Recently a good friend of mine mentioned that her mother was able to quit a really crappy accounting job and was able to find better work in the same field—with better benefits and perks, no less—in less than a few weeks afterward. That is pretty impressive, especially if you account for the near 10% unemployment rate in our county. So what is her secret?

It turns out that it helps to be both an accounting wiz—with a good background and good references; if you don’t have them in accounting, just use whatever you’ve got—as well as a Jack or Jill of all trades. If you search Craigslist in our area for, say, customer service jobs, receptionist positions, and similar positions, you’ll often find that employers are trying to cut corners and save a bit of money by hiring someone who can fill multiple positions. And while you can’t blame them—especially the smaller businesses that are really taking a cut these days—you have to admit that A. it’s a hard order to fill and B. you really wish there’d be more jobs to go around.

So to make themselves more marketable, accountants might want to branch out a bit and learn a few extra skills. Maybe they could take up some lessons in shipping, computers, or other areas that are required in a position such as a customer service representative, or maybe a shipping dispatcher. Many libraries often offer free skills classes such as these; I’ve also seen them offered cheaply or freely from our local community college and job center. You might also simply be able to pick them up on the job, or with the help of a friend or relative who is an expert in such areas.

These skills would likely make you more attractive to potential employers, but watch out, because it doesn’t mean that you’re as likely to make more money just because you’re filling multiple shoes. Instead, it might mean that you’re going to have to work a bit harder, fitting in more duties in a work day that you normally would have to as a regular accountant.

Is this fair? Absolutely not. But it could help you land a job over another candidate, which can be crucial these days. Then, after you’ve proven yourself, maybe you can talk about a raise. Better to have a job, after all, and to have benefits especially, than to have nothing at all.