing. They also help you pay for insurance.

Clothing Sales: ( etsy.com ) If it’s handmade, try selling it on Etsy. If it’s not, eBay or Gumtree is always handy. Facebook has also recently added their own version, called Marketplace.



3. Utilise your skills in the Sharing Economy

While you may be able to utilise your resources in the sharing economy, in certain cases you can also utilise your time.

If you are able to drive a car, you can drive for Uber ( uber.com.au ). If you can cook a chef quality meal, you can cook for food startups ( welcomeover.com.au , schef.com.au etc). If you can clean, you can clean for Helpling ( helpling.com.au ) or Whizz ( whizz.com.au ). If you have a 3D Printer, you can help people on Quirky ( quirk.com ).


4. Worktech Platforms

We are now in an age where “worktech” platforms are also coming into the fray, with on-demand services being created through these platforms.

If you have specific skills like photoshop design, coding, or any other computer related skills you can jump on freelancer.com or fiverr.com for some quick work that can pay a decent amount of money. If you can do I.T. consulting, you can utilise a platform like Expert360 ( expert360.com ).


5. Recruitment firms

However, there’s no school like the old school, and recruiters are still the headmaster. In the world of digital, with highly specialised roles needing to go to the right people, recruiters will almost always be a better choice.

In summary, it might be hard, but you can be rest assured that you can make it through. It’s easy to lose sight of things, especially when money is a big issue.


But in the immortal words of Douglas Adams: “Don’t panic”.

David Thorburn - Talent Manager, Social and Analytics, S2M

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David Thorburn works for a leading Digital recruitment firm S2M with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore .

If you are a Digital Marketer interested in a confidential chat, then get in touch on david.thorburn (at) s2m.com.au