5 Ways to secure an income during the pandemic

Guest contributor: Will James, National Careers Manager, Kaplan Business School.

Last updated: 18 March, 2021

There is no doubt that COVID-19 will continue to have an impact on the Australian economy.

Many of our students working as casual employees were unfortunately faced with losing their jobs or had their hours cut.

To help our students, the Careers Central team at Kaplan Business School have put together a list of casual jobs currently in high demand and freelance websites that can help you maintain an income online:

1. Various roles across in-demand industries

Although many businesses were hit hard by this crisis, other industries are experiencing increasing demands and ramping up casual recruitment drives to serve more customers.

It’s well noted, for example, that lockdown restrictions led to an increase in online shopping, which has in turn contributed to a growing need for road transport roles to deliver more parcels to people’s homes. This includes companies like Aramax Australia who are currently looking to hire 300 new courier franchisees.

New Seek research shows a recent growth in job ads across certain sectors including ‘Hospitality & Tourism’ (46%), Retail & Consumer (33%), Call Centre & Customer Service (9%), and Admin & Office Support (9%).

It’s also worth checking out the Jobs Hub website created by the Government during the height of the pandemic, which lists vacancies across several industries that are currently looking to hire in Australia. This includes roles in supermarkets, administration, manufacturing, agriculture, health and aged care, transport and logistics.

2. Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is a person who provides support services to either businesses, entrepreneurs, or professionals, from a remote location. With the rise of technology and the gig economy, taking side-jobs like assisting businesses with remote work has become the new norm. From social media management and bookkeeping assistance, to email management and lead generation, there is nothing that can’t be done without an internet connection and laptop. There is a huge array of platforms that support this type of work, including:

FIND WORK ONLINE

> Airtasker

> Fiverr

> Freelancer

> Upwork

> Flexjobs

3. Website Testing

Imagine being paid to surf the internet and test websites for huge brands! Well you can, with virtual website testing now a real job prospect. Through websites like UserTesting, you can earn $10 for each 20-minutes of work (up to $60 per test). To become a website tester, submit your email address and complete your application online. UserTesting is now accepting testers from the Asia Pacific region, including Australia. Each test takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete – easy!

4. Online tutoring and translation

With more students online than ever before, you can tutor students in a range of topics, from academic subjects to providing lessons on a foreign language. You can register and apply to become a tutor in the subject area of your choice through sites like LearnMate.

Another option is to leverage your language skills and find work as an online translator. You can search for various roles advertised in this field on Freelancer or Upwork.

5. Call centre roles

In response to increased demand on contact centres across Australia due to COVID-19, various providers are continuing to recruit casual temporary roles to bulk out call centre teams. Call centres are fast-paced and challenging environments, but if you have previous customer service experience in retail or hospitality, you already have the right tools to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Our Careers Central team are here to support you and provide you career advice. We provide our services on campus as well as online and now is the perfect opportunity to put the work into increasing your employability. If you have any questions at all, please contact us at careerscentral@kbs.edu.au.