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Subject:Looking to Telecommute/Freelance Part Time From:Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- AXIONET -dot- COM> Date:Sat, 26 Apr 1997 13:07:37 -0400
Lori Smith <lasmith -at- IQUEST -dot- NET> wrote:
>I am brand new to the list, but have enjoyed reading the >messages so far. I am looking for some part time freelance >tech writing jobs I can do from home. (I would like to pay for >this computer, as well as enhance my resume!) I was thinking >along the lines of convesions (from hard copy to online help, >from one tool to another), indexing technical documents,
>and so on.
You might add editing and layout to your list of jobs, if you feel that
you have those skills.
>I have tried many of the job search engines on the www. Do
>you have any tips on how I could continue my search?
I've picked up a couple of jobs from the web, and you might try the web
pages of the STC chapters near you to see if they have a job board.
However, judging from my own experience, I wouldn't rely too heavily on
the web for job searches.
For one thing, I don't think that any single source has all the
positions available.
For another, an application sent via the internet is too easy to ignore.
So are faxes. Interviews and phone calls give you more of a chance to
make an impression. Letters are somewhere between these two extremes,
since they can be thrown away, but, if people open them, they may at
least read them, having already invested a little time. That said, I
wouldn't neglect any of these methods, because you never know what will
work with any given employer.
You might also want to consider doing some volunteer work, or simple
fliers or brochures for small businesses, just as a way of getting
started. You won't make much (if any) money from these contracts, but
they're resume stuffing, and will help you land bigger contracts.
Also, these small contracts will help you survive the Computer
Latitudes, two to three months into your job search, when you're tempted
to despair.
(The Computer Latitudes, by the way, are so-called because Spanish
Conquistadors, becalmed on their way to the New World, used to jettison
their hard drives to lighten their ships in the hopes of getting under
weigh again. I believe Jim Morrison did a song of the same name),
--
Bruce Byfield (bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com)
Technical Writer
IBM Pacific Development Centre
h: (604) 421-7189 o: (604) 293-5781
"But in all the Bombay Palaces,
In all the Stars of Calcuttas,
You've barely placed your orders
When in walks a dozen nutters.
If there was a masked nan who could save us,
We'd not know his name for sure,
But we'd know him by his theme song:
The William Patel Overture.
(Chorus: Pappadom, pappadom , pappadom-dom-dom ...)"
--Les Barker
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