Most workers agree that there are simply not enough hours in one day. If you're the type of person who could do with more time out of the office, then pursue one of these careers.
The benefits of having a great work-life balance are undeniable. Normal workers spend an average of 8 hours a day at work. Depending on the length of your commute, this could be almost 10 hours a day away from your family and friends (and that precious me-time) every day of the week.
Why not choose one of these 5 jobs that give you a greater chance of being the boss of your own schedule? Because these jobs are mobile and can be done in your own time, your company should be okay with you working more flexible hours.
As long as you are hardworking, meet your deadlines and are present for meetings (and sometimes team building activities), these jobs offer a great work-life balance opportunities.
1. SEO Manager
Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO for short, is when you optimise your website using various techniques to rank high in search results. In other words, you implement strategies so that your website can appear on page one on Google’s search results. This means that an SEO manager oversees, implements, tracks and advises companies so that their websites can rank high.
Technical Skills and know-how:
Advanced MS Office
Proficient in Google Analytics
Understanding of content management systems and HTML
Understanding of Google AdWords and online advertising
SEO information architecture
Knowledge of HTML, CSS, programming language and blogging
Excellent content writer
Hard skills:
Excellent written and spoken English
Competent at developing engaging content
Qualifications:
Matric/Grade 12
Relevant tertiary qualification
Jargon to familiarise yourself with:
SEO strategies and implementation
Link building strategies
Google webmaster tools
PPC
Adword campaigns
Grow your skills with a Udemy online SEO shortcourse
If you consider yourself a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, Linkedin, Who’s Who SA and Pinterest guru, then this job might be perfect for you. Imagine being paid to Facebook all day!
Well, it’s a little bit more than that: you have to grow your followers and reach, get people interacting with the company’s brand, and drive as many ‘conversions’ as possible.
Technical Skills and know-how
Awareness of the latest social trends
Excellent understanding of social media and SEO
Experience with Tweetdeck and Hootsuite
Create and conceptualize content both written and visual material
Experienced blogger
Skills:
Outstanding project management skills
Solid analytic and reporting skills
Excellent multi-tasking capabilities
This is what a day in the life of a social media manager is like
Qualifications:
Relevant tertiary degree or diploma
Social media or marketing or media studies or journalism; English; communication
Jargon to familiarise yourself with:
SEO
Community management
Digital strategy
Social media scheduling
Social bookmarking
PHP Developers are web and software developers who write applications, programmes and sites that use PHP, a dynamic scripting language. Companies only hire the best PHP developers who are dedicated to their craft and writes code that they can be proud of. The most successful PHP Developers are great team members and can work on every stage of the app or site building process: from the initial specification, through to developing, testing and launching.
Technical Skills and know-how
PHP
MySQL
Solr
JavaScript
HTML
JSon
Qualifications:
Relevant Degree or qualification
Information science, software engineering, computer science, or related field
4. Talent Acquisition Specialist
As a Talent Acquisition Specialist it will be your job to not only find and hire the best people but also to actively seek and attract amazing candidates. It is an advantage if you’re an expert on social media recruitment, employer branding.
Technical Skills and know-how
In-depth understanding of recruitment processes
Understanding of relevant employment legislation and application thereof in recruitment process (BCEA, EE, LRA and POPIA)
Qualifications:
Relevant 3 year HR related degree
Grow your skills with a Talent Management short course from Udemy
As a data scientist you’ll need to analyse big chunks of data and present them in a way that business and IT leaders understand. An excellent data scientist is able to identify and address the business problems that hold the most value to the business. You’ll need strong maths, statistics, and analytical skills with a solid foundation in computer science and applications.
Skills:
Analytically minded
Acute attention to detail
Thorough
Entrepreneurial by nature
Creative
Strong planning, organizing and coordinating skills
Read: How to convince your boss to give you flexible working hours
Qualifications:
Numerate degree
BCom, B Bus Sci, B Eng or BS
If you can’t decide which career to pursue or you’ve decided you’ve had enough and want a different occupation, then choose one of these jobs that could see you living a healthy well-balanced life.
