Jared Chung
CareerVillage.org TeamHow common is it to work in community management part-time? For example if I want a job while I’m going to college?
This is part of a question series for CMX Summit to highlight exciting careers in community management. If you are interested in a career in community management, now would be a good time to ask a question of your own!
4 answers
Nathan’s Answer
Hi - You can definitely work part time. Community management is a very flexible role and lots of people do it part time (some even do it for home). Go to cloudpeeps.com for part-time jobs you can do from home.
Katherine’s Answer
Hi! The best way to get started in community management is often as a volunteer - so if you want experience in the field, building a community for your favorite student organization or for a charity is something you can point to on your resume when you want to get a job. I myself started by running a community for women with health conditions and disabilities as a volunteer, and 8 years later I'm a project manager with a large community team serving big clients.
Some people do work in community management part-time for individual companies. You could certainly approach your favorite local business with a proposal, or look for local job ads. There's a marketplace, Cloud Peeps, that helps match part-time community managers with companies that need them, and you can also of course look on regular job ads.
My agency, Emoderation, offers content creation, community management, social engagement, analytics, and moderation to clients, many of whom are agencies or Fortune 500 brands. We do hire a lot of part-timers for hourly roles and some of them are students - and we're hiring right now. I will say that having relevant experience makes you much more likely to get hired - so that's where my recommendation to volunteer first comes in!
Audrey’s Answer
Yes - I started off as a part-time employee. Best way to get experience in this field is to find an internship or join an Ambassador program for something that you are deeply passionate about.
Alissa’s Answer
We just launched our community a few months ago, and our community manager is part-time (promoted from within). In our organization and with new initiatives we often have to 'walk before we can run,' so this made sense for us.