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Subject:Re: Temping: An alternative to agencies? From:Win Day <winday -at- IDIRECT -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 23 May 1997 16:49:02 -0400
At 12:20 PM 5/23/97 -0500, -Geoff Hart wrote:
> It occurred to me that some freelancers may have an
> interesting alternative to working with agencies. I haven't
> tried this (I'm a fat and happy wage slave), but it seems
> to be worth investigating. Feedback welcomed.
>
> Why not list yourself with local "temporary office help"
> agencies such as Kelly? I suspect that lots of small
> businesses don't know the first thing about techwhirling
> agencies, and immediately think "secretarial" when they
> think about writing. (I've even met people who didn't know
> that some yellow pages have separate writing and editing
> sections.) If you leave your resume with the temp. agency,
> you might get the occasional bite-size job to tide you over
> between major contracts. Hope this helps someone!
>
> -
In the Toronto area, Kelly has an arm called Kelly Technical Services; they
handle tech writers, programmers, IT/IS folks, accountants... you get the
picture.
They've called me about a couple of contracts in the last few months.
Unfortunately, they were looking for full-time short-term contracts, and I'd
prefer part-time contracts that might run long-term.
They were pleasant to deal with, at least on the phone, and didn't blink
(much) when I mentioned my consulting rate. I have no idea what their
standard markup is, but I could expect to get my quoted rate from at least
two of the contracts they contacted me about.
I'd recommend freelancers to at least register with them. You aren't under
any obligation to accept a contract you don't want, and it could broaden
your exposure.
Win
---------------------
Win Day
Technical Writer/Editor
Email: winday -at- idirect -dot- com
=====================================
"I have learned that to get a job done and have
fun in it is about all you can get out of life."
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