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Are you struggling to find a job? You’re not the only one. Thousands of people each day wake up looking for a new place to work, only to find nothing. They spend hours searching through job ads, and even if they find one that fits, they are up against dozens or hundreds of other applicants. If this sounds familiar, then you might be looking for another way. Instead of looking for a job, why not create one for yourself?
Creating a job allows you to do what you love and get paid at the same time. All it takes is some hard work, and some out-of-the-box thinking in order to make it a reality. Here’s how you do it:
1. Figure Out What You Love
If you’re going to create a job for yourself, you want to do something that you enjoy. Creating a job takes a lot of hard work, and it’s easier to do this if you love what you’re doing. So think about what it is you love to do. Where do your passions lie, or what things did you love to do as a kid? Sometimes we get so wrapped up in simply finding a job for ourselves we don’t take the time to think about what it is we actually want to do. So take that time now and once you figure out what it is you love to do, you can then move on to turning that into a job.
Creating a job allows you to do what you love and get paid at the same time. All it takes is some hard work, and some out-of-the-box thinking in order to make it a reality. Here’s how you do it:Click To Tweet2. How Your Current Job or Skills Can Translate
Besides just figuring out what you love to do, you should also think about which of your skills you can still use. If you’ve spent your life as a journalist, it will be easier to transition into something like public relations rather than opening up a bakery. You’ve likely accumulated some skills over the years, whether it was through your jobs, your education, or just your life experiences. Which of these skills can you turn into your own job? Thinking about what you’re best at, and how it can be its own thing is a great way to come up with a job you can create.
3. Where Are Your Services Needed?
Once you have an idea of what you want to do, you next need to think about where you can do it. If your plan is to offer a service of some kind, who would have an interest in that service? What gaps in the marketplace have you noticed – or in other words, what job is no one else doing? Once you know who might need your services, you can start compiling a list of parties who might have an interest. These are the people or companies you’re going to want to reach out to once you’re up and running, so make a list with all of their contact information.
4. Get Your Name Out There
You can’t create a job for yourself if no one knows about you. You need to get your name out there and start marketing your services. There are several ways you can go about doing this. Word of mouth is great if you have a lot of contacts within the industry you’re after or ask your friends and family to recommend you.
You’ll also want to establish a presence online. Look into how to choose a domain name for your business, start building up your website, and then promote it through social media. If you can, also add a portfolio of your work, or some examples, so that anyone visiting your site can see what you can do.
“Hiring freelancers is becoming not only more acceptable, but more attractive for many businesses. This creates an incredible opportunity for people with useful skills to start a freelance business on the side, and eventually grow that into a sustainable self-employed career.” Ryan Robinson
Finally, you can simply reach out to businesses or people who you think might have an interest in your new service. Send them an email or give them a call. Ask to schedule a meeting so you can pitch them your services. If they decline, don’t be pushy or aggressive. Simply leave your information in case they change their mind down the road, or if they want to recommend you to someone else.
For more tips on how to market as a freelancer, check out this guide.
5. Stop Searching and Start Creating
You have plenty of skills to offer, but the job market just isn’t recognizing it yet. Rather than wasting all your time applying for jobs, you don’t really want, put some energy into creating your own job. The key is to think about what you’re good at, and what service you can provide that doesn’t already exist – or how you can do it better. This isn’t always easy, but if you come up with a great idea, and you can put the hours in, the rewards are often great.
Turn your passions into profit! Fuel your desire to be in control of your own destiny. Starting a business may seem an overwhelming task for a busy professional, but it doesn’t have to be.
