The odd job: Short-term projects pay the bills, boost your resume

Maybe it’s your house payment. Maybe it’s food for the kids. Or maybe it’s that you’re getting a little stir crazy. Whatever it is, you need to find a job. Now. That’s where the odd job comes in.

Whether it’s babysitting your neighbor’s kids or power washing the bottom of pools, the odd job has been the perfect way for people to make some quick cash.

In recent years, with the help of the recession, more people have been turning to odd jobs to help ease the strain on their wallets. For every job out there, there are seven other people competing with you for the same position so the odd job might be the only way for someone to have some kind of income. But where do you even find some quick work? Websites like OddJobNation.com are a good start.

Started less than two years ago by filmmaker, Jeremy Redleaf, the website began as an idea for a web mini series in a brainstorm session and went on to become something bigger. He’s even seen people make their entire living off of odd jobs.

There is definitely a job to satisfy any taste, some being a little more out there than others. Redleaf tells a story about an advertising agency that had to let go of a lot of people but then had a client coming in for a meeting.

“They needed to hire seat fillers for the meeting and had them look creative,” says Redleaf.

Marketing yourself

Not everyone can live off odd jobs for their sole income. Whether you’re in between jobs or just making a little extra cash, you’ll most likely want something more stable in the future. When you go out to find that next facet of your professional career, should you include the odd jobs you’ve done on your resume?

Susan Britton Whitcomb says that you should pause before doing so. Career coach for over 20 years and author of “Resume Magic: Trade Secrets of a Professional Resume Writer” (Jist Works, $18.95), Whitcomb thinks that an odd job can be helpful if it’s targeted to a specific employer. You have to frame the job you did for your potential employer and show them how your work can benefit them. Make sure that you always have a clear picture of who will be reading it.

How is adding the work you’ve done going to build your brand and make you more attractive to a company?

The fact is doing odd jobs really might make you more desirable. There has always been a stigma that odd jobs aren’t cool, that they’re beneath people. In the past few years, it seems like that stigma has hit the road. Redleaf thinks the recession has had a lot to do with that.

“It has forced people to open their eyes a little bit,” he says.

And he’s not the only one that sees odd jobs as respectable.

“It shows how no job’s beneath you,” says Vicki Salemi, author of “Big Career in the Big City” (Jist Works, $12.95). “Ask me to roll up my sleeves, I’ll do it.”