i have done accounting consulting work for the last 21 years, i was told when i quit a perfectly good job with benefits to make sure i saved at least 6 months worth of paycheck. because i would have plenty of down time between gigs. that never happened thanks to my great recruiters and then my work ethic of going above and beyond on each assignment. it did teach me to make sure i always left each assignment on great terms with each manager i worked with (many called me personally with additional job offers) and always keep my recruiters aware of anything going on that might help them at each company i was working with. even when everyone else was getting laid off i still worked. be flexible and go with nothing is beneath you attitude when it comes to an assignment or task. and think outside of the box. draw on life experience and other work assignments be adaptable.
with covid-19 i have still been employed in a city that has been extremely hard hit by the pandemic. but i realize that every paycheck i get may be my last despite working for a company that is considered essential by the government. i am normally not considered a minority other than being female but in this city i most definitely a minority and at my company i am.
My reason for doing this post was in today’s very uncertain time doing freelance work is scary but you can have a great career if you network with great teams of both recruiters, friends, previous employers and groups like penny horder. But planning financially is a great must do. I got very lucky but that is an exception and not the norm. With a lot of companies going remote work your reputation is all you will have. Build it wisely because it will get you the next assignment
Love this advice! Doing freelance can be scary because there is always the fear of “When is the next assignment coming in?” I like your take – so important to do good work, get strong references and keep in touch with others. You never know! Cheers to you for looking for practical ways to both safeguard and grow your income.
I think every job differs. So I would get in contact with the local group to find out how the job market is doing. In my SAS programming job I generally had 25% down time contracting. I am not really sure how the market is now but haven’t seen a big weakening. I have to ask my group
Sharon
i would check out websites, Facebook pages and group boards to get in contact with other freelance writers. Also check out upwork to see how othere advertise their skills.
Sharon
Always great to learn from peers. Thank you for sharing. In your work from home history, what have you used with the greatest ease/success? laptop, desktop, ? I’m looking into the work-from-home scenario (not with current employer who is providing Dell laptop and docking station). Just wondering what folks are using… any info is greatly appreciated.
I have had both, but if it is a laptop I have made sure nothing personal is on it. Since 2003 I take a laptop with me my clients on the first day because several times regardless of the lead time knowing I was coming IT had not gotten around to setting me up and time is money. the only thing I have is Windows and the office suite- excel, word, power point and access, and adobe some companies are fine letting me continue using my machine. I let them check it out and make sure I have a great security system. When I am finished with the project again I let them check if they want that I am not taking anything of theirs.
Thanks JT, that’s helpful. I appreciate you including the programs you’ve kept as well. Does your laptop have any specific memory or operating system? I don’t mean to bombard you with questions but I also don’t want to drop $600 on a desktop or more on a laptop beefing up ram and graphics if they aren’t warranted. Thank you again. Advice to keep everything separate is also something that bears repeating as I always find myself attempting to “clean” off a laptop prior to returning it to the company.
I don’t have much graphics because I don’t game or do web design, I am an accountant, so ram and storage are important when dealing with large files or having multiple files open at once. For working from home I do have two large screen monitors it makes it easier to deal with multiple programs, and most companies will hook you up when you are in the office. Operating systems I keep up with the latest, Microsoft because at least for me most companies still use that for accounting. Google is just to flaky and it’s open source code just makes it to easy to hack, and nobody uses their spreadsheets or word programs. I am seeing quite a few companies going back to Lotus suite the original spreadsheet system. A typical laptop for me is around 5 to 7 hundred depending on screen size, and I do tend to get a new one about every three years.
I don’t have much graphics because I don’t game or do web design, I am an accountant, so ram and storage are important when dealing with large files or having multiple files open at once. For working from home I do have two large screen monitors it makes it easier to deal with multiple programs, and most companies will hook you up when you are in the office. Operating systems I keep up with the latest, Microsoft because at least for me most companies still use that for accounting. Google is just to flaky and it’s open source code just makes it to easy to hack, and nobody uses their spreadsheets or word programs. I am seeing quite a few companies going back to Lotus suite the original spreadsheet system. A typical laptop for me is around 5 to 7 hundred depending on screen size, and I do tend to get a new one about every three years.
