Re: wisdom from freelancers

["Katherine Noftz Nagel (Kat)" <lists -at- masterworkconsulting -dot- com>]

straylightsghost -at- gmail -dot- com (CL T) wrote on 2008/10/22:
>This year (back in April), I made the decision to NOT take a new 
>contract gig and go for something a little more recession-proof. 
>Permanent, somewhat boring, full-time job. 


Permanent?
What's "permanent?"

Ain't NUTHIN' permanent about full-time jobs where I live.  Most major
employers in town, after swearing that their last layoff would be
their...um...last, have just announced Yet Another Downsizing.  (At
least they have the decency to not call it Right-sizing, any more.)
At one of those companies, the contract employees are still there
until their contract term runs out.  Only the direct hires were walked
to the door.

So, if I were the original poster, I'd go with the contract.  I'd save
the difference between the new salary and my pre-layoff salary, take
advantage of the work-from-home option, and save the gas money to use
for health insurance when the spousal coverage runs out (which I'd
negotiate to continue as long as possible).

If I liked the company, the people, and the work, I'd look hard for
other things they need that I could do for them.  When this contract
ended, I'd tell them I'm available for an extension.  If they said no,
I'd pitch 'em for a different project, with a complete formal proposal
that showed I know the company and its culture.

If I didn't like the place, the people, or the work, I'd still stick
it out for the original contract length --- I can stand anything for a
year --- and start looking around for another gig toward the end of
that period.

In this crazy economy, I certainly wouldn't turn down a good contract
job for the possibility of a so-called-permanent job that might not be
offered to me.

My $0.18 (two cents, adjusted for inflation)
K@
Kat Nagel

"The transformation of calories into words, of words into money,
 and of money into calories again are the three basic cycles in a
 freelance writer's metabolism."   _Poison Pen_ by Mary Kittredge

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