Sometimes things don’t work
Sometimes things simply don’t work out the way we expect or plan for them to, and that can go for anything, but you shouldn’t stay stuck in a rut for too long. Remember that moving on isn’t particularly difficult and it’ll be better for you to do it. There might also be a number of reasons behind why it hasn’t worked for you, whether it be scheduling or organisation or just simply the added stress of having a number of different businesses projects on your plate at the same time.
Switching back to the traditional workforce will often let you breathe a sigh of relief as typically ex-freelancers find it far less challenging and a lot smoother than what they were previously doing.
Another thing you will have to remember though is that the local economy in your town or city will affect your job search. As most freelance workers are connected to clients across the world there is less of an issue with regards to the local economy. This means your job hunt might be more difficult depending on your specialisation and the local economy’s current standing.
Update your skills
To make your move back into the workforce as seamless as possible, you’ll need to make sure your skills are as up-to-date as possible and that you’re ready for the new duties and workflows a new job will require you do too. It’s a good idea to do some research and brush up on what’s required in a new role that you’re looking at and then take a short course or some self-motivated study on those topics.
This is the best time for you to assess your current resume and look for gaps that might turn employers away from you. So, do your best to find ways to fill these gaps. It can even be things as simple as volunteering in a relevant field.
Companies like Google, LinkedIn and Upskilled often have totally online and simple short courses to allow students to brush up on their skills and learn the ins and outs of most relevant and sought-after information. These are great to add to your skillset and your resume when applying for a new job.
Update your documents and socials
One of the more obvious steps is to make sure that all of your experience and previous employment is well documented and ready to be showcased to your new potential employer. While previous employment is important, focusing on your freelance experience can give you a competitive advantage with the diverse and different opportunities that come with freelancing. You should look to showcase how you time manage, as well as how you work under pressure and all of the things that freelancing has taught you.
Just listing freelancing as an experience won’t do you much justice either, so be sure to highlight the experience and skills you’ve had to develop during your time freelancing. This can be anything from marketing to web development and even accounting.
Also, try not to make your freelancing time look like a work gap on your resume or cover letter either, because it wasn’t. Make sure to really push this as a time of skill development and a real test of your productivity and discipline. Employers don’t want to just see that you’ve worked freelance, they need to see what you’ve developed and achieved during that time and how you can use those unique skills to make your time at their business worthwhile.
Your social work profiles, like LinkedIn, will also need to be switched around a little to suit your non-freelance outlook. This means making sure it’s ready for interviewers to look at and that its filled will all of the relevant experience needed to make you look suited for the roles you’re applying for.
Look in new places for work & contact businesses
If you’re looking to move out of freelancing, one of the best places to look for new jobs is on online job boards. These will offer you the best look at the work outlook in your area and what’s currently available that’s fitting for your skills.
Job boards like Gumtree are great for finding vacant roles in small businesses and in companies with great growth opportunities in your location and across the country.
Don’t turn away from calling businesses either. If you’ve developed great skills and can boast the perfect attributes for a role, even if it isn’t currently available at a business, you still might be able to get a placement by calling a HR department and letting them know you’re looking for work and that you’ll be a great candidate to fill the role.
Rock the interview
Normally interviewers won’t be too concerned that you’ve spent time as a freelancer, as there are more positives than negatives with regards to what you can bring to the table. You’ll just need to make sure that you sell the fact that you’ve been a freelancer as a great way of developing skills you couldn’t have otherwise gotten.
Own the fact that you have the ability to discipline yourself so well that you can work under pressure and as your own boss, as well as the fact that you’re efficient enough to handle a number of projects at one time.
The transition
Another major factor you’ll have to make sure you’re prepared for is that your work times will be different when moving back into the workforce, so don’t forget about that. Be open to work on different bases like part-time, full-time and casual, it’s all about getting the connections and experience, so don’t turn away an opportunity just because it might not be similar to your freelancing schedule.
Getting back into the workforce can take time, both for finding a job, and then switching your mindset back into 9 to 5 and working for the one same business day in and day out. You can expect for it to take up to 6 months for you to find a job in a great and suitable new role, and then a further few months to re-adapt yourself to working non-freelance.