RE: finding work/business as freelance

["Lauren" <lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu>]

Jay,

If your employment has anything to do with contracts in California, then you
should know there was a bit of a slump all summer because of budget delays.
The State of California is the single largest employer in the state and many
businesses rely on revenue from state contracts.  The budget delays stalled
pretty much all state contracts, except for critical contracts.  I don't
know about your area, but businesses in your area could have been affected.


Now that the budget is signed, previously signed contracts have funding and
new contracts are opening up with start dates in October.  Since contractors
weren't getting state contracts in the summer, they may have taken contracts
and employment elsewhere, so there could be a gap between the sudden
increase in the need for contractors and the availability of contractors.
If you have worked on CA state contracts or if you ever considered working
on one, then now is a good time to capitalize on a sudden burst of
opportunities with the state.

You might also broaden your job description search.  It seems there are more
positions available for business analysts than for technical writers, but
many of the descriptions are the same or at least comparable between BAs and
TWs.  I searched Dice with your area code and saw some relatively simple BA
positions that may or may not compensate as well as a TW position.  There
were other positions that seemed relatively intense, comparatively speaking.
I think that if I was in your area, I would probably have a lot of work
right now just by searching for BA positions.  TW resumes may need a little
tweaking to answer the call of BA positions and resumes should emphasize
reporting and database use, but those are minor changes really.

Self-promotion for me seems to have the most success by keeping my Dice
resume updated, which I don't, but I still get a lot inquiries anyway.  I
also work with the recruiters that have the best opportunities on Dice, like
Robert Half International (RHI).  RHI sends me regular emails about
positions.  If you were interested in state contracts, then you could become
a CA-certified small business (that's free) and use the state's small
business portal to find ads for contracts and then attach your own ad ($25
to have a reusable ad) to advertise yourself as a sub-contractor to prime
(CMAS) contractors.  The state doesn't like working with recruiters so they
offer a lot of help to small businesses that will provide the work
themselves.

http://www.pd.dgs.ca.gov/smbus/default.htm

Lauren
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com 
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On 
> Behalf Of Jay Maechtlen
> Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2007 12:13 AM
> Cc: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: finding work/business as freelance
> 
> Well, the jobhunt isn't yielding much right now.
> Methinks it's time to advertise and freelance.
> Aside from the proverbial networking, can anyone offer some 
> suggestions
> on the advertising/promotional side?
> Thanks!
> Jay
> 
> -- 
> Jay Maechtlen
> techpubs -at- covad -dot- net
> 626 444-5112 office
> 626 840-8875 cell
> www.laserpubs.com
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