How to Benefit from a Freelancer's Mind Set

I love when other people hit the nail on the head!!!  (Article Source)

After watching longtime colleagues get laid off during a painful downsizing, a friend of mine is putting together her résumé. She realized she could be next, and she wanted to be ready.
"It's scary," she confided in me. "It's been a long time since I've been on the hunt, interviewing, marketing my skills. Even though I'm still employed, I've got to stop being a company woman and think more like a freelancer."

Layoffs or not, any career-minded employee can benefit from having a freelancer's mind-set. I'm biased, of course: I've been a self-employed freelancer for almost seven years now. The idea of looking for work isn't scary to me, even during a recession, because that's what a freelancer does all the time. Even during the fat times of a long-term, well-paying contract, as a freelancer, you're still always on the lookout for what might be next.

Here are a few more ways a freelancer thinks and works that can benefit traditional employees.

Freelancers know how to hustle. As a freelancer, you can't afford to become irrelevant, because that could mean that the next gig will never come. Freelancers are constantly networking, marketing, and staying on top of the latest and greatest tools and news in their field to make themselves the go-to person for a certain kind of service or expertise. Good freelancers live on their toes. They're adaptable to changing opportunities, and can quickly shift gears, evaluate different jobs, refer potential clients to their freelancer friends, and chat at the virtual watercooler about who needs what. Freelancers know when it's time to pull an all-nighter and when they can take an afternoon off to catch a matinee. Freelancers don't put their careers on cruise control for long periods of time because they're setting the course — not their boss or company.

Freelancers are acutely aware of costs in time and money. The phrase "time is money" doesn't hit home until you're sitting at your desk, goofing off, and realize that you're wasting your own money by doing so. A freelancer has his or her hourly rate top-of-mind at all times. Any project a freelancer works on has a price and a number of hours attached to it, and that awareness makes for a more efficient and productive workday. A freelancer is less likely to waste time on things that don't matter because they can't afford to. As an employee, do you know what your hourly rate of pay is? Have you thought about how much of that time and money you spend putting cover sheets on your TPS reports or letting that meeting drone on 30 minutes longer than it should?

Freelancers do work for reasons other than money. Freelancers don't just get paid in money, they also look for gigs and affiliations that will create connections, get them experience, and open doors to more work, expertise, or contacts. A freelancer might turn down an okay-paying job that's just not that interesting, but opt to speak at a local event and write a daily blog for free to get their name out there. A freelancer is always looking for the "good" work, the interesting contracts that will pack her CV with marketable experience, which in turn differentiates her from other contractors. In my experience, there are two common kinds of freelance work: the well-paying tedium, and the underpaying interesting jobs. The first funds the second. (The third kind, the well-paying interesting contract, also comes along once in awhile, and getting one is like hitting the lottery.) Freelancers choose what contracts to work on based on several factors, not just monetary compensation. So, the next time the boss is looking for someone to join a committee, head up a task force, or lead a new initiative? Even if it's more work that won't get you a salary boost, think like a freelancer and choose based on what other benefits might be in store.

Freelancers build (and risk) their reputation with every job. When you're an independent freelancer whose name is attached to everything you produce, there's a higher level of accountability than when you work under the umbrella of a larger team or company. Freelancers — especially the perfectionist types — strive for a higher level of excellence because they own every single thing they do, and every job is a stepping stone toward the next. If your name appeared on every single thing you produced every day at your company, would you feel differently than you do now?

A big part of being an independent contractor is the need to constantly market oneself, and that requires a level of ego-centricity that won't work in a team situation. When you work in a group, it can't be all about you — but in the larger spectrum of your career, thinking like a freelancer can make you more efficient, marketable, and able to weather a storm.

Rememberance Day

I would like to take a min to reflect on Rememberance Day.  A holiday often overlooked in our busy lives when I was at home, has taken on a new meaning being so far away.  There was a post on the CBC site pondering the question "if the circumstances were the same now, would I be brave enough to step up for my country".   

I think my answer would be yes; only if Canada was threatened by an outside force and we were going to lose our home because of it, I believe I would step up.   However, this would only be after every other alternative had failed (so Canadian!).

Anyway, I would like to send out a big Thank You to my grandparents and their generation for stepping up and making a difference.  Wear your poppy and be proud! 

Human Resources Development

As a person to always keep my options open, from time to time I apply for random jobs to see what the market is like and also to refine my CV.

Earlier last month I filled out an online application for McKinsey - I have always thought it would be beneficial to work at one of the biggest consulting companies in the world. In the almost 3 weeks since doing this I haven't given it a thought until last night when I received my rejection. Naturally, being someone who is pretty curious, I sent an email back and asked for details of 'why'.

From the email I received back - they don't give individual feedback... BUT their requirements are that you must be on the Dean's list, win some award and be in the top x% of your class. I can see their reasoning for this, these top people are obviously go-getters who want to work and achieve…. garbage.

If I was sitting in the COO’s chair of a major corporation and needed consulting work done, why should I hire a company that just recruits the SAME people. It just doesn’t make any sense. While I was doing my MBA our Leadership stream always stressed on the fact that with various personality types and focus you get more creative solutions to problems. In 99% of the cases that I have participated in, yes, this is true!

So back to HR and creative hiring strategies. If a company truly wants a diverse pool of people to add richness to their organization I would use the adage – hire for fit and train for skills. Of course there will always be some minimum requirements such as knowledge in a specific area or an undergrad degree but isn’t corporate culture a LOT more important in the long run? In this economy wouldn’t you want to hire people that are loyal to the company and not just hungry for that ‘A+’ mark.

Something to think about the next time you are apply for a job. Do you really want to work for a company that has arguably antiquated HR strategies?

AAGC Open

Today I won my first golf trophy!  This was partially due to the fact that I was playing with some great players on the first day and they gave me a 36 handicap to start! 

The first day of play started at 12:30pm in 35 degrees, I was play with Doug (scot), Peter (scot) and Mike (kiwi).  By the time we all finished at 5:30 it was finally starting to cool off.  After a quick run home for a shower it was back to the club for a great dinner and band.  This morning we were all up early for an 8:00 tee off.  I was playing with two ladies from the Sharjah Golf Club and things went horribly wrong when I starting missing shots and ended up getting a 12 on the 14th.

I have to say that golf is a sport that I can give or take.  I don't find that I have a huge affinity with it but it is definitely a good skill to have.  Apparently I have also been appointed ladies captain.  I think it is because I am the only lady that shows up on a regular basis.

Definitely the lack of activity in Al Ain has ensured my participation in the golf club.  Oh well - to bed early for my 5:30am run tomorrow!

Here is the link to the pictures:  http://picasaweb.google.com/alaingolfclub

You know you are Canadian when...

You have to explain AND google the word touque for your work mates!

Jim's Top 12 for Gen Y's

1) Realize that this economic mess is not your fault…but don’t get a chip on your shoulder over it either.

2) Own your morale and attitude on how you perceive the world.

3) Never stop learning. When you think you’ve had enough, find another area in which to learn something new. Read a book – don’t just web surf.

4) Follow Slava’s rule: have two trades or professions

5) Working after high school or taking time off to work or travel during college may be a good idea, but it’s a personal decision. Only you can make the final decision once you’ve checked things out, including receiving constructive advice from family and friends. Oh, and tell your parents to chill out if they start to panic.

6) Make this time off a growth experience. Don’t rot at home or hang out with friends who are going nowhere.

7) Lower your material expectations (remember we Boomers will need you to help pay for our pension plans). 

8) Post-secondary education is always a good thing (usually), but take the time to assess your interests and passions against what college programs offer.

9) Remember that there will always be ‘unknowns’ of which you’re unaware. Never be a know-it-all. Be humble and curious.

10) Be open to outcome, not attached to it.

11) Create your future by seizing opportunities and then allowing Mr. Luck in.

12) Sacrifice. It’s the ONLY way to initiate personal change and to systematically make a long-term improvement in your economic wellbeing.

Good luck!
(Source)

More on Confict Management

This is so true - we deal with so much conflict on a day to day basis, it seems more productive to embrace it and deal constructively with it than fight it.  (Making Conflict Management A Strategic Advantage)

Conflict Handling Modes:

• Competing is assertive and uncooperative. You try to satisfy your own concerns at the other’s expense—to win.

• Accommodating is unassertive and cooperative—the opposite of competing. You sacrifice your own concerns to satisfy the other person’s.

• Compromising is partially assertive and partially cooperative. You look for an acceptable settlement that only partially satisfies both your own and the other person’s concerns.

• Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative. You try to sidestep or postpone the conflict, satisfying neither person’s concerns.

• Collaborating is assertive and cooperative. You try to problem-solve to find a solution that completely satisfies both your concerns and the other’s.