24 Jan 10 Freelance Writing – What to Do When Work is Slow

Everyone goes through a lean phase, and indeed, it could be very worrying. But, if you have a proper plan in place then you will take the lack of clients as an opportunity to do something big. I am serious. It is as easy to do as it is to write, if you do the proper planning.

What to do when clients are hard to come by?

Look for more clients: This is the first thing you should do, but do not waste inordinate amount of time on client searching. 2-3 hours a day should be more than sufficient. Scan twitter, job sites, and freelance boards and see if you can land up in a good deal.
Work on the basics: There are some shortcomings in your writing which you have noticed earlier as well, but due to unavailability of time, you could not work on improving them. Now as you do not have many works, why do not you take it as an opportunity to improve your writing skills? You may want to revisit English grammar, or you may want to read some books on writing, or attend some class. This is the right time to invest in improving your skills.
Start you own project: In the years or months you worked for your clients, you must have thought of starting some exciting project: may be write an e-book or create an informational product, or a course, or a website, or a blog. This is the time to execute the plans you were making. Why do not you start working on the stuffs you have been planning for long?
Spend time with your family: It often happens with us that when there are lots of works to finish within a tight deadline then we tend to overlook our family. As you do not have much work, you should spend your time with your family, and recover the lost family-time.
Take a vacation: If you have sufficient bank balance to pay for your vacation then cash in on the opportunity you got and take your family for a long due family vacation.

These represent just tip of the iceberg. There are many more things that you can do. Just be creative and plan out something.

Tags: Amount Of Time, Bank Balance, Creative, e book, English Grammar, Family Time, Family Vacation, Freelance Work, Freelance Writing, Informational Product, Job Boards, Job Sites, Read Books, Right Time, Shortcomings, Stuffs, Tight Deadline, Tip Of The Iceberg, Unavailability, Writing Skills

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20 Nov 09 Practice Before An Interview

If you have an interview coming up, it definitely couldn’t hurt to practice. In fact, practice before every interview is a good idea, no matter the circumstance. Through practice you better prepare yourself, increasing your likelihood of getting the job. Of course you can’t know what questions you’ll be asked beforehand, but you can be ready for anything with a good warm up.

Remember to do your research. That should be a part of preparation for any interview. Know the company, what you want from them, and why you want to work there. Find out about the services they provide, how they apply to your skills and goals. Those are all very necessary parts of any interview. Being prepared to talk about them beforehand will keep you calm when the subjects come up in the actual interview.

Study yourself. You’d be pretty embarrassed if you were asked a question about your resume, and you were unable to answer. Study that resume, and know it by heart. Consider why you put the credentials you chose on the resume. Knowing this beforehand prepares you for any questions you’ll receive regarding your resume during the interview.

Finally, on the day of the actual interview, take time to unwind and calm down beforehand. You want to be relaxed and confident. So take out a little time for yourself. That way you can collect your thoughts, relax, and keep a positive attitude for your road to securing that job. Stay courteous and professional, and remember your research. That way, no question will stump you, and you’ll answer all of them to the best of your ability.

By preparing you give yourself the best chance to make a good impression. During the interview process, a good impression is invaluable. The best impression you can make will help good credentials stand out, and any shortcomings disappear.

Tags: Circumstance, Credentials, Heart, Interview Process, Interview Study, Job, Likelihood, Little Time, Positive Attitude, Resume, Shortcomings

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20 Oct 09 Formulating A Career Action Plan

Creating a career action plan is important for everyone. No matter the career, your planning will be better served with a CAP. This will give you a comprehensive guideline that you intend to follow. By having this path set before you, you can be better aware of your goals. Making the path allows for you to keep sight of what you want out of your career, and the ways to accomplish those goals. So it only makes sense to sit down and write one out.

The career action plan is exactly what it sounds like. A well laid plan on how to get your career from point A to point B, and beyond. You should have a well researched path that you intend to follow. One that works for your skill set, and commitment. You’ll have to take into account the workload you’re willing to accommodate, and how you intend to achieve your intended ends.

Following the typical CAP format you should start out by mapping your objectives. Write down what you hope to achieve, from pay scale, to promotions, to education. Figure out what you want to put in, as well as what you want to get out of your career.

From there, in the next section detail all of your previous experience, and the skill set that you’ve developed. Whether through work history, or education, write down what has set you up for your career.

Now you calculate your weaknesses, and honesty counts here. Nobody is going to be looking at this play besides you, so be honest. Failing to record a truthful account of your weaknesses leads to a plan that might not work for you. So figure out your shortcomings so that you may learn to work around them. That’s all part of your plan, and you’ll be better set by knowing where you may fall short, so that you can prevent that, or work around them.

Finally you plot out your goals. Take the information you have already written, and maneuver how it fits into the goals you want to achieve. In this step you can map out exactly how to go about making your goals come to fruition. Through careful planning here, you’ll have a good idea of what you need to do, and a decent time table of when you can expect to accomplish some of those goals.

Tags: Cap, Career Action Plan, Career Plan, Career Planning, Education, Honesty, Leads, Maneuver, Path, Promotions, Section Detail, Shortcomings, Skill Set, Sounds, Work History, Workload

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24 Jan 10 Freelance Writing – What to Do When Work is Slow

What to do when clients are hard to come by?

20 Nov 09 Practice Before An Interview

20 Oct 09 Formulating A Career Action Plan

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