Like the Million Peso question! I've already used this title in a blog post to enlighten people of the realities of freelancing. Now, I'm going to use it again; not to 'scare' people away from freelancing, but to invite them to dive in and experience the future of work.
Freelancing is defined in online dictionaries differently. The Free Dictionary defines a freelancer as someone who sells services to employers without a long-term commitment to any of them. I've been with my two long-term clients for over 2 years now. I am definitely committed to (the work I do for) them. This definition doesn't apply to my own freelancing journey, but that's just me.
Freelancing, I believe; is more of an experience. You define it using your own frame of reference. Experience it and define it yourself, then you tell me what it is for you.
Perhaps your takeaway from this attempt to define freelancing (assuming you don't know this yet) is the awareness that you can be any kind of freelancer you want to be for as long as you have marketable skills. If you've read my story; you will know that I started as a writer because writing then was my only marketable skill. I still didn't know my way around the Internet, so; I was not yet qualified to become the personal assistant and social media manager that I am now. My role as a freelancer evolved over time as I acquired new skills at work.
Do you want to be a freelancer? Get a pen and a paper, and write down the roles you handle and the skills you use on your current work. Assess your skills and find out if there's a market for them on the Internet. You can search on Google. The best way to do it, however; is to just dive in. Head to oDesk.com and sign up. See the job categories and find out if one or two of your skills is needed on any of the job postings. You don't have to apply to jobs immediately. Once you're signed up; you can always come back here, comment on this post, and ask questions.
P.S.
Please make sure to create a Gmail account that you can use to sign up to oDesk. You will need it once you've started. Keep every freelance-work-related stuff on this account to avoid clutter. Just a tip from someone who's done everything backwards!
Future of Work
Friends have been asking me of the kind of work I do. It is always difficult to answer them straight every time because freelancing have already become a part of me; it's just difficult to define. The feeling resembles that of the difficulty one experiences as he struggles to find words to describe or introduce himself in an interview/crowd: You don't know if mentioning your singing abilities would be necessary or if you just have to leave it out. You think of what to tell them, but have no idea where to start even if you know yourself so well. That's exactly how I feel whenever I am asked what I do for a living. Most of the time, I can get away with saying that I work as a secretary for an American, but people who expressed interest to join the industry I'm in would often want to hear more. I don't want to deny them of answers. Freelancing can be a lonely profession, and the more people we get to this circle; the merrier, of course! So, here goes...Freelancing is defined in online dictionaries differently. The Free Dictionary defines a freelancer as someone who sells services to employers without a long-term commitment to any of them. I've been with my two long-term clients for over 2 years now. I am definitely committed to (the work I do for) them. This definition doesn't apply to my own freelancing journey, but that's just me.
Freelancing, I believe; is more of an experience. You define it using your own frame of reference. Experience it and define it yourself, then you tell me what it is for you.
Perhaps your takeaway from this attempt to define freelancing (assuming you don't know this yet) is the awareness that you can be any kind of freelancer you want to be for as long as you have marketable skills. If you've read my story; you will know that I started as a writer because writing then was my only marketable skill. I still didn't know my way around the Internet, so; I was not yet qualified to become the personal assistant and social media manager that I am now. My role as a freelancer evolved over time as I acquired new skills at work.
Do you want to be a freelancer? Get a pen and a paper, and write down the roles you handle and the skills you use on your current work. Assess your skills and find out if there's a market for them on the Internet. You can search on Google. The best way to do it, however; is to just dive in. Head to oDesk.com and sign up. See the job categories and find out if one or two of your skills is needed on any of the job postings. You don't have to apply to jobs immediately. Once you're signed up; you can always come back here, comment on this post, and ask questions.
P.S.
Please make sure to create a Gmail account that you can use to sign up to oDesk. You will need it once you've started. Keep every freelance-work-related stuff on this account to avoid clutter. Just a tip from someone who's done everything backwards!
Comments
Post a Comment