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As you well know, I’ve been struggling lately with how, exactly, to find the perfect balance between my freelance work and more regular income sources. The state of the economy hasn’t been helping, and so I’ve been considering other options, including the utilization of staffing agencies.
My previous experiences with staffing agencies were as a college student, looking for temp work during my breaks. I worked with one temp agency down in Central New Jersey, which was able to find me fairly regular work within the nonprofit sector. The other agency — much closer to where I’m living now — didn’t often have much to offer. Which is why I hadn’t seriously considered such avenues when the New York Sun first folded.
Now, having come closest to paying work with the help of two such agencies, I’ve been forced to reconsider their effectiveness.
After the jump, eight staffing agencies that specialize in the creative industries:
Hey guys! As I’m only one small picture of what freelancedom looks like (and my, what a messy picture it is), I’m thinking of introducing a new Thursday feature to the blog.
In an attempt to forge connections and share others’ infinite wisdom with readers, I’d like to start interviewing all you freelancers and small business owners out there.
The final interview post would include links to your site, photos of or links to product examples and, if you’re willing, some shots of your home office.
If you’re interested in submitting to my silly and not-so-silly questions, leave a comment here, or e-mail me!
This past Friday, I received an invitation to a costume party and, ever since, I’ve been obsessed with finding the perfect outfit.
Honestly, I jump at any chance to dress up. Costume parties give me the chance to try on an entirely different persona, and there’s something fun and exhilarating about that.
Funny that when it comes to my at-home business, I don’t feel quite the same way.
We’ve talked before about the business skills we might not necessarily have when we first start up our own businesses, and about the steps we might need to take in order to gain those skills. I’d like to reiterate here: Being in business for yourself requires the wearing of many hats, and most of them are not nearly as fun as that top hat I bought this past weekend.
Which personae do you need to master?
I start out the day blogging…searching for new products, combing through stock photography, attempting to be clever despite the fact that I haven’t yet had my morning coffee, and I’m still wearing my Cookie Monster pants. I break for lunch and then work on Freelancedom other (paying) freelance projects. By the time my husband arrives home from work, I’m wiped out, but I’m still scanning my Google Reader and stockpiling posts. No matter. Now that he’s not at the office, he can work on freelance web design projects, complete homework for his online courses, and fiddle with his own personal projects. When will we spent time together? Saturday? Maybe?
Forget remembering to take a vacation. It’s enough of a struggle just to remember those day-to-day priorities. What should you make sure to put at the top of your to-do list?
Back during my TCNJ days, I took this brilliant Advanced Writing class with the brilliant Burton Klein. The most important thing he taught me was that a unique and well-written cover letter could be my biggest asset. Since then, I’ve found myself called into interviews by people who were more intrigued by my cover letter than my credentials, and have had pitches given a second glance by mag editors who were intrigued by the tone of my pitch letter. Since then, I’ve tweaked my technique with the help of subsequent professors, but the lesson has remained the same: All resumes look alike. It’s the accompanying letter that will get you in the door.
Whether you’re applying to a staff job, pitching newspaper and magazine stories, or attempting to net new clients, the ability to write good letter is key. After the jump, all the building blocks of the perfect letter, plus all the eensy weensy details you should always double check:
Just this past weekend, I attended my husband’s 10-year high school reunion.
I was nervous but, really, it’s a lot less scary to be at a reunion where no one knows you than at one where you feel the need to prove yourself to tormentors past.
Still, it got me thinking: If I were to encounter my entire graduating class, in the flesh, tomorrow, how would I feel about the things I’ve accomplished thus far? Am I at a place I can be proud of?
More specifically, is my career where I want it to be?
Over the course of the past 10 years, I’ve juggled on-campus jobs, part-time retail work, temp work, full-time work, freelance projects, and internships, all in varying combinations.
At first, in my earliest post-college years, I considered full-time work to be the obvious end goal and, for a time, was quite proud of myself as I moved up in the world of academic book publishing.
As my longing for more creative work grew, however, I determined that I could only find happiness as a full-time freelancer.
Now, as the New York Sun teeters on the brink of end times, and I find myself losing a main source of income that was more part-time than freelance (except for the 1099), I’ve been forced to consider that an all-or-nothing approach is perhaps not the best one for me.
And maybe you’ve come to the same conclusion. Perhaps you’ve read The Anti 9 to 5 Guide and One Person/Multiple Careers and are already masterminding the perfect balance of multiple income streams. After the jump, the types of income sources you should consider, and why:
A couple weeks ago, I participated in a teleconference where I (and others) determined whether career coaching was for us. At the beginning of the call, CCI founder Marcia Bench listed the personality traits necessary for success within the career coaching realm. Of course, the characteristics she mentioned were relevant to all aspiring entrepreneurs.
Do you have what it takes?
It’s been a rough day, you guys (not to mention a rough week). I’m allergic to our new kitten, who was sick last week and ended up passing her virus along to one of the other cats. So I’ve spent a good portion of today moving furniture and tackling Mercutio and wrestling with him so as to get two different meds down his throat. This while partially comatose due to the Benadryl I’ve been taking (with some Xanax thrown in for good measure at the especially trying times). Plus I managed to squeeze in a doctor’s appointment (for me), a post office run, and seven new posts over at MM. Now I’m making my way through a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Karamel Sutra because, really, I need me some comfort food.
I think I need a vacation.
It being Thursday and all, I would normally post a book review.
Last night, however, I found out that my main source of income may be folding, so I figured this was the perfect time to touch upon the ways in which you can keep the unexpected vagaries and pitfalls of freelancing from plunging you into financial ruin. The main thing to remember? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket: