The shut down of the economy seemed unimaginable prior to March 2020. But the mass unemployment that hit Canada and the U.S. in late March and early April showed that it is possible to shut down an economy for the good of the country. 

If you are one of the millions of Americans (or Canadians) who has filed for unemployment this year, you might be becoming discouraged with job searching. While getting a full time gig is likely your priority, there are a few ways to make some cash in the meantime. 

I've heard many stories of friends helping each other out. Maybe a friend owns a business that is experiencing high demand due to the pandemic. A girl I follow on social media was looking for a part time admin assistant to help with her online business. If you are open and humble, you may be surprised with how many opportunities there are to make some extra cash. Never think that a job is below you; you could end up learning a new skill or discovering something about yourself. 

If you are on a layoff or furlough and have doubts about being rehired (hospitality roles instantly come to mind), now is a great time to do the internal work to figure out what you want to do next. It's a surprisingly good time for a career pivot. You have the spare hours in your day to do a course or learn something new to help you transition to a new career. Lots of organizations are still hiring and your skills could be transferable, even to a completely different industry. 

It's also a great time to embrace that idea that you've always thought about but never had the time to focus on before. It can be hard to get side hustles going when you are devoting so much energy and time to your full time job, but without that distraction, maybe you can get a passion project going. It doesn't have to become super successful but it will give you a real sense of purpose just to try something. A hobby could easily become a hustle. 

It's always important to take care of your mental health and rest when you need it. A pandemic is incredibly stressful and you have to take the time to process it. But once you've done that, it's a great time to do some self reflection and think about your career. You have the spare time and energy to invest into something new. Help a friend out, start a blog, learn something new. Even if you get re-hired tomorrow, at least you did a thing and tried something new. You might find a new sense of purpose or a skill you didn't know you had. 

How have you been spending your pandemic summer? Let me know in the comments, or follow me on Instagram @_emartini_.