We’ve recently been looking at the double lane highway of shifting careers between freelance and corporate life. From the perspective of professional resume writers, we’ve definitely seen equal movement between these 2 career directions.
Without question, transitioning from life at a corporate firm to working freelance is a HUGE life change. The greatest technique is in all the individual action steps taken to create a strong outcome. Successes certainly live in the daily grind.
Write a plan of action.
This helps maintain accountability and keep you on track.
If you’re not entirely familiar with the details of a business plan, that’s perfectly fine. Think of your plan like a map. Begin with goal setting. Outline short-term and long-term goals and place them into a loose chronological order, the specific dates matter less than the actual structure.
Don’t burn any bridges.
Although it’s tempting to skip gleefully out of the door on your last day in the office telling everybody how great your new life is going to be, don’t. You never know when you might need these contacts again, not to mention references from your employer. Leaving with a recommendation is never a bad outcome.
Friendly reminder: The world is a very small place. and you never know where your future clients may be.
Network.
This may sound dramatic but, ultimately you need to make sure EVERYONE knows you are going freelance: ex-colleagues, friends, old classmates, that neighbor with a beard. Everyone. Remember, getting work once you go freelance can take longer than imagined so build-up a client base in all ways possible.
Work is much more likely to come through known contacts. That’s just the nature of humans in general. We work with who we know and trust.
Network as much as possible, both in person and on social media.
Speak to friends or acquaintances who have made the leap to freelancing. These people are valuable resources for advice not just on those first few weeks starting out, but for the long haul.
Essentially freelancing is building your personal brand.
This is a fact. Fortunately, there is ample information out there on the specifics of personal branding. Quickprout has a nice guide that summarizes the process giving actionable items that help map the route. A quick Google tour will land you in front of some seriously good content for designing and managing your own personal brand.
Utilize social media.
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are all useful tools. Additionally, if your LinkedIn profile isn’t yet optimized, get it there. Our team is highly skilled at LinkedIn optimizations that show clients in their best light possible. This is mandatory in today’s workforce.
94% of recruiters are searching for talent on LinkedIn. Use this tool.
Lastly, consider starting a blog. Yes, they are timely but well-designed search engine optimized (SEO) blogs are a great way to drive attention towards your website. This, in turn, builds an audience and potential client base.
Don’t be shy about putting your business out there.
Now, if you find yourself on the highway heading back to corporate structures then the strategy is dramatically different. At this point, your resume must highlight all the unique skills acquired as a freelancer plus reflect positively on the actual time away from the workforce.
As always Power Writers USA is here to help guide you through the steps. Resume Writing, Cover Letters, LinkedIn Profile Optimization and Recruiter Resume Distribution are all available from our team at PWU. Connect with us for a free consultation and resume review!
Unquestionably, unless you are a writing wizard, it’s in your best interest to hire a professional resume writer now. Freelance skills are diverse and translating all the detailed specifics to corporate necessity is key to your resume making it through ATS and recruiter processes.