Looking for contract or freelance work

[hbelkins]

It's no secret that I'm suffering from the ravages of the Obama economy. I'm looking for freelance or contract work in my areas of expertise.

I have a Facebook page set up at http://www.facebook.com/KentuckyValleyMedia if anyone wants to take a look.

If anyone would like a copy of my resume, shoot me a PM with your email address and I'll provide it.

[realjd]

Obama economy? It's a lot better now than it was in 2008 when the Bush economy tanked.

Politics aside, what exactly is your area of expertise? Without revealing too much personal info, what sort of consulting gig are you looking for?

[empirestate]

I'm actually trying to do less contract/freelance work in my area of expertise. Would be nice if my employers would share their part of the tax burden. That, and my profession is actually legislated to be wage employment under my state's labor laws.


iPhone

[corco]

Nothing says "I'm the competent marketing consultant you want to hire" quite like somebody that can't even advertise their services without discussing their personal political beliefs....

[hbelkins]

Obama economy? It's a lot better now than it was in 2008 when the Bush economy tanked.

You obviously don't live in Kentucky. it's worse here. They say the unemployment rate is dropping, but that's only because of the number of people who have exhausted their UI benefits and can't find work. Wages are stagnant, the cost of living is going up. I could go on.

Politics aside, what exactly is your area of expertise? Without revealing too much personal info, what sort of consulting gig are you looking for?

Writing, editing, social media. My degree's in journalism and my work experience is in print media and public sector PR. The Facebook link posted above gives an idea of what I'm trying to do.

I'm also trying to freelance a column. http://kentuckyvalleyviews.blogspot.com

Nothing says "I'm the competent marketing consultant you want to hire" quite like somebody that can't even advertise their services without discussing their personal political beliefs....

Just stating facts. And everybody knows my politics anyway.

[Zeffy]

Nothing says "I'm the competent marketing consultant you want to hire" quite like somebody that can't even advertise their services without discussing their personal political beliefs....

This is why I choose to completely ignore politics. That being said H.B., I did manage to read a couple of your articles and you do have admirable writing skills. Hopefully everything works out in the end for you.

[empirestate]

I'm afraid I have to agree, if I may offer this constructively, that your first sentence has no function but to instantly and completely (and quite predictably) derail the intent of your post. I can't help but think that a more careful application of the very skills you're advertising would have caught this misstep and expunged the offending text before it hit the airwaves, so to speak.

And in fairness, you normally succeed at this; while it's true that we can easily guess your politics, you rarely refer to them directly in most of your forum contributions, and the discussion is always the better for it.


iPhone

[US71]

The fact you are already doing a blog is a step in the right direction. Get it circulated enough and you may turn it into something that you can sell advertising &/or get paid for articles.

[Rothman]

They say the unemployment rate is dropping, but that's only because of the number of people who have exhausted their UI benefits and can't find work. Wages are stagnant, the cost of living is going up. I could go on.

Actually, the exhaustion of UI benefits does not cause the number considered to be unemployed to decrease.  From the BLS website:

"While the UI claims data provide useful information, they are not used to measure total unemployment because they exclude several important groups."

[briantroutman]

Hi H.B.– This is somewhat related to the line of work my wife and I are in: I'm a freelance graphic designer and filmmaker and my wife is a freelance writer. We regularly interface with the kinds of businesses that hire freelancers, so let me ask a few questions and offer a few thoughts.

Where do you want to go with your freelancing? Are you just trying to pick up a few extra dollars to supplement your income, are you searching for a gig that will lead to full-time employment, or do you want to build your own business?

Have you considered trying to hook up with an agency that does marketing/advertising/PR work or web design? Here's why I ask: Companies rarely seek outside help for writing a blog or website content in isolation. More frequently, these projects are tied into website redesigns, concerted marketing campaigns, etc. The agency wouldn't have to be local/regional to you, although your localness would be an added bonus answer you could give when they ask "Why should we consider you?" .

The nice thing about developing a relationship with an agency is that they'll (hopefully) attract clients who can actually pay. There's a minefield of poverty row clients who'd love to have you write content for their website, maintain their Facebook page, or whatever, but the alternative to hiring you is having their kid nephew do it for next to nothing. And they're willing to give you only slightly more than they're offering him. If you can target some regional businesses (a five-store grocery chain, a county bank, etc.), I think you'll stand a better chance at getting somewhere.

And when going after these more desirable clients, your approach has to be more carefully considered, too. For example, if you're trying to attract the county bank as a client, spend some time looking at other community banks' Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, pay attention to what works and what doesn't, and then put together a pitch that shows that you know their business and have valuable ideas on how to connect with and engage their audience.

[bandit957]

It's no secret that I'm suffering from the ravages of the Obama economy.

It's also no secret that the recession has been going on since the mid-'90s, years before anyone ever heard of Obama.

[bandit957]

You obviously don't live in Kentucky. it's worse here.

Louisville is booming.

[Pete from Boston]

I'm afraid I have to agree, if I may offer this constructively, that your first sentence has no function but to instantly and completely (and quite predictably) derail the intent of your post. I can't help but think that a more careful application of the very skills you're advertising would have caught this misstep and expunged the offending text before it hit the airwaves, so to speak.

And in fairness, you normally succeed at this; while it's true that we can easily guess your politics, you rarely refer to them directly in most of your forum contributions, and the discussion is always the better for it.

Brings to mind the "dress for the job you want" maxim.  Speaking from experience, sometimes offering your whole self to prospective clients is not in the best interest of gaining their business.

[realjd]

Writing, editing, social media. My degree's in journalism and my work experience is in print media and public sector PR. The Facebook link posted above gives an idea of what I'm trying to do.

I'm also trying to freelance a column. http://kentuckyvalleyviews.blogspot.com

Your writing is really good, but my company doesn't have a need for someone with your skills right now. Sorry! I was hoping you we're going to say you were a software engineer or something along those lines. That's where our big needs are right now.