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Industry Profile – Freelance Writing Career Options

When most people think of being a "writer", they are usually envisioning a career that is, in essence, being self-employed. Journalists and authors (I’m going to use the term primarily to talk about people writing books or short stories in this context) especially fall under this category. The main difference is that journalists are usually 1099 contractors, whereas authors are in a completely different business classification. There are a number of other writing professions that also usually fall under 1099 contractors: copywriters, editors, researchers, script/screen/play writers.

When approaching the career of being a "freelance writer" it is absolutely vital to understand that this is a BUSINESS, which means that you cannot neglect the business side of your career. This includes a business license, tax ID number, learning what/how to declare business expenses, looking at your business development and marketing options/expenses (sales and advertising), managing your finances on both the business and personal sides, and providing yourself and your family with health benefits. Being a "writer" is not just about having great ideas and committing them to pen/paper or keyboard/screen. Far too many people neglect the setup of *being* a small business owner. I covered some of the tools and aspects of this in my post on the freelance lifestyle, so I’m not going to go into the mechanics of that here. What I do want to address is more the publishing industry and the changes it has undergone in the last decade.

Some of my neighbors are retired publishing sales reps, and the daugther of a colleague of mine is an editor for a major NYC publishing company. I worked at Amazon.com in the late 90’s and have been in technology in some capacity for most of the last 15 years. I have been a "professional" writer for about the last 7 years (meaning people have paid me to write or develop content in some way; emphasis being on "paid". Until you receive money for your efforts, it is a hobby and you are an amateur). I have been on the Board of Directors for a local non-profit that puts on writer’s conferences, and I have been treating my writing career as I would any other job: getting to know the industry, how the job works, and how to be successful at it. I must say that I am shocked by how many writers DON’T do this.

I’m going to start with personal anecdote. When I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree, I went the "liberal arts" route. It is where I am strongest in terms of interest and skills, but I graduated woefully unprepared for finding a "job". I love history and the development of cultures in general, and with a Classical Humanities background, I had a vague idea of going into historical research for some sort of publication such as National Geographic, or the Smithsonian Magazine. Little did I know that: those positions generally require a Master’s; they are few and far between; to do it professionally they require relocation to DC or NYC, neither of which I wanted to move to at the time. I spent a significant portion of my professional life defining myself, making very little money, and figuring out what I am really good at. The reason I bring this up is because if you are going to pursue a career as a professional writer, you need to be aware of what it does and does not entail.

The pros of being an independent writer: you can choose your path and interests, for example maybe you love to travel and your decide to try and become a travel writer/blogger (travel bloggers that provide their own photos have slightly better odds of publication). Or you are a foodie and try to go the restaurant critic route. You can set your own hours, subject matter, etc. It is a flexible lifestyle and you can fit your work around your family and social life. If you become good and develop a reputation you are in demand and can pick and choose your assignments. The flip side to this hinges on what I just said: "…if you become good and develop a reputation". This is the downside to being an independent contractor. You need to scratch out a living by developing clients, submitting tons of ideas for articles and content to those entities that may be able to help boost your career signal. There are tons of "opportunities" out there to be published, to make your name, but without the benefit of being paid for it. There is a whole industry of "generating leads" for small media outlets that don’t pay a cent for your work but promise you "exposure". Only you can decide if this is a route you want to pursue. I will say that there are a couple of legitimate outfits. Media Bistro is my favorite.

There has been a rise in the last few years of ad-supported content that actually will pay really hot bloggers, by hosting their site and then providing targeted ads for their potential readers (look at my post on <a href="http://kristen.fife.conquent.com/blog/c651ca3038c111e2ad6db3d39c4dc0d2/Industry_Profiles_-_Marketing_x1//">"Marketing"</a> to understand how this works.) Three of my favorite bloggers make their living this way: <a href="http://dooce.com/">Heather Dooce</a>, <a href="http://www.danoah.com//">Dan Pearce</a> (Single Dad Laughing) and <a href="http://thebloggess.com/">Jenny Lawson </a>, The Blogess. There are plenty of articles and blogs on how to make money as a professional blogger; I like this <a href="http://boldanddetermined.com/2013/03/20/so-you-want-to-be-a-professional-blogger/">one</a>. Each of them has a trademark style or subject matter that appeals to readers. Keep in mind that for this lifestyle to work, you must write content regularly, and what you say needs to be consistently appealing to a wide variety of readers. />

One path that can lead to a fairly robust income stream (once you have an established reputation) is teaching workshops. I’ve paid to attend workshops on subject like travel writing and developing my writing style. You can do it locally (community college, special interest series, via a site like Media Bistro) or even as a webinar. If the content is compelling, people will pay to hear and learn. The key is to have a unique point of view and expertise. For example in my case, I earn money by applying my current knowledge of recruiting – tools, processes, compliance regulations – to help people by either writing or editing their resume, or by writing as a journalist for job seekers, or as a blogger for the recruiting industry.

There are still both full time and freelance opportunities for editors and literary agents, but it is very important to understand that in these professions you are not creating your own content, you are enhancing or peddling someone else’s work. Editing is highly needed in today’s world. I recently read a product blog for the new <a href="http://googlexphone.com/?p=105l">Google Xphone</a> where a word in the *title* was spelled wrong, as well as a slang term (Customization and techie misspelled "custimization" and "techi", respectively). I was appalled but this is becoming more prevalent. An editor should have been able to spot these errors. Heck, *spell check* would have done the trick! I see an example of laziness. So, with an all new breed of self-published e-book authors, there is definitely a market for freelance editors.

Literary agents still exist, although I see this as a declining market, for the very reason that the need for editors is on the rise, namely self-publishing. A literary agent is basically a headhunter for those in the traditional book publishing realm. They represent authors and work to get manuscripts in front of publishers. It takes a good understanding of market conditions (what will sell), sales and marketing skills, the willingness to read a lot of material, follow through in terms of communication, the ability to build a great network (publishers), and a good understanding of industry contracts. Usually, an agent starts his/her career either as a publishing house editor, or working for a a large agency that has established relationships. It is a lot of account management and relationship building.
Writing is still the main form of human communication in the world. It is a changing profession, with a plethora of opportunities to try new forms of communication.
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Industry Profiles ‘ Full Time Employees – Professional Writer

This is a supercharged subject for me both personally and professionally. Obviously, I’m a writer. I had a (paid) career advice column for a year and a half for the Seattle Times. I’m on the Board of Directors for a local non-profit that puts on writer’s conferences every year (and I have been attending for almost 10 years.) I started writing fiction about 10 years ago; and being a recruiter I pursued the profession from a job hunting perspective, which a lot of people don’t seem to understand. I’ll touch on that later.

I’m going to break the ‘writer’ profession into separate postings. First I will cover full-time employees that are paid to write, then freelance professionals and finally I will wrap up with a discussion on published authors (books).

There was a discussion over on LinkedIn a few weeks ago about finding ‘creative writing jobs’. There are very few ‘jobs’ that will pay you to be a creative writer. If you are being paid to write something, you don’t have carte blanche to write your own content and expect someone else to monetize it. Generally, you are given content subjects, writing guides/style manuals, a specific word count, and a strict deadline. The person that started the discussion wanted someone to offer him a salaried position to write poetry. About the only ‘job’ you will get in this medium is working for a greeting card company.

So what sorts of jobs can you get as a paid, professional writer on a salary? Advertising and PR firms still hire writers to work on branding slogans/campaigns for clients. That is about the best ‘creative’ writing job you will get, but it’s still going to be someone else’s guidelines. The ‘marcomm’ role has changed significantly over the last decade or so (Marketing Communications) as marketing as an industry has changed (see my prior posting on the Marketing Industry). A lot of young professionals want to be ‘social media’ content writers/editors/managers. Contrary to popular belief, this isn’t all about writing 140-character pithy pitches. This a pure marketing job that delivers analytics-based campaigns supporting the corporate branding strategy. These days, ‘marketing’ communications as it relates to generating content is a small portion of a larger position.

The time-honored ‘Technical Writer’ role was a haven for many English and Communications majors graduating in the late 80’s and through the 90’s. The technical writer is mainly employed in two industries: technology/software, and the scientific/life sciences arena. The role of the tech writer is to take technical/scientific concepts and ‘translate’ them for people. For example, the ‘help’ function in any software program is often written by a technical writer; white papers, help manuals, design specifications, business analyses. But, as you can imagine, this skill is used in conjunction with another: deep expertise in a technical/scientific realm. There is a fair amount of research that is done with other professionals within the organization in order to create a comprehensive set of information. That being said, I queried several friends that have been long-time Tech Writers, and the consensus is that you need to able to learn a vast array of subjects, digest them, and then ‘translate’ that information back into understandable language for the lay person. The more you can do that, the more employable you are. If you are able to learn those technical or scientific concepts that need ‘translation’ then that is your most applicable skill. I have seen a shift in the tech realm away from the profession of ‘technical writer’ towards an inclusion of the role into ‘human centered design’, a philosophy that mixes usability and product management.

In a related vein, if you are interested in the non-profit world, there are organizations that employ grant writers. This is a very specialized skill, as each grant award has very specific guidelines and you have to learn the ins and outs of the process. I asked a good friend of mine who writes grants regularly for her scientific research job how one would go about *getting* a grant writing job with no experience, and this was her suggestion: ‘I suggest they team up with an experienced writer. I got my start with non-profits by volunteering. The best way to learn to write grants, in my opinion, is to find successful grant applications. My first 100% self-written grant, I got other T32s, and followed the format.’

If you really enjoy learning something really well and then writing about it, there may be positions in law or government, including attorneys (they write extensively, mostly ‘briefs’), paralegals, speech-writers, congressional aides, and lobbyists. Of course becoming an attorney means going to law school, but a law degree can open up a lot of doors involving writing and communication overall.

Journalists do still exist, although full time, paid-by-a-paper-or-magazine roles are quickly diminishing as the face of the publishing industry is changing. You might have luck writing copy for a local news station (TV/Radio), or else you will want to work for a publication with a fairly large circulation. Most of the jobs for magazines and larger publishing entities are going to be in New York City. In the same vein, you may find jobs as a copywriter or copy editor at those same publications, but a full-time position is now the exception rather than the norm.

So let’s segue into publication, as it’s a good transition. These days, most editors, copywriters, and journalists are self-employed freelancers. With the advent of the internet, e-books like the Kindle and the Nook, the need for full time publishing house editors and copywriters has fallen drastically. The majority of newspapers and magazines have had articles submitted by freelance journalists for decades. ‘Publishing’ is changing drastically. Newspapers are being replaced by news aggregators. Magazines are still in existence, but most of them are online now and if they hope to continue making money, it is my opinion that they will eventually go all digital. There are still editorial positions here and there at traditional publishing houses, major newspaper/magazines, and sometimes you can get a job as an editor working for a literary agent (you may end up becoming an agent as well.) But most of what you do as an agent is read, not write. The same with publishing houses/publications. The role of the editor is to fix bad writing, so you need to know/understand that if you decide to go this route. New/junior editors at traditional publishing houses in New York are known to be woefully underpaid, and several of my own personal contacts had to work second or even third jobs to pay their bills until they had a decade or more under their belts.

"Jobs", as in full-time paid employee status, for writers are diminishing quite a bit. However, freelance opportunities and a variety of different publishing options are increasing daily.

When Should I Consider A Career Counselor?

In the last two weeks I’ve had two different friends contact me about career changes. One has been a technical writer for her entire career since she graduated from college. She isn’t sure if she is getting burned out at her current job and needs a change, or if it is her company in general. The other person has been a full-time stay at home Mom with the exception of a couple of short part-time jobs in the last decade or so. She is hoping to identify a career direction for herself as her family moves into a new phase. I recommended at least an initial consult with a Career Counselor for both of them (and gave them both contact information for professionals I <a href="http://www.vocationvillage.com/stay-at-home-dad-resume-advice//">respect and refer to </a>).

What does (and doesn’t) a career counselor do?

The most important thing to understand about career counselors is that they are *not* recruiters or headhunters; they will not "find you a job". Career counselors help you identify career options and directions that are right for you at various stages of your professional life. They may use psychological testing to help you identify strengths or weaknesses that are either interfering with your current satisfaction or possibly to switch direction. They can also help you with evaluating educational programs, including vocational training if needed. <a href="http://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/5586/_PARENT/layout_details_search/false/">The National Career Development Association </a> has some in-depth information regarding how Career Counselors can help a professional or student out. You should come away with a very clear goal and roadmap to achieve those goals.

During a job search, a Career Counselor may help you with some of the practical aspects of your journey such as helping you with updating your resume (see my post on <a href="http://hr.conquent.com/blog/index.cqs?blogid=8d6612062a0311deb537db7ad12d4be8/">questions to ask</a>), cover letter construction, and interview practice including mock interview scenarios.

Keep in mind that a Career Counselor is different than a Career Consultant. A Counselor is held to specific standards including education, experience, credentialing, and professional oversight. A Consultant is not. That isn’t to say that a Career Consultant isn’t an option. For example, I am a Resume Consultant which is a very narrow subset of the field but absolutely vital for a job seeker.

The cost and process will vary, but in the end you should find yourself with clarity of purpose, equipped with tools and techniques to explore career options that are right for you, and a renewed self-confidence about your professional persona.

What Kinds of Questions Should I Ask During Interviews/Phone Screens?

This is a very common question from job seekers, either fairly new to the job market or that have been in the same company a very long time. It is important to realize that interviewers (be they live or phone calls) are gauging several items during their conversations with you. Let’s start with the phone call, usually with either HR or a hiring team member:

‘ Your general communication style- will you be able to handle the organization’s full-on interview process?

‘ Overall functional fit; do your skills and background generally map to what the company needs?

‘ Cultural fit ‘ how you communicate and what you say can be a reflection of how you will fit in with other members of the team based on the existing dynamics.
‘ Interest and understanding of the role ‘ on both sides. Do you understand the role (this is a vital point for you, the job seeker, if the job description was vague or very broad), are you truly interested?
‘ Mutually agreeable employment expectations: items such as salary, commutability, (if needed) visa sponsorship options, core business hours/location.

I had a phone screen today with a candidate for a mid-level technical role that he had applied for. I had to reschedule the phone call once due to illness last week, so the candidate had plenty of time to look up our company, our products and industry views on the company. When I asked him if he had any questions for me, the first thing he asked is: ‘What does your company do?’ The second question was ‘Where are you located?’ I work for a publicly traded company that has been in Seattle for almost 20 years; we are in the tech industry and have a robust website. He has lived in the area longer than the company has been around and *he* applied directly to our position. Needless to say that his lack of preparation was an indication that he wasn’t a cultural fit. (Take these as examples of what NOT to ask.)

An initial phone call is a time to ask general questions about the role, expectations, the team, specific questions about the company such as product placement, leadership, market penetration, the recruiting process, expectations for the person hired into the position, where they are in the process, and how you compare to other candidates. These should be questions you have formulated based on your own research (press releases, financial reports, consumer reports, industry reviews, comments on Glass Door or Vault.) If you are speaking to someone in HR/Recruiting, it is also appropriate to talk money in general terms (as in a range, or what you are making now and hope to make going forward.) It is inappropriate to ask about promotional opportunities, vacation time, and benefits.
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If an initial phone screen goes well, you will likely be invited to the organization’s offices to interview. If you are a local candidate, this should be pretty simple. Ask what to expect from the interviews: how long will you be on site, are the interviews one on one or panel, dress code suggestions, specific ways to prepare for your meetings? If you are a fly-in candidate, there are a few questions you might want to ask the recruiter/coordinator that is working on your travel arrangements. The most important question should be whether you will need to pay for any expenses yourself and get reimbursed, and what is not reimbursable. This can be a huge question for candidates that are tight on money. Keep in mind that most organizations will be willing to pay for one night (possibly two) at a hotel, but if you want to stay longer you will need to pay for those extra nights. Flights usually aren’t that much of an issue, since it doesn’t matter when you travel. Also ask if there is a per diem for reimbursable food/beverage expenses. If you live within driving distance and prefer to drive, it is perfectly reasonable to ask how much you would be reimbursed for mileage for the trip. If you are close enough, you can also ask for a rail ticket instead of an airline if you prefer to go that route.

On-Site Interviews

Once you are invited on-site for an interview, questions become tougher and more on-point. I’ve covered interviews before, so I am going to stick to questions that you as the candidate should think about asking. In my mind, there are a few types of questions you should be asking any given interviewer. The first is clarification and further understanding about the role you are interviewing for; what are the responsibilities or expectations for this position, how will success be measured, how does it fit within the immediate team and the business unit of the organization overall, why is the position open (growth or backfill, and if it is a backfill what was the prior holder of the role like, is this role different/expanded from what s/he did?), what tools or processes are in use or on the horizon? The second type is about the interviewer personally ‘ how (and if) will they be interfacing with the role you are discussing, why are they on the interview loop, what is their background, how do they feel about the team, the company, the industry, and what they are looking specifically for in a candidate for this role. When you are asking questions specifically about the role, the team, and the company make sure you don’t repeat the same question to every interviewer. Show that you have gotten and synthesized the information you have already gleaned from other discussions.
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One type of interview confuses a lot of candidates, and that is the ‘lunch interview’. This time can be scheduled a number of different ways. You can be put in a more casual situation where you meet with one or more members of the team; you might have a more intense one on one with the hiring manager, or you may meet with someone completely outside the organization (such as someone from HR.) If you are meeting casually with the team, or with someone not from the organization relax a little, try and eat some food, and answer questions as they come up. If you are meeting with the hiring manager, this is an opportunity to ask more in depth questions or clarify anything that might be on your mind.

Remember, interviews are as much a chance for you to learn as the potential employer. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn as much as you can to make an informed decision, regardless of the outcome.

Effective Networking for College Students for Internships and Jobs

As intern and graduation season both approach, I thought I would focus a little time on the efforts of pursuing opportunities both as a new graduate and as a student seeking internships. First of all, let’s define "networking". It’s basically about building personal relationships with other individuals. While being part of a special interest community or group is a great way to meet those that are either like-minded or share a hobby, passion, or profession identification of such a group is the just the first step in the process.

One of the most ineffective ways to approach networking is to go online into a forum, community, or group and say, "Hi! I’m looking for an internship in New York city in marketing. Please message me if you know of anything!" Have you ever heard the old cliche of shooting fish in a barrel? Well, spread that out to shooting in the ocean for a shrimp. This is not how "networking" works. You are not building those one to one relationships and asking someone for a *reasonable* favor. It also leaves a poor impression with people that could be in a position to help you.

The professional world is built on an economy of trading…favors, money, expertise/information and even in some industries, human capital (recruiters share resumes quite frequently if candidates allow it.) But these transactions occur because the people involved have built a level of trust and respect for one another. This happens on a number of levels, but the most important is by reputation. Do you say you are going to do something and consistently follow through? Are your "transactions" generally of high quality? Is your information/expertise correct and valuable? So for you, as a student, to just throw out a plea for something to be given to you with absolutely no context as to your reputation or worth at the very least shows that you don’t understand the business world (which is forgivable to a degree due to inexperience) but also shows an attitude of being expected to have things handed to you without even forming a personal relationship.

Let’s use LinkedIn as this is where the largest number of offenders are. For the sake of argument, let’s say someone in my university alumni group throws out a plea of, "Hello, I’m graduating in May with a degree in finance. Please let me know if you hear of any job openings." This is ludicrous. There are tens of thousands of graduates at every level and within a huge set of industries. First of all, I went to school in Ohio (which is where I grew up), but I’ve been in the Pacific Northwest for well over 15 years. Being a recruiter, I may know about a ton of openings along the I-5 corridor (running from Vancouver BC in Canada down to the Mexican border with major population hubs in Seattle, Portland, Silicon Valley, LA and San Diego), but that may not be at all helpful or attractive to someone in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kentucky or Illinois which are the neighboring states to Ohio.

Take the time to craft a note, and ask for something specific from individuals. Look for people that are either managers, in HR/Recruiting, or fairly highly placed (Director, GM, or C-level) at target companies, or at the very least target industries. And this bears repeating: do not neglect your parents’ networks; most of their friends are at the right age to either be a hiring manager or know them. Be detailed and give them a reason why you are contacting them.

"Kristen, I see that you are a technical recruiter in Seattle for RealNetworks. I am interested in opportunities on the West Coast for entry level mobile development opportunities, and was wondering if I could set up time to chat, or if you had suggestions about companies I could target in WA and CA."

"Bob, I will be graduating from OU this May, and I am interested in the opportunity to discuss potential companies that might be hiring accounting majors. I am looking at X, Y, and Z and I see you have contacts in all three of my target companies."

"Jill, I am a junior studying fashion merchandising at IU, and I see that you have a contact at Macy’s in New York City. I have a 4.0 in my major and recently finished a capstone project that would be immediately applicable. Would you be willing to forward a request for an introduction to Tom in the HR department at Macy’s?"

Being polished is essential to get you ahead in the business world. With the amount of data available to you, networking the right way is much easier than it was 20 years ago. Do your homework, have the information available, then ask for help.

Confidentiality and Protecting Your Professional Network

In today’s highly connected digital landscape, people are giving up more and more of their personal information. We opt in to allow retailers to track our purchase history and credit card companies to sell our income information. If you aren’t aware of the implications of datamining and analytics, you might want to read up on them:

<a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2058205,00.html/" target="_blank">Data Mining: How Companies Now Know Everything About You

<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/09/24/898651/facebook-cvs-rewards-card/" target="_blank">How Facebook Plans On Using Your Prescription Drug Purchase History, And How To Stop Them!</a>

<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/im-being-followed-how-google-151-and-104-other-companies-151-are-tracking-me-on-the-web/253758/" target="_blank">I’m Being Followed: How Google’and 104 Other Companies’Are Tracking Me on the Web!</a>
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There is a conversation going on over on LinkedIn. A gentleman was asking for recommendations and contact info for his adult son for a PT job at a specific type of restaurant. He also stated that he had already ‘gotten him a job’ elsewhere and everyone ‘loved’ his son as an employee.

I chimed in with a couple of recommendations for the places to look into, and then made the observation that from a recruiting perspective, I would rather see his son asking for what he needs, as he is the candidate and the ‘product’.

To make a long story short (I made some observations about the appearance of overparenting, a suggestion on using the LinkedIn mobile app, and how great a skill it would be for his son to learn to network himself for a job), I apparently touched a nerve. I was pretty much told that I don’t know what I’m talking about, and that all he was looking for was contact information for his kid for a job thankyouverymuch.

The reason I relay this information is because never, in a thousand years, would I *ever* give out the contact information of a business owner or CEO of a company of any size to a third party regarding a job, just as I would never give someone’s resume to another recruiter/company without the candidate’s express permission or request.

I have some very highly placed contacts in my professional network on a global scale. They have entrusted me with their business acquaintanceship and contact information with the understanding that I will not just give it away to anyone who might ask. From a human resources and legal perspective, it is a serious breach of ethics for me to just give someone’s resume and contact information away without the candidate’s express permission. I am happy to facilitate connections, but I’m not going to do it on a third-party basis. To be blunt, how do *I* know this guy was really looking to help his kid, or trying to drum up names for a sales pitch? Especially after taking such offense to my observations (he "doth protest too much, methinks".)

I am perfectly willing to take responsibility for my own information and how it is acquired and used, but I feel very strongly about my rights and responsibilities with *other* people’s information. If someone is looking for a job and I have information that might be beneficial in their search, I expect them to contact me directly to make the request.

Some Thoughts On Freelancing

It is interesting to look at the two ends of the spectrum of what constitutes "freelance" professionals and everything in between. At the youthful end of the spectrum, we see the Digital Natives (Millennials, GenY). This generation wants flexibility, to run their own show, to get paid well for their talents. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. In fact, I think it’s fantastic to see young professionals plying their chosen professions and making an honest living at it.

At the other end of the spectrum, you will find the Boomers and older GenX’ers, and many of them have "put out their shingles" out of necessity. In a recession, many companies have been loath to hire older professionals with decades of experience. There are still very few industries and companies that provide "exit strategies" for aging professional populations. There does come a point in a professional’s life when they are ready to start winding down, and unfortunately it isn’t always easy to do so without looking like you are "giving up." More mature workers still have bills to pay, children in college, and retirement savings to contribute to.

There is also a band in the middle, those professionals that have chosen to be freelance professionals for a variety of reasons, many of them having to do with work-life balance. I know several professionals (especially women) in their mid-thirties to early forties that decided to go the freelance route to devote time to their young families. Often these professionals have a spouse or partner that can provide benefits, a steady paycheck, and some stability.

Some professions will always be "freelance"; authors, artists, and solo musicians often are freelance professionals by default. Real estate agents, many bookkeepers, accountants, massage therapists, hair stylists are almost all are considered "freelance" if they aren’t employed by corporations. There are advantages and disadvantages to the freelance lifestyle. I was recently looking for a part-time graphic designer to work onsite 20 hours a week. It’s a great opportunity for someone that has a solo business but also wants to have some stability and get a steady paycheck. I will say that almost every professional that we brought back for a second interview was someone that was excited about collaborating with a team, being in an atmosphere where there is an energy to the work space. The person we just made an offer to was *genuinely excited* about the opportunity, in contrast to the other five people we considered. One of the biggest drawbacks for many solo practitioners is the isolation of not having regular contact with colleagues.

I have interviewed a lot of freelance or small business consultants over the last few years. One of my close friends finally had to close up shop after over ten years because of the overhead cost, and an offer to work for a company managing their on-site consulting at a Fortune 100 company. He was sad at losing his autonomy, the office he had gone to every day, and there was a sense of failure. On the flip side, he didn’t have to worry about trying to sell his services, he now gets to concentrate on what he is good at, has full health benefits, he gets a regular paycheck and doesn’t stress about paying the bills. It was a positive tradeoff for him.

Most people starting out forget that a major part of your efforts are going to be related to *running a business* and *developing your client base* (read: sales and marketing). Make sure you understand the costs you are going to incur as you figure out your fee scale. Know the tax laws for your city/county/state, and hire yourself a good accountant. Get your business license before you do *anything else*. (Check your state’s website under "licensing" for information on filing a business license.) Keep your personal and professional monies separate. Pay yourself only out of the profits from your business after you satisfy the costs you have (things like taxes, supplies, electricity, your health care and 401k contributions, your internet connection/website hosting fees, cell phone bill, etc.) Just remember, if you are setting out on your own, your business is with you 24×7, and no one else will do it for you. Get EVERYTHING in writing; bids, contracts, invoices. In this day and age, you are only as good as your business practices. The money you make is built on your own sales efforts and expertise at whatever you do professionally. Keep your reputation clean, and if a client doesn’t treat you professionally, remember that you can pull out of the relationship at any time.

I found this great calculator a few years ago which is very helpful <a href="http://www.danflak.com/employment/1099.html">for budgeting</a> .

If you don’t know what you should be making as a salaried employee, check out either <a href="http://www.salary.com/">salary.com</a> or <a href="http://www.payscale.com/">payscale.com</a> by zip code.

Being independent is great for some people, and not so much for others. Only you can make that determination and make a go of it in the business world.

Building Your Online Brand

I belong to and manage/moderate several online groups; this includes groups on Yahoo!, LinkedIn, and Facebook. I have been *asked* to help with several of them because of my fairly consistent presence and the fact that I try to keep up the integrity of discussion groups by barring and being vigilant about spam. Beyond that, I have intentionally created a very definitive, multi-faceted online presence.

My brand tends to revolve in two different main categories: recruiting/HR and career management, and writing/publishing. Being a well-known recruiter in Seattle and other markets is a byproduct of my career choices. I would like to state, for the record, that I did not ‘choose’ recruiting; it chose me. Before I got into recruiting, I did a lot of content management (via content management systems and databases) and prior to that mostly I worked in administrative or customer service roles. My career was not planned, it was accidental and the result of me taking chances, seizing opportunities, and learning as much and as quickly as I could to build a diversified skill set. So the content management piece is truly the bedrock of my online presence, coupled with my 10 years in recruiting/HR. I’ve been writing since just before I got into recruiting, so they are somewhat synonymous.

So let’s define a couple of concepts: ‘online’ and ‘brand’.

When I talk ‘online’ I mean it all: social media, pictures, articles and research papers, your high school yearbook, the synagogue directory that publishes your cell phone number, the online petition you signed in 1992 banning xyz in your community. Yes, that’s right. There are things online that you may not even be aware of. I am an expert researcher when it comes to finding people. I was once challenged with finding contact information from a friend for a mutual favorite actor. An hour later, I had his cell phone number and called it. His daughter answered (I asked for someone ridiculous and she said ‘no, this is X’). It was on a tennis club directory in his hometown. My point is, there is a lot more than you think online with your name on it. You cannot control everything, but you can consciously create a professional brand in the areas you want to be recognized as an expert, and when you have enough of an online footprint, some of the more esoteric items fall far away as less important.

Now for your brand. Very simply this is an image, concept, profession, or ‘persona’ (if you will) that you want to be recognized as. You can deliberately manage this, or you can let it evolve organically. If you choose not to manage your brand, be aware that it can be the subject of negative influence from others.
This piece is about deliberately managing your brand, and doing so online. How are some ways you can create a recognizable, strong positive brand?

-Decide on how you want to be recognized. By your profession? Are you trying to use your name or another sort of persona to define your brand? A unique concept? Your hobby? Keep in mind that two things are going to be the easiest to manage: either your name (unless you have a common name like ‘Joe Smith’) or a strong, singular concept, possibly including a nickname. Use it for you social media profiles like your Twitter handle, Pinterest identity, and make sure it’s part of your LinkedIn profile and your blog.

-What is your ‘angle’ as an expert? In my case, my blog melds my experience as a recruiter and writer in a no-nonsense series of articles about job hunting from the hiring side of the equation. I had a career-advice column on the Seattle Times, I’m well-known in the local recruiting and tech communities, and this is how I have concentrated my own brand. One of my professional colleagues is a Talent Sourcer, and her brand is ‘Research Goddess’ (and yes, she is.) Even my volunteer work involves recruiting and onboarding for the local chapter of an international non-profit. To create a strong ‘brand’ you need to have a consistent message and voice, if you will. You don’t want to be just one more widget maker from New York. What makes YOU the best, most knowledgable widgeteer in the Big Apple?! (Notice the self-created title and referring to New York City by its casual moniker? That is branding.)

-Share information. This means building community with your peers/colleagues, and anyone else you might want to ‘know’ you! Tweet articles of interest; comment on blogs (and write one!); if you disagree with something written, professionally state *why* you don’t and support it with your expertise. Thoughtfully disagreeing with something online is a great way to create an intricate reputation as someone that is ‘in the know’. Join LinkedIn groups relevant to your brand, and answer questions. Ask them if appropriate (but see my blog on ‘LinkedIn for Professional Writers’ on how not to use LinkedIn.) Start a Pinterest board that has to do with your online brand and persona, and share the pins with your Facebook and Twitter followers and friends.

-Be a ‘curator’. Nowadays, content is king; but what if you don’t know how or don’t have enough time to create a stellar amount of content (highly unlikely given the rise of Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook images)? Become a ‘curator’, which means you create a centralized repository of information. In the old days (you know, the 20th century) this concept would have been akin to a portal. Here is a great <a href="http://www.bethkanter.org/content-curation-101/">primer</a>. Curation is about you creating and maintaining (that is a key concept) a repository of online content grouped around a specific theme. You create a destination for people of like minds/interests to your own.

-Let the ‘real you’ shine through in some places. These days everyone connects with their online personas, and if you are all business all the time, you come across as shallow or insincere. So don’t be afraid to put a little bit of personality into your online branding. An example would be my twitter account. I post a few things every now and then about books, travel, favorite bands, and hobbies that are not going to be considered in poor taste. I retweet and ‘favorite’ certain amusing tweets just because they appeal to me, and follow public celebrities, but I am mindful not to do so with things that could be considered slanderous or highly controversial. An occasional picture of your dog, or a video from your vacation in Disneyland add a bit of personality to your online social persona. On Facebook, I often will post ‘Dear'(Candidate, Hiring Manager, Colleague)’ amusing anecdotal ‘rants’. (A recent example: ‘Dear Colleagues: I know this may come as a total shock to you, but we in recruiting use your Outlook calendar to schedule interviews and meetings. This means we assume your calendar is up to date. As Nike says: JUST DO IT. Lack of planning on your part does not create an emergency on mine. Ciao.’)

-Keep your truly private life and your public persona separate. When Facebook recently changed their policies about searchability, I changed my private account by using a nickname for my display name, and I opened a new public account under my full name (including my middle initial and a different email address.) My private wall is where I share my views on politics, social issues, and details about my family life. I don’t want my friends and family to have *their* information revealed via a search for me and my views on things such as women’s rights or religion. As a recruiter, I am highly visible just because I’m posting jobs regularly.

-Create some sort of portfolio. Most people think you have to be in some sort of ‘creative’ career to have a portfolio, but that isn’t true. If you are a software engineer, it will be coding samples. If you are a mechanic, it can be photos of work you have done (before/after shots) and discuss technique. A stock broker can have graphic representations of his successful wealth management strategies. A real estate agent should obviously have photos of the houses she has sold. An attorney can have a list of cases won and any articles or briefs published that are public record. A retail associate can take photos of products and outfits created/sold. It’s about merchandizing *yourself* in ways that are going to make sense to other people.
-Become well enough established in your local community that people ask you to speak on panels and deliver keynote addresses or teach seminars/classes. Record these sessions and then create a Youtube channel/podcast station, then cross-promote your expertise on all your social media channels. Put your presentation decks on Slideshare (keep them password protected and view-only to protect your intellectual property.) Create a reputation for yourself in the community as someone willing to chat and share knowledge. Be open and offer to conduct informational interviews to your local careercenters at colleges and the unemployment office. Volunteer for <a href="http://www.score.org/about-score/"> SCORE</a>. Make the acquaintance of independent reporters, and be quoted in news media articles of interest in your profession.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of ideas, but it should be enough for anyone to get a start. If you are job hunting or have thrown out your own shingle, this sort of activity is *crucial* to you to stand out from the competition. And as any recent college graduate or over-50 unemployed executive can tell you, it’s a jungle out there.
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Marissa Mayer and the Change in Yahoo’s Remote Workforce

There is a huge hue and cry about a recent announcement from Yahoo! that they are going to change their remote, work-from-home culture and require their employees to go into the office. The Huffington Post labels the decision as "Marissa Mayer’s Work-From-Home Ban Is The Exact Opposite Of What CEOs Should Be Doing", saying it is a step backwards.

Detractors are decrying this business decision, and I would like to point out a few things.

1) Marissa Mayer was hired to turn around a failing, irrelevant business. She was hired from Google, a company that is *known* for a close, collaborative atmosphere. If you have ever been to a Google office, you know that the company, one of the top 3 most successful brands *in the world*, does everything possible to make employees WANT to be there and work.

2) There is no mention of whether or not the remote culture was successful. My guess is that the company did an analysis of productivity and found that remote workers were less productive than they used to be. Obviously something isn’t working for the business given their numbers the last few years.

3) The individuals that are so negative regarding this decision do not know that this is a permanent status; it may very well be a temporary decision for the company.

4) The outrage seems to be that Yahoo! isn’t valuing the "need" for parents to have a flexible schedule for work life balance. Yahoo! isn’t a daycare; it is a BUSINESS. If adults choose to have careers and families, it is their responsibility to make their lives balance, not their employer’s. Employees are certainly free to seek other employment options if these changes don’t "work" for them.

There are several large companies in the last few years that have had remote work forces that have made major cuts: Sun Microsystems and IBM both come to mind. I personally have friends at both companies that were adversely affected and were working from home. Both of them have had to move (one across country, one two states) to find jobs to support themselves.

I personally applaud Marissa Mayer for having the conviction to make changes and build a culture of productivity and collaboration. The future is flexible, especially in technology. We don’t know what the future holds and whether this change will herald a revitalized Yahoo! or be a business debacle. Either way, change is definitely needed.

LinkedIn for Professional Writers

As a recruiter, I know how valuable it is for a candidate to research a potential job, industry and organization before entertaining thoughts of becoming a candidate. To that end, when I decided I wanted to become a writer, I started doing my research *before* ever entertained thoughts of getting published. This was concurrent with writing my first manuscript draft. For me, that meant attending writer’s conferences, local workshops, and generally learning about the publishing industry. They key to this is that I treated being a writer as a *job*, a professional endeavor.

I now have some clout as a former career advice columnist with the Seattle Times, and I am on the Board of Directors for a local non-profit that offers annual writing workshops. In the last seven years, I have become somewhat familiar with the business of being a writer. As a recruiter, I have to say that it appalls me how many hopeful writers don’t treat their careers with the same thoughtfulness that they would any other job. I’m seeing more and more of this on LinkedIn, where I belong to several writer-centric groups. I have written a guest blog for a friend that is a freelance writer on how to use/not use LinkedIn for writers, and I’m going to expand upon it here.

LinkedIn Errors For Writers:

*Never post anything that isn’t properly capitalized, spell-checked, or punctuated. Ever.

*Join groups/discussions and do absolutely nothing but promote yourself (your book/article, blog, appearances, etc.).

*Contact the wrong person; don’t email the CEO of an agency when there are four agents that are accepting submissions in your genre at the agency.

*Get into inflammatory discussions on public forums. Remember that 1) LinkedIn is an international, multi-cultural venue 2) it is just as valid to pursue self publishing, Print on Demand, and ePublishing as it is a traditional publishing house; different writers have different needs 3) this is about building COMMUNITY; differing opinions and tastes add to the experience, not diminish it.

*Constantly name drop; it’s annoying.

*Not be clear when asking for something/information. Make sure you use enough details when you are starting a discussion or asking a question. "Concise" should not be "cryptic". Conversely, don’t ramble on and on.

*Use LinkedIn as a substitute for proper submissions.

*Badmouth industry professionals. This includes writers/authors, agents, editors, publishing houses, publications, etc. This is the fastest way to get a bad reputation.

*Send generic "I want to add you to my professional network" invitations. Freelance writers and authors should put EXTRA effort into contacting industry professionals.

*Post responses to questions or discussions that have already been said.

*Ask for recommendations or endorsements from people that barely (or don’t) know your work.

*Post questions to the writing community that you could have answered yourself with one Google search.

*Get into dissenting discussions on religion, politics, or other "controversial" topics. Writers of any sort need to keep as much objectivity as possible.

*Over-post profile updates. LinkedIn is not Twitter or Facebook. Your "update" field should be used sparingly and for important things (like your upcoming release, or the contest on your website for readers, really interesting industry articles or announcements.)

*Have a profile that tries to show you as an expert in fifteen different things. If you are using LinkedIn as a writer, make sure your profile brands you as a writer (or agent, or editor.)

*Neglect an online portfolio. There are several apps you can use for free.

I would have to say that the two related errors that irritate me the most: "Not be clear when asking for something/information. Make sure you use enough details when you are starting a discussion or asking a question. "Concise" should not be "cryptic". Conversely, don’t ramble on and on" and "Posting a question that you could have answered yourself with one Google search."

A recent example is:
BR />"Anyone had any problems getting their work published? Does anyone know of any agencies who take on new writers? "

That’s it. My response: "What do you mean by "problems"? Of course there are agencies that take on new writers; what kind of research have *you* done? What is your genre and how far along in the process are you? (i.e. do you have a completed manuscript for submission?)

The first thing I think when I see something like this is that the person that posted the question cannot write, and has never done any research; the second is that they are lazy. The truth of the matter is that "writing" is one of the most well-documented professions out there. More self-help books, blogs, and articles exist on "how to be a writer" than just about any other profession known to modern man. Being lazy like this sets the tone for your *professional brand as a writer*. To be honest, when someone posts something like this, asking if anyone else has ever had "problems" getting their work published, I also think that they probably aren’t a very good writer, and that could be anything from not getting appropriate critiques, to not editing their work, to using poor grammar and spelling, to not following publishing submission guidelines posted.

Remember that LinkedIn is a professional forum, and especially as a writer you must be thoughtful about how/what you post. If you are a beginning writer, treat writing as a profession and follow the same guidelines you would for any other job.
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