WCT #105: Risky? Side Gigs While Searching for a Job
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Career transitions create a particular kind of anxiety. Not the fear of failure, but the fear of time passing without visible progress. That anxiety is rarely experienced in isolation. Early career professionals often feel pressure from parents to “just get something” while they are looking, typically meaning a temporary role such as retail, hospitality, or hourly work that is unrelated to their long-term direction. More experienced professionals feel a similar pull from partners or spouses, especially when income is tight and financial runways are shrinking.
In both cases, the instinct to take paid work during a job search feels responsible and obvious. And sometimes it is. But often, it is not neutral. Part-time roles and consulting work can stabilize you, or they can quietly distort priorities, drain energy, and extend a search in ways that are hard to recognize while you are in it. The difference lies less in the work itself and more in how intentionally it is chosen, bounded, and managed.
1. “Any income is good income” is true, and also dangerous.
Income solves real problems. It pays bills, reduces pressure, and restores a sense of control. But it can also reduce precision. When income arrives, urgency fades, and with it the discipline required for a focused job search. Applications get delayed. Outreach becomes inconsistent. The uncomfortable work of narrowing targets or confronting positioning gaps gets postponed. I see this most often when people accept work that is convenient rather than strategic. The danger is not the money. The danger is losing clarity about what success actually looks like and why the search exists in the first place.
2. Psychological relief and optionality are powerful forces.
Even modest income changes behavior. When you are no longer bleeding cash, your nervous system settles. You interview better. You negotiate with more confidence. You wait for alignment rather than grabbing at safety. Optionality improves decision-making. This is real and valuable. But relief without structure often becomes drift. The goal is not to eliminate pressure entirely. It is to reduce it just enough that you can make better choices without abandoning momentum. Income should buy clarity and confidence, not complacency.
3. Side work sends signals, whether you intend it to or not.
Recruiters and hiring managers will interpret your side work. Consulting can signal expertise, relevance, and initiative. Or it can signal distraction, lack of commitment, or uncertainty about direction. The difference is coherence. Does the work clearly connect to the role you are pursuing? Does it reinforce your narrative or complicate it? If you cannot explain in one sentence how the work supports your next step, others will fill in the blanks for you, and not always generously. Perception matters as much as reality.
4. Time is not the constraint. Energy is.
Most people underestimate how demanding a serious job search actually is. It requires emotional resilience, executive functioning, and sustained self-advocacy. Part-time work that looks light on paper can quietly consume the energy needed for networking, preparation, and follow-through. The risk is not hours worked. It is depletion. That depletion shows up in skipped outreach, rushed interviews, and avoidance of the hardest conversations. A job search done tired is a job search done poorly, no matter how efficient it looks on a calendar.
5. Income can become a comfortable form of avoidance.
This is the most subtle trap. Side work can make it easier to avoid hard questions. Am I targeting the right roles? Do I need to reposition? Is there a skill gap I am resisting addressing? Income provides progress without resolution. For experienced professionals, this often takes the form of consulting that gradually becomes a lifestyle. For early career candidates, it can blur direction and delay commitment. Comfort is not the enemy. Staying comfortable at the expense of forward movement is.
6. How you talk about side work matters as much as the work itself.
If you proceed, language is critical. Side work should be positioned as intentional, time-bound, and aligned with your search. Not as something you fell into. Not as something that might turn permanent. Clarity reassures employers that you are serious and focused. Vagueness raises concerns. You should be able to explain why you took the work, what you are gaining from it, and when it ends. If you cannot do that confidently, reconsider whether the work belongs in your search at all.
The Bottom Line
Taking a part-time job or consulting role during a job search is not a sign of weakness. In many cases, it is a rational and even smart move. But it is never neutral. It changes incentives. It alters energy. It reshapes how you are perceived and how you perceive yourself.
The best outcomes come when side work is treated as a tool, not a refuge. Defined clearly. Bounded tightly. Aligned deliberately with where you are headed next. If income buys you clarity, confidence, and optionality, it is doing its job. If it buys you comfort while progress stalls, the cost is far higher than it appears.
A job search is a campaign. Every decision should support momentum toward the role you actually want. Income can help fund that campaign, or it can distract from it. The difference is intention, discipline, and honesty about what the work is really doing for you.
I help people land amazing jobs fast and manage their career journeys through coaching and advising. I also transform resumes and LinkedIn profiles to attract more interviews and offers. Learn more about my career coaching and contact me or request a free 45-minute Career Solutions Call.