How to Find Contract Jobs to Help Yourself and Others

“What can I do to help?”

We ask this question often in turbulent times, and the answers are different for each person in each individual situation. The key is to use what you’ve got.

So if your situation has left you in a position to find contract work, you should know that you can conduct your job search in a way that helps others as much as possible. 

Contracting is an option worth exploring. 

Not only can contracting help you earn income while furthering your search for long-term employment, but it can also be used as a tool for helping others.

To find out how to take full advantage of contracting for the benefit of other people, we asked Aerotek Account Recruiting Manager Gabriela Alvarado. 

Find contract roles that help people directly

There are contract positions available in industries that provide much-needed goods and services. 

Even if a position you qualify for doesn’t immediately seem to contribute to the wellbeing of others during a time of crisis, your recruiting partner might be able to clarify key details. 

For example, Alvarado says, “We saw a consumer goods manufacturer change their business to produce hand sanitizer. The company used their production resources to adjust and make a product where there was a need.”

 

So this is one area where contracting can open up new avenues for helping others. 

By using your recruiting partner as a resource, you can get key information about which companies have made similar investments, and find a position that lets you feel good about your contributions.

Refer family and friends to your recruiting partner

You can also use contracting to help the people in your life you care about most. 

By extending your career network to include friends and family, you can help those closest to you earn much-needed income and gain stability. 

All you have to do to be a successful contractor is be reliable, work hard and ask what else you can do to help — and when you follow these guidelines, you earn trust that will put you in a position to help your favorite people. 

Simply by referring friends and family back to your recruiting partner, you can help them find a new job, earn income, and join an expanded professional network. 

They, in turn, can do the same for others in their circle.

“We’ve been definitely driving referrals by asking who else you know,” says Alvarado. “We think that our best referrals come from former or current contractors — so it’s like joining a family.” 

Share information 

Referring others to your recruiting partner is a great way to help people you know find work. But the information that passes back and forth between a recruiter and their network of candidates and contractors can be just as advantageous.

Everything you learn from your recruiting partner about the job market — and they have up-to-the-minute information you can’t get anywhere else — is something you can use to help other people in your family, professional network and community.

“We have direct contact with managers, and can find out exactly what happened whether they call you in or not,” says Alvarado. “So you can lean on me for that information, and spread it. I’m happy to help with that.”

When you take advantage of your recruiting partner as a source of information, you’ll be able to tell your extended career network valuable information such as who’s hiring, what they’re looking for, or what types of contract positions may become permanent later.

And aside from the prospect of landing a new job, that information about the job market can also come with helpful advice about resume writing and job interview techniques. 

You can share those, too.

Help yourself

Aside from all the ways a contract position can help your network or the world at large, it also helps one very important person — you. 

A contract position can bring in needed income for you and your family, giving you time and resources to participate in helpful activities outside of your professional life, such as through community organizations. 

It’s a lot easier to help others when you’re okay yourself.

If you’re looking for a new way to pitch in, search our job board for contract positions available in your area. 

And let the helping begin.