Hire Me My Way aims to shake-up the part-time and flexible jobs market. Here are our tips on finding a flexible job. 
Over half the UK workforce wants to work flexibly, but only 8.7% of jobs with salaries over £20k are advertised as such. This is why we’ve launched the Hire Me My Way campaign to increase the number of part-time and flexible roles. Our aim is to treble the jobs market to 1 million flexible jobs by 2020.
Although the part-time and flexible jobs market isn’t great right now, the good news is that there are ways to get creative with your job search, and secure some flexibility in your career.
Keep your options open
Firstly, there are many ways to flex. You could consider working reduced hours, core hours, and home or remote working, to name but a few. Our advice is that you widen the scope of your job-search – avoid fixing on one type of flexibility such as working from home, as that might limit your chance of success. Keep an open mind.
Apply for full time jobs, and ask for flexibility
You might need flexibility, but don’t discount full-time jobs that don’t offer it in the job advert. Many employers are open to people working flexibly, but neglect to say so. Once you’ve met the employer and your application seems to be progressing well, you can introduce the idea of flexible working. There is often room to negotiate.
Prepare a business case for flexibility
When you’re negotiating flexibility with an employer, make sure you give them ideas, not problems. You might be suggesting a day working from home, or maybe working core hours, but in all cases you need to present a business case for how you can make the arrangement work. For example, if it’s a role that you are highly skilled for, then you could put a case forward for a four-day week, on the basis that your experience means you can do the job within shorter timeframes. By putting your ideas on the table, with an outline of how it can work, you’re giving the employer food for thought about what flexibility could mean. The more that candidates explore and discuss flexible working, the more we can reach a critical mass and help transform the part-time and flexible jobs market.
By signing up and backing the Hire Me My Way campaign, you’ll add your voice to a growing movement that calls for a fairer job market.
