11 years ago, I drove home on the New Jersey Turnpike in a shocking state of bewilderment. I had only just handed my then-manager their gray, corporate-owned, incommodious desktop, laptop, and docking-station in exchange for the unpredictable life of a freelancer. I had only one client then to secure my future — albeit immediate, and I had rent and a car lease.
Act Now! Activate a FREE three days trial to InformationTechnologyCrossing.com, because you know how important it is to know about all the jobs.
It is helpful to know your overall industry so you can facilitate a discussion on best choices or approaches, but you should be a total expert in at least one area - be it HTML, Photoshop, or Flash.
As fortune and quite a bit of perseverance would have it, my then-client left that job and went on to another — taking my tiny start-up web design business with her. Now, I had two clients.
To be considered a truly successful freelancer comes only after delivering on your word, in at timely fashion, and exactly what the client needs. They are hiring you, not a big firm, not an agency, you. Deliver a good job, on time, and within budget, and chances are, you will get repeat work, and perhaps a good reference that could only help gain you new, additional work.
The following are some other good traits to cultivate while on the road to building a reliable business as a freelancer.
Professionalism Is Key — Always.
Clients like to know that the person working for them (or sometimes representing them) can deliver their goods in a poised, eloquent, and polished manner. A pharmaceutical giant trusted me to present their new public affairs intranet to their board of directors — including the CEO.
Be an Expert in One Particular Thing
Have a broad knowledge, but be an expert in one particular thing — and by expert, I mean really know it. It is helpful to know your overall industry so you can facilitate a discussion on best choices or approaches, but you should be a total expert in at least one area — be it HTML, Photoshop, or Flash. This way, you can be that "go to guy" everyone trusts will answer or solve their issue.
Make Certain that Your Resume is Current
The technology field changes ever so rapidly. If you don't keep your skills current and adapt with all of the changes, you can easily become stale — or worse, obsolete! If your resume screams all of the relevant latest technologies, you have a phenomenal advantage. Better yet, if you embrace a new technology or program and really know it, you can be that much appreciated "go to guy" above!
Stand out from the Crowd by Sending an HTML Resume Instead
With all of the mail recruiters and prospects receive in response to a bid or a posting, why not make yours applicable to the job? If a web designer claims to know CSS, Photoshop and HTML, then how clever it will be to prove it right there, in the email! Believe me, this gets attention, and ultimately a call back. See a good example at www.parallaxid.com/resume/pinto.htm.
Finally, ask all of those happy clients (and you will have several) to write you a quick testimonial. Selling can be quite a challenge, but it helps if you have solid references to support you. You can even use a professional networking site, such as Linkedin, to show these.
About the Author
Stefan Pinto has experience designing and building interactive websites for Fortune 500 and small business companies. His experience list includes Merck, Merrill Lynch, AT&T, and Topps. He has been featured in the New York Times, PC Week, WebWeek, and other trade publications. He was the recipient of the Photoshop Professionals prestigious "Guru" award for outstanding website design.
Kevin , Charleston, WV
InformationTechnologyCrossing is very easy to navigate. It is one of the simplest and at the same time most comprehensive site I have visited.
April , New Lenox, IL
InformationTechnologyCrossing has so many jobs at one place. Plus, it is very easy to search for the kind you are looking for.
Aaron , Denver, CO
InformationTechnologyCrossing has a search engine that is really fast. It saves a lot of time.
Roberto , Seattle, WA
I like the volume of jobs on InformationTechnologyCrossing. The quality of jobs is also good. Plus, they get refreshed very often. Great work!
Richard , Baltimore, MD
The number of jobs listed on InformationTechnologyCrossing is great. I appreciate the efforts that are taken to ensure the accuracy and validity of all jobs.
To compare InformationTechnologyCrossing with other job sites
Bring Order and Structure to Your IT Job Search
You have perseverance and can accomplish anything you put your mind to and finding the ideal IT job is no exception. We have a tradition of helping our members accomplish anything they set their mind to. With complete information about every IT job in the market at your fingertips you are going to go far.
You have very high standards for the sort of employer you are working for and also for yourself. You are not afraid to work hard to fulfill your duties because you value security and peaceful living. We give you the tools to pursue your dreams for you and your family.
Become part of a tradition of research excellence that has elevated the careers of countless IT professionals just like you.
Complete the sign up process today and become part of our site today.
Tell us where to send your access instructions:
Total Jobs on InformationTechnologyCrossing
248,525
New Information Technology Jobs This Week
66,868
Jobs on EmploymentCrossing Network Available to Our Members
SQL Developer -- The Knot Inc. United States-TX-Austin
--Jo Ann Miller, Local Account Executive
employee since 2002
There is a lot of opportunity to work on a variety of projects for a variety of brands...
If you are one of the people out there looking for a new job, you are not alone. However, instead of that being a comforting fact, many people who are looking for IT jobs in York are fearful because they are afraid that there will not be enough work to go around.
The email alerts sent by InformationTechnologyCrossing are cool. I got a job through this feature of the website. Thanks!
Antonio , North Hollywood, CA
InformationTechnologyCrossing works fine, and is very easy to use.
Barry , Reno, NV
My friend told me about EmploymentCrossing. I was able to locate several job positions that I may not have found other wise. This was well worth the one-month membership fee. I tell everyone I know about the possibilities of this site.
See Every Information Technology Job We Can Find on the Internet!
Unlike other sites, InformationTechnologyCrossing works for you and does not charge employers to post jobs and actually goes out and researches jobs for you. The jobs you see are the jobs we find for you and not the ones employers are paying us to post.
To compare InformationTechnologyCrossing with other job sites
Start doing things the way they should be done.
Make objective career decisions with unbiased research, facts and information about IT jobs. Your perseverance, follow through and dependability will all pay off when you have access to:
IT jobs from every company employer career webpage we can find.
IT jobs from every professional job source we can find.
IT jobs from every job board we can find.
IT jobs from every newspaper classified ad we can find.
IT jobs from every specialized IT publication we can find.
IT jobs from every federal, state and local government career page we can find.
IT jobs from every public interest, nonprofit and other career page we can find.
Tell us where to send your access instructions:
Today at InformationTechnologyCrossing
13,311 - Jobs found in last 24 Hours66,868 - Jobs found in last 7 Days248,525 - Total Jobs Found
Your privacy is guaranteed. We will never give out, lease, or sell your personal information.
InformationTechnologyCrossing - #1 Job Aggregation and Private Job-Opening Research Service — The Most Quality Jobs Anywhere
InformationTechnologyCrossing is the first job consolidation service in the employment industry to seek to include every job that exists and not charge employers to post jobs on its site.
InformationTechnologyCrossing uses sophisticated technology and manual work to comb employer websites and other job boards for jobs and bring them all to its site.
