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Archive for the ‘Career Resources’ Category
What Is It Like to Work with Multiple Agencies?
11/25/2009 12:05 PM By Catherine TThere may be several talent agencies in your area, and it's a good idea to make contact with all of them. Over time, you can narrow down the list to spend most of your time with one or two agencies who can consistently provide you with quality projects. If you want to take advantage of agency-paid benefits, you often must work a certain number of hours for that agency. This can be an excellent way to maintain your health insurance, but can sometimes shackle you to doing jobs that you wouldn't otherwise choose because you need to make up those hours — meanwhile turning down better opportunities from other agencies. At the same time, it is a good idea to maintain relationships with at least two agencies. One agency may be slow while another is busy so teaming up with two agencies would ensure more consistent work for a freelancer.
What Should I Think About for a Home Office?
11/22/2009 1:18 PM By Catherine TThere are significant tax rules that affect home offices, but before you get into that, it's important to create a home office where you can work effectively. That means minimizing distractions (including finding child care for at least some of your working hours) and giving yourself the freedom to separate work from home, so that you can renew yourself in your "down time" without worrying about work and concentrate on your work without worrying about unwashed dishes. Other considerations: Be sure the space can be comfortably heated and cooled, and invest in the proper furniture that allows you to work in a healthy position. A good pair of noise-canceling headphones may be a wise investment as well. Finally, a quick summary of the tax rules: A home office should be your regular and exclusive place of work. That means you can't claim the deduction if you mostly work at client sites. If your home office meets this criterion, you can deduct a portion of your rent or mortgage payments as a business expense.
Winning Jobs Without an Interview
11/22/2009 10:40 AM By Catherine TYou've got a sharp suit, a fabulous business card, and a lovely gold pen — all of which are doing you no good at all when applying for freelance jobs at online job-brokering sites. These kinds of job boards require a different strategy for selling yourself.
Your key selling tool is the online profile you create at the job-brokering site. This may include a link to your website with your portfolio, but should also include well-written text emphasizing your freelance experience, software you use, any special areas of expertise, and details of the benefits you can offer a client.
If words aren't your strong point, you may want to hire or barter with a writer friend to craft this profile, employing keywords to help make you more "findable" and emphasizing your top selling points.
While the bidding nature of many freelance sites creates an impression of work going to the person who quotes the lowest rate, this may not necessarily be the case. If your profile and bid can sell the client on the value of your work, you may get the job without having to underbid anyone else.
Watch out for scam "clients," and seek out those who are willing to put all or part of the fee in escrow with the site proprietors to be sure you actually get paid. Also pay attention to whether or not other freelancers have left feedback for this client.
Finally, read up on the bidding site's fee structure before you put in a bid. Some charge per bid; others ask for a monthly fee or a percentage of your revenue.
Types of Freelance Copywriting Jobs
11/10/2009 10:18 AM By Catherine THere are some of the more common types of freelance copywriting assignments. If your "book" demonstrates versatility by including several of these, it's more likely to win you a variety of jobs as a copywriter.
- Sales letters (direct mail)
- Donor solicitations
- TV and radio scripts
- Print ads
- Web site content
- Catalog copy
- Invitations, letters, and postcards
- Billboards and signs
- Brochures
- In-store signage
- White papers and case studies
- Product packaging
Why You Need A Blog
10/26/2009 11:37 AM By Catherine THaving a professional Website is good for business–in fact, it is almost mandatory these days. Creating your own blog can be another great way to increase your visibility on the Web and reach out to those who are using search terms in your particular field. Much like meta-tags help a Website get indexed properly, tags allow a blog to be very search-friendly. This can mean you come up in a search of related content, where your Website may not. Blogs allow you to comment on trends in the field, share some of your wisdom and get the word out about your services. You may also wind up with a regular group of readers. Posts can be on anything from career advice for Web designers to job posts.
Setting up a blog is very easy, and even those without a budget can use one of the free social networking sites such as Wordpress.com or Blogger to set up an account. Those who work in Web design or have CSS knowledge will find that they can easily customize their blog to reflect their brand. Even creatives with little to no Web knowledge can use a blogging platform without a lot of time or effort. You can put as much or as little time into the blog as you have–but remember that regular updates help you build readership–even if they are only once a week.
How Is a Freelance Resume Different?
10/25/2009 12:06 PM By Catherine TAs a freelancer, you'll need to write a very targeted resume. Why? Your resume is one of the chief sales tools you have as a freelancer. Instead of listing positions you've held, you want to emphasize projects you've worked on and results you've gotten. Start with a summary — a very concise, engaging, well-written statement of what you do best. You will want to tailor this for each job you seek; it may be helpful to have a couple of standard ones on hand (one for graphic design and one for website design, for example), but you should still make sure it matches as closely as possible the sort of person the employer wants. Instead of listing your entire work history, emphasize those jobs and projects which are most likely to be relevant to the job at hand. Also include anything likely to impress the employer. One copywriter always includes the two years she spent as a secretary at a well-known New York ad agency — even though she wasn't creating ads for them, freelance employers connect her with that reputable name. In the education section, be sure to include any certifications, workshops, and seminars you've taken to boost relevant skills.
