How You Leave a Gig is Just as Important as How You Started
We talk a lot here at Freelance Writing Jobs about how to find work and how to treat clients at the beginning of your working relationship. How you behave at the end of the gig is just as important.
Sometimes your relationship with a client ends because you have decided that it’s time to move on. You may have found higher paying work elsewhere or you may have decided not to work with that client for personal reasons.
In other situations, the decision to end the working relationship is made by the client. They may not have any more work for you, or may need to stop handing out assignments due to economic reasons. It’s possible that the client may decide not to work with you any longer because they are not happy with your work.
Whether the decision to end the working relationship is yours or the client’s you have a choice about how you are going to behave. If there is any work outstanding that you have agreed to do, get it wrapped up. Prepare your final invoice and submit it.
If you are the one who has decided not to accept any further assignments and you feel comfortable doing so, offer to refer the client to another writer. Someone you know may be a great fit for the gig, even if it isn’t a good one for you anymore.
In a situation where the client has made the decision to end things, you can still behave with class. If the client is not pleased and you can’t work things out, you can tell him or her that you are sorry that you weren’t able to resolve the situation. The result may be the same, but there is no reason why you both can’t walk away with your dignity intact.
When the reason for the client ending your working relationship is due to economic reasons, tell him or her that you understand and that you are sorry that they are having a difficult time. If you would be interested in working with the client again when the situation changes, tell them that. You could also ask the client for referrals to other people who may be hiring.
How do you handle the end of a freelance writing gig?
The Letter-Resume: An Alternative to the Standard Resume Format
If you are responding to an ad or are preparing a pitch for a potential client but you don’t want to include a formal resume. There is are a way that you can tell the client about your experience without using one: the resume letter.
Here’s how it works:
- Start your letter off in the usual way to introduce yourself and explain why you are making contact with the client.
- Then include a list of points from your resume that show the client why you are a good fit for the ad you are responding to or the role that you are interested in filling for them
- Finish with a good closing, thanking the client for taking the time to consider you and that you hope to hear from them soon or when you will be contacting them to follow up.
Why Use Bullet Points
Rather than use a paragraph style for your letter-resume, using either bullet points or numbers draws the reader’s eye directly to that section of the letter. Keep each point relatively short – two or three sentences will do. Make sure that what you list in your letter-resume is relevant to the writing gig you are applying to or hope to land.
I’m in favor of using whatever strategy works to present yourself in the best possible way to a client, as long as you are following the instructions in their ad. Part of doing so is giving the client all the information they need to determine if you are qualified for the gig and if they can work with you. If they don’t want to see a resume, that’s fine. You can tell them about yourself in this way instead.
Your Freelance Resume: Focus on Experience
One of our readers has recently started working for a new client and is wondering how soon to list that experience on a freelance writer’s resume. Here’s my take on it:
Working as a freelance writer is not the same thing as being an employer. When you are preparing a resume for a job using a chronological format, you list the names of your previous employers and the dates when you worked there. When you are preparing a freelance writer’s resume, keep in mind that you are working for yourself, and the way you tell a prospective client about your work experience is a little different.
A prospective client is more likely to ask how long you have been freelancing and what kinds of work you have done than how long you have worked with a particular client. (It’s a good policy to make a point of not discussing your clients with each other anyway.) Some of your assignments are going to be one-time or short-term arrangements only, simply because that’s all the client needs.
If you’re wondering how soon you can list a new client on your resume (if you choose to name names, that is), I would say that you can put this information on your freelance writer’s resume as soon as you like. Rather than listing any of your clients by name, you can focus on the kind of writing you did and the topics you have written about, if appropriate.
You aren’t required to reveal how long you have written for a particular client. Your freelance writer’s resume should focus on what you have done, not who your clients are.
How To Stay Motivated in Your Job Search
I thought I would try something different for this post. I found about this new tool that lets people make their own animated movies. I made my own short film about staying motivated when you are looking for freelance writing gigs. Hope you like it!
How Often Should You Update Your Resume?
A resume is an important job search tool for freelance writers. Not all prospective clients ask to see one. For those clients who do, we want to present ourselves in the best possible way, and an updated resume is a must if we want to do that.
How often should this important document be updated? Ideally, you will update your resume when you have new experience or updated skills to add to it. I’m the first person to admit that I’m not always right on top of things when it comes to my resume. I do take a look at it very few months and make changes as necessary, though.
When you take a look at your resume, do more than just add your new experience to it. Go through the whole document carefully. You may want to make changes in the way you have described your previous work experience or other parts of your resume. As you add more freelance writing work experience, you may want to shorten or change the descriptions of your previous employment experience to keep the employer’s focus on your experience with writing, editing, blogging, etc.
If you have been applying for a lot of freelance writing gigs that you feel you are a good fit for but you aren’t getting hired, it may be a sign that you need to revamp your resume. This document may be the only opportunity you get to show a potential client who you are and what you can do for them, and you need to make sure that you make the best first impression you can.
If it’s been awhile since you’ve gone over your resume, review it and make changes as needed. This step is just as important to your business as any of your other marketing efforts.
Google Alerts as a Job Search Tool
When it comes to looking for freelance writing job opportunities, I’m of the “Leave No Stone Unturned” school of thought. Along with checking out job postings and preparing pitches for potential clients, you may want to consider signing up for Google Alerts.
The process is very easy. You visit the Google Alerts page and fill out the online form indicating whether you want to receive Alerts from Google News, the Web, blogs, or groups. Choosing “Comprehensive” gives you Alerts from all sources.
Next, set up the frequency you would like to receive Google Alerts. You can choose to get them once a week, once a day or as-it-happens. I would suggest as-it-happens so that you get leads sent to your promptly.
I use “freelance writer” as my search term because I want to see all the results with that phrase. If I chose “freelance writer wanted,” or something like that, I would be limiting myself to Alerts with that particular phrase. Keeping it simple means that I get updates that include job leads, news about freelance writers, as well as links to some wonderful blogs written by my colleagues.
If you are open to turning over a few rocks on your search for freelance writing jobs, you may end up finding a diamond or two for your trouble. Have you tried setting up Google Alerts as a job search technique? How has it worked out for you?
5 Tips on How to Ask a Freelance Writing Client for More Work
I wanted to follow up on the suggestions I made in my post about asking a client for more work with some more specific tips.
1. Make sure this is someone you want to work with again.
Don’t ask someone for more work if you really would rather not work with them again. If this client is someone you find difficult to deal with and you cringe at the thought of doing anything else for them as opposed to being excited or at least interested in getting started, skip the request for more assignments. Just thank them for their business and move on.
Asking for more work as a matter of course when you’re not interested amounts to the “I had a really nice time. I’ll call you” thing in the dating world. Don’t go there.
2. Mention the project(s) you have worked on for the client when you make your pitch.
Your client may have a number of writers working for them on various projects at any given time. While we all like to think that we are so stellar that a client couldn’t possibly forget us or our work, it does happen. Give them a gentle reminder so they can place you before moving on to your request for a new project.
3. Tell the client what else you can for them.
If you don’t share the other things you have in your bag of tricks, as I like to call it, the client doesn’t know. You may have submitted a resume when you applied for the gig, but once you were hired, the client probably hasn’t looked at it again.
Say you were hired to write some press releases. Being the professional freelance writer that you are, you have done your homework to find out about your client and what they do. Consider where they might need more writing services and make a pitch for them.
For example, if they don’t have a blog yet and you have experience in that area, contact the client to explain the benefits of having one. Since you already have a relationship with the client, you are in a good position to be hired for the gig – without having to go up against a hundred or more other candidates if the client were to place an ad. You can do the same with web content, copy for web and print, technical writing, white papers, etc.
4. Rinse and repeat.
If you ask for more work and the client doesn’t have anything for you at that point, it doesn’t mean that the source of work has dried up. Make a note to check back later. The client may even give you an idea of when they may need a writer and you should follow up with them slightly before that point. That way, you are well positioned to be chosen for the next gig.
5. Make asking for more work a regular part of your routine.
If you get it the habit of asking for more work when you finish a project, you are more likely to avoid down times in your freelance writing career. It’s far easier to convince someone who you have worked with already to hire you again than to start trying to build a relationship with a new client. A stable of regular, loyal clients who can keep you supplied with work and refer you to other people who can hire you is gold. Treat them like the precious resource they are and watch your business grow.
Why a Targeted Job Search Works Best
As freelance writers, we spend a certain amount of our time in search of new projects. When you are looking for work, do you apply to ads blindly, or do you limit your search to those that closely match your skills and abilities?
Sometimes we can get caught up in wanting to stay busy and we think that if we keep applying for available jobs that we will keep our plates full with plenty of work. This isn’t the best strategy, though. A highly-targeted approach to looking for work is going to be more successful.
I know that I have written that applying for freelance writing jobs is partly a numbers game, and it is. The more opportunities that you apply for, the more you will end up getting hired for. However, you will also increase your chances if you are applying for gigs that are a good fit for you.
Read the ad carefully to see if you can picture yourself doing the job. Some ads seem to be written with you in mind, and by all means throw your hat into the ring and tell the client that you would like to be considered for it.
Why You Should Skip the Ads That Aren’t a Good Fit
If you come across an ad that isn’t really a good fit because of the subject, type of writing, or pay, move on to something else. It’s important to value your time as a freelance writer. You only have so many hours in the day, and the time that you are spending preparing cover letters and getting your resume and samples ready to submit to the client is better spent looking for something that will fit your needs better and help you reach your goals.
If you are spending a certain portion of your day looking for freelance writing gigs and you don’t find any ads to respond to that day, then use the time to make cold calls, prepare a pitch for a potential client that you are interested in working with, or contacting previous clients about their writing needs.
Do you target your search when looking for freelance writing jobs?
5 Things That Clients Won’t Ask You
When you are applying for available freelance writing jobs or make a pitch to a prospective client, there are some things they are wondering about but won’t ask. Consider the following the next time you are communicating with someone new about your writing services:
1. “Are you reliable?”
While freelancers may complain about clients who simply disappear, they aren’t the only ones who behave that way. A client wants to find someone who will show up and do the work they have been asked to do.
2. “Is your everyday work as good as your samples?”
We pick and choose the work that we provide to prospective clients as samples very carefully. It’s only natural to want to find what we consider to be our best work to present with our cover letter and resume. The client who reads them may be wondering if we can produce that level of quality on a regular basis.
3. “Will you be difficult to work with?”
No matter how stellar your samples are, if you give off the impression that you are going to be, um, challenging to work with, then the client may well take a pass.
4. “Can you follow instructions precisely?”
When clients tell you how they want to you to write something for them, it’s not a suggestion. They want what they want, and we get paid to give it to them. Failing to do so means that the work may get sent back for revisions or even reassigned. When that happens, it throws the project off schedule for the client.
5. “Can I afford to hire you?”
The final decision about whether to hire you may come down to whether your rates fit into the client’s budget. If you are asking for a higher rate than the client had in mind, be prepared to show how hiring you will bring value to the project.
You may want to anticipate these 5 questions that clients won’t ask you and address them in your cover letter as best you can. Tell the client about how reliable you are and how you strive to meet your clients’ needs for every project you take on. When the time comes to negotiate rates, give yourself some wiggle room so that you can make a counteroffer if that seems appropriate.
How would you deal with these issues with a prospective client?
You Have a Full Plate: Do You Still Look for Work?
The short answer to this question is “Yes.” Marketing your writing business should be an ongoing activity. Many freelancers have peaks and valleys in their work load. It goes with the territory.
If you want to keep the work coming in, you should be constantly doing activities that will grow your business. Even if you are at the point where your time is completely booked and you couldn’t possibly squeeze one more thing in, do it anyway. Find a few minutes to check out job boards, the job leads we post here at FWJ, to make a couple of cold calls, or approach a potential client by e-mail.
Don’t worry about how you are going to fit the next gig into your schedule. You haven’t got it yet. It may take time to hear back from your job searching efforts, and chances are that you will apply for many more gigs than you actually get. You can always discuss deadlines when you are negotiating fees with the client.
Part of being a freelancer is juggling the work we have in front of us with being on the lookout for our next project. Do you look for work constantly, or do you back off from these activities when you have a lot of work do do?
