How does a little bird find a golden “cage”? Advice to freelancers in finding employment in the office

Freelance. Today, this term, which came to us from abroad, no longer surprise anyone. From English, “freelance” is a freelancer, “freelance artist”; a man working without a contract. In short, this is a contractor who takes orders directly from the client and performs project work on conditions that are convenient for both parties. As a rule, this work has a “remote” character, that is, the contractor and the customer can be in different cities (and even countries), and the main conditions for successful cooperation are Internet access, desire and responsibility. What are the pitfalls of freelancing, and why are "office" employers trying to avoid such candidates? How to be to the side of the performer, if he decided to start a “free” life and go to the state with a rationed working day? These and other issues are analyzed in today's article.

Waiting vs Reality
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You do not even have to spend letters and space in the text to explain why freelancing is attractive. Obviously, with this mode of operation, you independently manage time, working at your convenience. You can take your own tea, coffee or snack breaks whenever it is convenient. You can choose only interesting, well-paid and feasible projects. In the end, your “office” is a laptop or tablet with access to the global network, which does not limit you in any way at all. Today it can be a sunny beach by the ocean, tomorrow - a lake, after sun - a quiet place among fresh greenery and flowers. Fertile picture, is not it?

And few of the representatives of today's youth from 18 to ... years does not dream of such a development of his own career and life. But there are cases when freelancers, having worked with plenty on projects from different customers, understand that not everything is as rosy as it seemed at first glance, and that any medal has a downside. Projects are not always interesting, customers are not always adequate (and often those that refuse to fully pay for work), the period of intensive orders (when you have to stay awake at night) is replaced by “idle time”. And then the “free artist” is forced to recruit boring, uninteresting and poorly paid orders that do not bring him any pleasure, but only cause negative. At this point, our hero decides to “tie” with freedom in favor of stability and regular payments in a well-known company and begins to actively attend interviews. What awaits him?

What's next?

Russian specialists from the personnel department have already managed to develop a special attitude to this “caste” of applicants and treat them with apprehension. If Western companies have long and willingly recruited freelancers into the state, domestic employers are still very wary of such candidates. To reverse this trend and “painlessly” to get a good company with a full-time day and a cozy office space, it is worth understanding how employers think when they see the cherished word “freelance” in your resume. And even better - to figure out what they would not like to hear from yesterday's freelancers at the interview. HR-manager of BYYD Mobile Advertising Platform Diana Donets will help us in this.

So imagine. You come to an interview where a recruiter interviews you. The key question from his side: “Why did you decide to leave freelancing and get us in the office?”

And the answers that, if not completely, then to a decent percentage of the company, will lower the company's desire to hire you. Read and remember not to make a fatal mistake.

"I do not have enough people, communication, team."

The most common mistake. With this answer, hr clearly understands that as soon as the applicant at a new job meets his social need for communication, he may want to return to his usual course and sit back at home with a laptop. At home, where no one touches him and does not indicate what to do. Homes where he is his own boss. Now he, perhaps, wants to be among people, to communicate. But if he spent a long time mostly alone, then there is a great risk that he has forgotten how to communicate with the team, make compromises, and adhere to business ethics. Such an employee is potentially dangerous for the atmosphere within the company and may cause a decrease in overall productivity and motivation.

“I can’t set myself tasks and control the process of their implementation, I need a leader”

Comments are even a bit superfluous. Perhaps in a real situation the wording will be somewhat different, but the promise will remain the same. We perfectly understand what the freelancer had in mind with such an answer - only that he is a good performer who needs a task manager in the person of the immediate supervisor. But it sounds like this: “I am an irresponsible, inactive worker who does not want to take on additional duties, but only wants to do his job mechanically, without a share of creativity and inspiration.” Such employees are not needed for any company. If you yourself can not organize and monitor the timely implementation of tasks, then why should the employer spend on this additional resources? When applying for a job, the company expects the employee to be independent and professional, and not work “out of hand”.

“I was bored with uninteresting projects that clients throw in to me”.

Excuse me, but who said that in our company all projects will be very exciting and unusual? As a rule, work in a large stable company is a running mechanism with a basic set of fulfilled routine tasks. And the success of the company lies precisely in the fact that these tasks are done from time to time according to an approved scheme, without deviating from the standards. Will this “free artist”, who is accustomed to turn around and “slam the door,” like this, as soon as he lost inspiration?

“Customers underestimate me and pay me little”

Or maybe you are working poorly and overestimate your capabilities? In no case at the interview should not show negative to the head / customer / client - regardless of whether this was true. With such behavior, you only demonstrate your inconsistency as an employee and lack of business ethics. If you are now talking about the past employer, where is the guarantee that in the future you will not speak the same way about who is going to hire you?

“I need to pay rent / car / loan / mortgage”

It is clear that we all get a job not for the sake of an idea, but first of all, so that our work is paid and we can eat “bread and butter”. But it is not necessary to reduce the entire conversation to money. Such a message only says that as soon as you find a higher salary elsewhere, you will leave the current employer without regret, leaving him with a headache for finding and training a new employee. This alignment does not appeal even to inveterate adventurers who are in constant search for “fresh blood” and new thoughts. It all comes out pretty expensive. In addition to payment at work, you should keep interesting tasks and the desire to develop and contribute to the development of the company.

How to be?

All of these points, of course, have the fullest right to exist, and the fears of the leaders are justified.

“Before coming to the interview you should study in detail the field of activity of the company you are interested in: projects, cases, competitors, corporate policy. The company should be for you the “open book” that you are interested in and in which you would like to dive even deeper. If the hr-manager, and then the immediate supervisor, from the first meeting sees in your eyes interest and enthusiasm, it is likely that you will become a professional in this company and will be able to build a successful career, ” Diana Donets comments.

At the interview you need to focus on why you are interested in this company, what it is close to you and what you could do for her in the future. It will not be superfluous here to name your successfully implemented projects (if any) and your professional characteristics that helped you implement them.

The desire for growth and development is the “green light” in the eyes of recruiters. They are always interested in employees who do not want to stand in one place, but wish to improve and contribute to the development of the company as a whole. Even if you have never officially worked anywhere before joining an interview, you have every chance to show the future manager a desire to use his freelance experience, strength and creativity for the benefit of business growth and development.

“You should be ready to work in a team, but at the same time you should be able to answer for your own work. You will need to comply with the rules and fully share the policies of their leaders, to be loyal. If the work you do not “like”, even in small things, you will not be able to invest in it completely and show the maximum of your capabilities. Therefore, before entering the company, estimate how much you are suitable for her, and she - for you , ”says Diana Donets.

And the last. About the requirements. As a rule, freelancers earn more than full-time employees. And this moment should not be forgotten. On the “remote” you are paid exclusively for the finished result, while the maintenance of the office includes the costs of administrative staff, rent and maintenance of the premises, taxes and fees. In addition, the amount of work you did in freelancing may differ significantly from the amount of work that awaits you in the office.

“Before you make your own demands on the terms of payment, soberly assess what range of tasks you have to solve, and how correctly to claim the amount you named for them ,” says HR-manager BYYD. “ Give the employer time to understand your“ value ”in the labor market, and only after you get a positive result and desire to hire, put forward your own wishes . ”

Of course, we have listed a far from complete list of cases that may “confuse” employers when accepting “free workers”. All these features largely depend on the specifics of the company and its corporate policy. Some bosses, on the contrary, want to see yesterday's freelancers in their staff, because, in their opinion, such cadres are more enterprising, more creative in their tasks, they have an original view on project implementation.

There is no clear framework in this matter. We just tried to consider the key points that will allow freelancers to show themselves at the interview with the most profitable and positive side. And the positive impression has not been hindered by anyone in finding a successful place of work - whether it be at least yesterday’s student, at least an employee who has worked in one company for 20 years.



BYYD • Mobile Advertising Platform