We all know how good it is to finally ditch your day job and go freelance, full time. The hours are better (well not necessarily since some workaholics like yours truly decide to work even on weekends!), and you can choose what you want to do, when you want to do it and how much you want to be paid. Other benefits of leaving the corporate rat race and being a full time freelancer include:
- You can think about settling down or starting a family with the flexible schedule you will be enjoying
- Think about taking up new hobbies – things you’ve never tried before (like hang-gliding!) or rekindle the relationship with your long-forgotten books
- Reconnect with friends and family members you never knew existed!
- More time to enhance your lifestyle by doing something worthwhile, like being part of a charitable organization
- Learn new skills that will enrich your future career
- Start your own business and expand your portfolio
If you have been thinking about making the break away from the banality of working for someone else and would like to go freelance, here are 3 tips how to ease the transition and become a successful freelancer!
Tip 1: Embrace social media
This can be done even when you are still working under your current company. You can sign up and get a LinkedIn account and polish your profile. This may even land you a job, allowing you to quit your job without a heavy heart, knowing that somewhere out there, someone appreciates your skills and you can now work on your own pace! Facebook is also a great place to socialize and get to know like-minded individuals. Share your thoughts and you’ll see it is indeed easy to be a full time freelancer – ask the thousands or even millions of freelancers across the world! What better way to connect with them, than checking them out on social media sites.
Tip 2: Redo your resume, Web 2.0 style
These days submitting a resume doesn’t mean you’ve got to write a boring old letter detailing your achievements. You can even use sites like PitchYourTalent.com in order to get headhunted. However, it’s easy to be tempted to work under a conglomerate’s shadow so be firm and tell yourself you’re here for the opportunities that would allow you to work freelance, not otherwise.
Tip 3: Freelance websites are your friends
Freelance sites like Freelancer.com is a great place to hang out and see what the market currently needs. You’ve got the talent? Flaunt it and advertise your services. If you are lucky you may even get numerous job offers, and we haven’t even setup our own site yet! Which brings us to …
BONUS! Tip 4: Blog!
Yes, blogging can get you jobs. In fact, blogging CAN be a job! It does not matter if you are blogging from a free platform such as Blogger.com,