Career Paths Lead To The Peninsula

High-tech business skills are important.

If you have just moved to a new area and want to scout the job market, or want a flexible schedule to spend more time with your family, you may be ideally suited for being a part-time worker. Part-time assignments also work for people who are reentering the workforce after a hiatus, or people who are just plain tired of what they’ve been doing and like variety.

Although downsizing has created a booming market for part-time workers, there are those of us who will argue that it has always been an excellent option. An administrative assistant of 55 has worked on and off for 30 years. A manager counts warehouse employment among the things that paid for a great education. A copywriter recalls earning money to travel 10 years ago by doing data entry at night. A working parent of high school kids remembers being able to work part-time when a baby was new. An accountant tells us how he supplemented his regular income when an emergency need for cash arose. The spouse of a continually relocated executive finds work wherever the family’s business transfers take them.

That’s not to say things aren’t better than ever for part-time workers. Businesses which found it necessary to trim their operations into a leaner silhouette in recent years are in need of help again, from light-industrial workers to physicians.

But part-time work has always offered a chance to shop the job market, to learn business skills and to keep people solvent when they’re looking for full-time employment. It also offers people a chance to showcase their skills to various employers — the variety alone keeps it interesting. One professional’s resume includes temporar y stints in marketing, travel reservations, educations, medicine, banking, international relocation, wine sales, and mortgage brokering. She considered every assignment a surprise adventure in a new place. What a great way to build your knowledge base, not to mention learning more about what career path you’d like!

Another nice benefit to part time assignments is the degree of control over the hours you work. You can work part time or full time, for a day or a year, for a small “mom-and-pop” business or an international corporation. You can meet or greet people all day long or work quietly and privately in a cubicle or warehouse. The great things about part time assignments are that they are wonderf ul lessons in diversity, and they offer a large degree of independence. You can move on if a particular assignment isn’t working out for you, or stay if it is and have a better chance of permanent employment.

As far as full-time employment, companies often hire from their part-time employees, who have already shown what they can do.

There are many businesses in the Hampton Roads area to choose from. Most are similar in that they offer part-time work in office, marketing, travel, light industrial, technical, and medical support.

Check out their benefits programs before you decide on a company. If you’re new here, you can get to know the area and what it has to offer by working part time. If you’re between jobs , you can earn a paycheck while looking for a new position. If you’re a person who needs more flexibility in the work situation, part-time assignments are flexible by nature.

Whatever your situation, there are jobs available. Good luck and enjoy!