Marla has a lot of ideas that she often give away for free. She earns from her best ideas. She hadn’t had a job in seven years. Now she wonders why anyone has one.
Check out this great clip that I found today.
For most days the previous week I’ve taken my sweet time off from posting new entries here. I’ve ventured out from my home to refresh my mind and perhaps learn a bit or two from the world. I ended up learning more than what I can jot down.
A Friendly Visit
Last week, I’ve visited a friend who has been up almost whole the night before preparing a presentation for a group of out-of-school students. I listened to his discussion, which lasted for two hours. It was my first time for me to watch my friend give a lecture.
He started off by a little ice breaker to get the attention of his audience. It was creative and unexpected: something that a few speakers adapt to conquer their audience. He had us laughing over the course of the discussion, but this humor helped him explain his points well. His two-hour long discussion really had us entertained all throughout. We ended up learning the lessons that he wants us, the audience, to remember.
I was amazed that these are young people, all of them out-of-school youths. Despite the difference in generation he was still able to conquer them all. To me, he had conquered the attention of the audience. He ended up his discussion with his audience liking and respecting him that much.
Comparing that Experience to Freelance
I suddenly realized that this tactic applies well to freelance. A freelancer’s profile could have been the presentation and the speaker is the freelancer himself. A good cover letter and a catchy title is all that it takes to keep the client interested in getting him to view the freelancer’s profile.
Even with a captivating cover letter and an interesting title is nothing when a client finds out an empty profile staring right at him. A great profile should have all the necessary elements to convince the client into the hard coded skills of the job. The client is much like the audience who responds to what is written in the profile.
Even with a content-filled profile, consider its presentation. I’ve seen a lot of profiles where it has a lot of content but remains to be disorganized. A speaker’s speech is interesting if there is a little humor that will help his audience grasps the meaning of his discussion. Similarly, a profile should be organized in a manner that is pleasing and easier for the client to skim through.
I am not saying that the profile should end up humorous, because this will piss off the client. Use bullets, numbering, indentations, spaces and other means to help organize the profile.
Keep in mind that the client may have dozens of profiles to look at, so a quick skim should be effective enough to make an impression.
What have you learned about freelance and the world?
Have you ever think of quitting your day job?
Getting into a freelance career is often associated with the image of freedom, coffee shops, travel and huge opportunities. In truth, this kind of life is achieved by the successful few who had managed to reach this nirvana. Most freelancers are struggling through both extremes of the “feast and famine” of freelance careers.
Unstable Career Option?
A close friend of mine often argue that freelance is not a stable job. It is NOT a stable job indeed. On some months you’d get projects that seem to come one after another which leaves the freelancer tired but feeling rich. On some days there are no jobs that await the freelancer which leaves this guy rested but pocket-poor.
Road to Riches
A freelancer often starts at the rock-bottom going up. He starts up with hundreds and thousands of freelancers throughout the site.
Only a few manages to get ahead. Those who own impressive profiles and exempt ag
When applying to online job board sites, a profile is always a must. If you plan to go for different freelance job sites, then there is no choice but to do several profiles for these different sites.
Most profiles stand out when there are portfolios associated with these. A portfolio shows a solid proof of a freelancer’s working experience. Here’s how to build a great portfolio for one to stand out.
I think it is time for online freelancers to blog about their jobs. Not just a blog about their personal lives or personal rants, but to write about things about their online occupation.
Why Should I Blog?
Blogging started out as a personal journal, a past time for people who like to write about their personal struggles, or simply write about their rants during the day. It is often used by expressive people who can express their thoughts.
As blogging gets to become more famous, big and small companies add blogs to a section of the website. A blog on a website reaches out to the site visitor that an active community is in place. It fosters interaction between the company and customer. It enables the feeling that there are “people” that are operating behind a website.
For freelancers, maintaining a blog can also give them fruitful benefits. Entries may not be done daily, but at least three entries per week are enough to keep loyal blog readers hooked. Blogs are not purely written in English: I’ve seen a lot of blogs in Filipino, Chinese, Indonesia and other languages.
Blogs are not all in written text. Others maintain picture blogs, video blogs which requires a few written sentences to explain what the picture or video is all about.
Blogging about one’s job often gives a deep understanding about the victories and difficulties of doing such job. Potential clients get to see the person behind a given profile. A blog portrays a unique personality in each freelancer through the words that he or she leaves with each post.
A profile is not enough anymore. Even a website of portfolio may not be enough. Start blogging about your job – it can attract a new group of potential clients not found on online job freelance sites.
Do you blog about your job?
