These freelance jobs for recent graduates can jumpstart your career.
The American economy is beginning to recover. However, we’re still a long way from how things were pre-COVID-19. The fact of the matter is that the class of 2020 is entering an uncertain job market. In a recent blog, I explained why the class of 2020 should freelance. If you haven’t read it, please start there first because this is a follow-on. In this blog, I’ve recounted five awesome freelance jobs for recent graduates. Though just a small sample, these freelance careers involve skill sets that recent grads are pretty adept at. So, let’s dive right in:
Social Media Marketer
Social media marketing is essential for any organization that wants to remain relevant. Even Boomers are online. Most companies recognize the importance of a social media presence. However, a lot of them are only on Facebook. Though that’s good enough for some, many businesses are lost on the opportunities that Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok present. Companies targeting younger generations may miss the mark entirely if their social media presence is limited to Facebook and LinkedIn. That’s why so many businesses need savvy social media coordinators, managers, and marketers to help them up their game.
As a member of iGen, you’re inherently qualified for the job. You know what hashtags are trending on Twitter. You know how to get double taps on Instagram. You share Snapchat stories several times a day. And, you’re always up on the latest TikTok challenge. Basically, social media is an environment you’re very comfortable in. You can sell your social media skills to companies struggling to connect with and grow their audiences online. No matter your major, you’re naturally a good fit for a social media marketing role. But, if you’ve earned a degree in marketing, public relations, or communications, this could be the perfect recent graduate job for you.
Virtual Assistant
There are two types of college students: those with color-coded planners and everybody else. If you’re the former, you’d probably make a kickass freelance virtual assistant. Organized and efficient, virtual assistants usually work with executives struggling to juggle all of their work demands. The multifaceted job often entails things like organizing emails, scheduling appointments and meetings, booking travel arrangements, data entry, certain marketing tasks, and other clerical work.
The title ‘assistant’ may lack the glamor of other roles like manager, consultant, or specialist. Nevertheless, it’s a great opportunity for those who aspire to lead their own businesses one day. As a virtual assistant, you can learn about the day-to-day demands of an executive in detail. It’s kind of like being an understudy for the role. If you know how to help an executive, you can be an executive. Being a virtual assistant is a great freelance job for recent graduates of any major. It’s a good opportunity for recent grads who are continuing their education. You can build your network and learn from powerful business leaders, which will serve you well throughout your career.
Web Developer
For some of you, Minecraft was your informal initiation into the vast world of coding. As a tween, you may have customized Minecraft mods, which led to a passion for web development. If you studied computer science in school and are fluent in programming languages, web development could be great for you. Now, I’m using this as an umbrella term. You could be a web developer, a web designer, or a programmer. Or you could find a specific niche, such as a WordPress developer or a Python developer.
People will always need developers, designers, and coders to help build APIs, apps, and more. Web dev remains one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative industries. And there’s a lot of room for specialization. Anyone with an affinity for binary code should consider pursuing a freelance career in web dev.
Copywriter
No matter what you studied, you spent a good portion of your academic career writing. You learned about persuasive writing and rhetorical devices. You adhered to style guides. And you refined your writing skill over the years, applying what you’d learned in pretty much every non-math course you’ve taken.
Though the nature of communication is ever-changing, businesses will always need good writers. Like web dev, copywriting is a field with a lot of room for specialization. There’s B2B copywriting, SEO copywriting, speechwriting, blogging, travel writing, ghostwriting, editorial writing — the list goes on. This is an easy freelance career path to get into as a recent grad, especially if you wrote for your school paper or started a blog during your studies.
Online Tutor
As a recent grad, you’re well acquainted with the academic requirements of school. And, as evinced by the receipt of your degree, you’ve got a considerable amount of expertise in at least one area. You can take your experience and turn it into a profitable freelance career as an online tutor. Tutoring is an easy way to earn money while helping the next generation of students coming up behind you.
If you intend to pursue a career in academia, tutoring is a great option since it falls within the education field. It’s also a good recent graduate job because all of that valuable information you learned is still top of mind. You haven’t data dumped large chunks of your body of knowledge yet. It’s all still fresh, allowing you to advise struggling students with clarity and insight. There’s a demand for tutors in every academic subject, but math, science, writing, and foreign language tutors tend to be the most sought after. You could freelance for companies that hire online tutors, or you could land clients by marketing yourself to students within your community,
In Conclusion…
This list is in no way comprehensive when it comes to great freelance jobs for recent graduates. I chose these five because they’re easy to start and capitalize on skill sets common to many recent grads. If you want to jumpstart your career by freelancing while the economy recovers, these jobs are great to get you started. If you don’t want to launch a full freelance career but still want to make money in the meantime, check out these creative ways to make money online. You can earn a decent amount of money with any of these jobs. However, if you want to know where the big bucks in freelancing are, be sure to read our recent report. So, happy job-hunting, and again, congrats grads!