Job hunting can without a doubt be hard, and with a lot of competition in the marketplace filling in applications or emailing company after company can easily become a job itself. One way to lessen the competition is to try something that not many people are considering.
In today's post I will be sharing 5 unusual but practical jobs that anyone can do. They are accessible to many people, can be performed on a regular basis, and don’t require any technical skills or any prerequisites or money. Just basic life skills and perhaps a smartphone and internet access. Some can blow into a lifelong career for you or some can just be a side hustle to top up your income, either way, let’s get into it.
Line sitting
If a highly anticipated product or sale bargain is being launched and sold on a first come first served basis, or a celebrity will be doing a meet and greet for a limited time period, people will pay for a place towards the front of a queue. Looking for paying customers will require a bit of networking, but DM’ing fans who leave comments under a relevant post is a good place to start. Your service will not just appeal to those who do not want to queue for a long time, but also those who can’t because of their commitments.
This type of service is not only useful for big events, but there are also businesses out there that would benefit from this type of service. Think about a law firm that has to submit applications to an embassy but their time is limited and can’t wait in the queue, you can offer to do this for them. Again, it’s just a matter of approaching a business with your proposal and selling your trustworthiness.
When it comes to queuing up for a product release, sales bargains or a celebrity meet and greet, this job may be for those that have children who spend the weekends away at their father’s house, as what you are exchanging is a substantial amount of time.
Checking in
One lifestyle that many people have had to adapt to, is working from home. And even though the idea of not paying for office facilities is a bonus for many companies, employers still have a duty to monitor and ensure the safety of their staff whenever they are performing any work related tasks, wherever they are.
For a company that has a large number of lone workers, checking in on staff with a phone call every hour would help tremendously, especially if employees can typically go a tremendous amount of time with no human contact.
As someone who performs check call duties, you can set up a system whereby staff are expected to call you every hour (you may have to leave a window of opportunity, just in case the person is busy at the time), and if you don’t hear from them or they don’t respond to your follow-up calls, you can notify the company and a competent person/emergency service to visit the person’s address.
Adding businesses to Google
It’s without a doubt that Google is the market leader when it comes to search engines, and one feature that many businesses can benefit from, is adding their company profile on the search engine’s business directory. If someone searches on Google, “hairdressers near me,” any relevant companies that have been listed then appear in the results page along with reviews, and other information such as opening hours address etc., increasing local sales and opportunities.
There are many companies that haven’t taken up this opportunity, possibly because they don’t have a marketing department, possibly because they’re not digitally savvy. And here is where you can step in and do this work for them. This type of role will be a work from home one, all you will need is a stable internet connection, a phone, and lots of tenacity.
Lunchtime food runner
Do you live close to a large office building, do you have a couple of hours to spare during lunchtime? If so then this one may be for you.
In an era where food delivery is so popular, you may be surprised to learn that (A) a lot of delivery drivers have issues passing through security, and (B) for some companies lunchtime is peak working times and those employers would prefer it if their staff didn’t leave the building during those hours.
A lunchtime food runner is someone who can wait at the building’s entrance for fast food delivery drivers, has the security clearance to move in and out the building, and delivers the food to an office as it arrives. When my daughter was younger, this is something I did between 11:30-13:30 Monday to Friday for £25/hour for an office of 65 staff members (not everyone ordered out though). It was fairly easy, and I only stopped when I started seeking a full-time job.
If you have small children in nursery/school and you are studying or building a business but would like to make a bit of extra cash, this one may be for you. As businesses start to move back into the office, you can reach out to those that are close to you with a proposal. Good companies to reach out to can be trading companies, construction sites, or companies that service clients that are in a different time zone (hence why lunchtime is peak business times).
Mystery shopping
This is another good gig for anyone with a bit of spare time and looking for some spare cash, and it usually doesn’t require much except a smartphone and basic writing skills. Many brands pay supermarkets for the privilege of having their products promoted within a store. This can be with posters, products being positioned in a high footfall area, or with a fancy cardboard display. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons this payment can go in vain, and as a mystery shopper, you can visit supermarkets or stores and capture images of whether the promotional feature is present or not, then report this information back to the head office. Companies will probably require you to make a small purchase and provide a receipt to prove you attended the correct store, but you will be reimbursed.
Companies typically don’t pay more than the minimum wage per mystery shop, but the easiest way to make it worth your while would be to take on visits to multiple stores that are clustered close to each other, that way you can visit at least 2-3 shops within an hour, bumping up your hourly rate.