Free Agent Services
So You Want to Be Independent?

Networking


"The seeds of your experience, properly nurtured, will grow into your portfolio of accomplishments."

  • -Skip Stein - President of Management Systems Consulting, Inc.

 

Your Private Domain

 

If you are going to be in business or just want some additional security, you need to register and set up your private domain.  Registration is easy; as cheap as $10.95/year.  For another $40.00/month or so, you can have your own web site, unlimited email accounts and unlimited attachments.  There is also the additional privacy consideration, although remember, nothing you email, post or text is ever totally private!

 

There are still plenty of names available to you.  Get creative or just use your own name; I did. It was easy to register and easier to maintain.  You don't have to be a webmaster either.  There are plenty of 'open systems' software that make setting up and maintaining a web site easy.  If you don't want to bother, ask a local high school kid to help you (if your own kids aren't available...).

 

With your own domain, email and ability to store almost unlimited amounts of data, you can build an entire profile, marketing program and presentations for your service/products.  Making them available 24/7 on the Net, worldwide, gives you constant presence.  Cheaper than glossy brochures and easier to access.  Just refer potential clients to your website!  We can help you if you need, but a bit of effort on your part will give you a sense of accomplishment and identity.

 

Adding you personal/business email address on your business card marks you as a 'professional' and someone who is in business for real!  Using a 'hotmail', 'yahoo' or other 'free' account often conveys the impression that this is just not a real commitment or that you aren't in the business to do business.  After all, much of today's monetary  and information exchange is conducted over the 'net'!  Be a part of it!

 

Networking Sites

 

You have probably heard and read all about networking.  There is a reason for that; IT WORKS!

Are you networking on LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and others?  If not, get started.  YOU are the commodity your are selling.  Brand yourself (see later sections).

 

Now that you have your company, what will you do with it.  You need to create a marketing campaign!  If you were able to leverage your previous work into a new assignment; terrific.  Document what you did, add it to your portfolio.

 

Join various groups in your areas of interest on these networking sites.  Identify individuals who know more than you do.  Communicate with them.  Ask for advice.  Ask for work.  The more visible you become the more readily you will find work.

 

Portfolio, Resume and Curriculum Vitae

 

If you don't have a professional resume and portfolio, write one.  If you need help, you can find resources in our marketing section.  See above for your own domain and posting your CV online for an 'on-line' marketing brochure.

 

There are many opinions on the form/format that a Curriculum Vitae (CV) or resume should take.  When you were an employee and looking for a new job, your new company wanted you to fill our an employment form and provide your previous work history.  These HR types, seldom understood the business, being more concerned with identifying 'gaps in employment' or educational grade points.  Nothing that really pertains to doing productive work.

 

As a Free Agent, you are responsible to demonstrate your ability to solve problems and/or get work done in a timely and cost effective manner.  One of the ways you do this is to prepare a profile of your representative skills and accomplishments.  Key word here is 'representative'.   If you are seeking Free Agent work in say the Healthcare field, your experience on the North Slope of Alaska during the 1983 Sealift project may not be particular interesting to your prospective client (although it makes for an interesting tale...).

 

If you are multi-talented, as most Free Agents are, you will need several CV's to demonstrate your particular expertise in targeted fields.   Your employment work history will tend to blend with your Free Agent projects.  The goal is to succinctly describe how you have solved problems in the past and performed work that contributed to the success and profitability of your client company.

 

I prefer a primary 'first page' that describes the Free Agent's general work history, skills and talents applied in the industry, technical skills, educational and other credentials (certifications, degrees, etc.).  The next page or two (at most) should describe in relative priority sequence (not necessarily in historical sequence) examples of work you have completed, how it contributed to the organization (employer or client).

 

Develop a small library of CV and Cover Letters that apply to specific industry or skill set.  Have these handy wherever you travel; portable offices on thumb drives are great!

 

Next you need to start Selling Yourself=>>