How to take on a second job

For most working people, a full-time job is enough to keep us juggling 24/7, our calendars are stacked with professional, family and social obligations. But for some Australians, a single job is only the tip of the work/life iceberg.

For Marie Benoit-Wilcox, a second, freelance job is matter-of-fact, and gets started even before her "day job" begins. Benoit-Wilcox, a perinatal system coordinator and mother of two teenagers, has been supplementing her income for over a decade selling cosmetics. Each morning when she wakes shortly after 4 a.m., she spends an hour at her home working on client lists and going over orders before commuting to the hospital.

"Saturdays are my all-day-Avon day," she says. "And Sunday I hope I've got time with my family, maybe see a concert or have a party with the kids."

Worth the pain

It may seem like a time crunch, but the success she's seen over the past decade make it all worth it. The moonlighting money has enabled her to give her children private educations, a college fund and a family cruise to the Caribbean.

Benoit-Wilcox began her second career as a sales rep after her mother, also involved in cosmetics, became ill in 1999. "I wanted to be able to keep buying the products, so the only solution was selling myself!" she jokes. She has been with the company for 11 years, including three consecutive years of soaring success - moving a benchmark 112,000 units of Avon product - and sees only great things in the future, for both her business and her family.

For other women, the decision to take on a second job wasn't as easy. For Beth Lewis, a 26-year-old fashion magazine producer, picking up a waitressing shift was the difference between paying back her student loans on time. Or not. She says that the weekly $150 bump in income is well-worth getting up early on Sunday mornings to serve brunch to a day-drinking crowd, but looks forward to the day when her publishing salary is simply enough.

Finding the right job for the money

When you're thinking about taking on a second job, remember that every second of your day will become more valuable, so maximising your earnings is key to making it all worth it. Thinking about how much time you are willing to devote to a part-time job will help narrow down the choices.

For example, if you have only one hour a night, a waitressing or bartending job won't be possible, but you might consider tutoring by the hour.

If your free hours are in the weekday mornings, consider a bakery or telemarketing from home. Additionally, career websites stress that retail jobs can be the be-all-end-all of second jobs, with more retail stores (especially groceries) open for longer hours and with attractive hourly rates.

Timing is everything

A second consideration also involves time; the most popular season for the part-time workforce is the holidays. Retail stores expand staff temporarily to serve the thousands of seasonal shoppers.

When Sheila Keefe, a mother of three began looking for part-time accounting work, she knew that tax season would be the peak time to pick up hours. The rule here is in that timing is everything. You wouldn't dream of scooping ice cream in July, but come February it might be the answer to a personal budget crisis.

Further your career

Another concern for many part-time job seekers is whether or not the position is applicable to their skill-set, or could somehow further their full-time career. These positions, often in consulting or education fields with flexible hours and opportunities to freelance off-the-clock, are often the best of both worlds.

Danielle Hagen, who works full time at a public relations and marketing firm was able to find both the time and the passion for a second job when she began teaching evening classes in public relations after finishing university.

"I had taught as a teaching assistant while I was studying and once I left I asked for possibilities to teach as an adjunct staff member," she says. It paid off. Hagen now teaches one to two evening classes per semester and estimates that her work has added a 10% increase to her annual take-home salary, money she plans to put towards her 2011 wedding.

Think outside of the four walls of your office to find a second job that feels like an extension to your work. Teachers can tutor, graphic designers can do calligraphy, accountants can prepare taxes and anyone with specific expertise can succeed as a consultant, not to mention the thousands of people who supplement their careers by selling cosmetic products and jewelry using their people or communication skills.

But perhaps the real perks of a secondary job is that it can be completely different from a full-time position. Take Karen Dupont, an accountant who spends her weekends helping shoppers at her local garden center. "I would love, love, love to sleep in on weekends," she says. "But I like the extra cash a lot more."