Freelancing matters

In my most recent blog post I wrote of how freelancing seems at last to be working for me , and I have a steady flow of work. Not high paying jobs, but even so a steady flow of regular work. One of the most obvious differences of freelancing is that certainly when starting out, income often has to be built up from several sources and small jobs, rather than going to work for one employer. Many hours will be spent not just doing the work and meeting deadlines, but looking for the next job or more jobs to bump up your earnings in addition to the one you are currently working on.

It might not sound ideal, I have friends and family who care very much for my welfare but cannot rejoice at my saying I have work, because they do not see freelancing as a real job. With one elderly friend, I have to constantly reassure her by saying that its a stop gap , just something better than nothing that pays the bills and I'm using it to get some work experience to get a real job. She feels so strongly that it cannot be real work and longs to hear I have got a job where I went for an interview in an office and I can answer 'yes ' to her question ' They do pay everything for you that they should …..? ' meaning tax and national insurance, sickness pay and holiday pay. I admit I have told a few lies....

However, freelancing matters and I believe it will increasingly matter for older and or disabled workers. Denied sickness benefits and with the decrease in the value of pensions and increase in the state pension age , many are and will find themselves unable to do the job they did, yet being forced by welfare reform to get a job. Freelancing is the way to make a job....

Do not be fooled though, freelancing does not mean that you will find it easier to get work or that indeed you will get work. Many freelancers just setting off are a long way from having a fully fledged business of their own, and so to start off may and many do, use freelance bid sites where they bid for the jobs advertised. These sites are good sources of work, many freelancers get all their work from them, others use them until they have enough clients not to use them and perhaps have built up a larger business, perhaps no longer working from a desk in the spare bedroom or home office. The way to find these freelance job boards is to Google lists of freelance job boards and look through them to see what you fancy and then discover over time which ones are most suitable for you. It is a case of trial and error. Some freelance boards are specialist boards for e.g. writers, others are general with several types of job .

A point to remember when applying for freelance work is that the same approach applies in some ways as it does to applying for a job with an employer. Just because it is freelance work, does not mean you will be offered it, there are as many, if not more freelancers out there as there are jobs and there is a wealth of advice online about how to write and win bids , in the same way as there is loads of advice about how to write a CV, apply for jobs and approach a job interview and of course gradually you gain more confidence and experience at doing so . Also, rather like networking to get a regular job , the more work you do and complete, the better ratings on such sites you can build up, which can lead to more work and actually being invited to submit bids for jobs because people have seen your profile and ratings .

Freelancing does matter in the job hunting world and will become increasingly significant to the workforce as people age and disabled people who once would have received sickness and disability benefits are forced to work , as well as being a very popular lifestyle choice for many. Freelancing is a real job...and it matters