The following article is part of my participation in the Recruiting Blogswap:
By Tahjia Chapman, Tahjia is a writer for CollegeRecruiter.com the leading job board for college students searching for internships and recent graduates hunting for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.
A number of college students begin their work history as part-time freelancers / contract employees because of its convenience. As they move closer to graduation, students begin to look for full-time, permanent employment with prospective employers. With a little planning and consideration, students can make a smooth transition from part-time freelancer into a full-time employee. In this article, we will review key components of breaking free from ‘freelance’ to secured employee in an entry level position.
Make Up Your Mind
Freelance opportunities are quite profitable with a strong client base, but do you want to live your life complete projects with benefits? If you are a recent grad, your freelance experiences play a significant role in your job search efforts. You can use your unique experiences to leverage your competition. The importance of leveraging your competition includes understanding your transferable skills, capitalizing on references, and emphasizing your strengths. Your future employers want to see what makes you the best person for their jobs. Although there are many opportunities available for freelancers, you have to create a profile what kind of employer you are willing to work for.
What is Your Ideal Employer?
The best way to choose an employer is to compare what you want, what you have to offer, and what current companies need. To do this, grab a sheet of paper to draw a Venn diagram to identify each column. The diagram will work as an outline for you to see what benefits you can offer employers. This exercise is important and useful for recent college grads and students with freelance experience. Once you identify what kind of employer you would like, create a short list of companies who match your criteria. You may not find a ‘perfect’ company, but the right company will contact you once you market your value through your unique selling position (USP).
What is Your Value?
Employers may be in a bind trying to determine your value to their organization. It is your responsibility to develop a unique selling proposition (USP) to stand above your competition. Your value must show through your past achievements as a freelancer and what you can offer to an organization’s current force.
Review your history with past clients to analyze transferable skills needed in your desired position. If you want to learn more about transferable skills, Tracy Drake outlines their importance in Transferable Skills – They Matter to Employers.
Take heed to all of her details of why employers want to know about your skills. You must dig deep into your history to understand how well you can perform a position within an organization.
The transition from freelancer to full-time employee is easy once you make up your mind, profile an ideal employer, and understand your value. Organizations are itching for highly talented students with consulting experience. The experience can and may outweigh your current education (if you are still a student), but remember to focus on skills.
Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.
I don't want to be cynical but this sounds a bit too good to be true. I am currently doing an unpaid journalist internship and am in no way sure that they will employ me full time at the end of it. They say they are happy with my work but in this competitive industry they can get someone else to work for free after me. job boards like seek and jobx do not often advertise for newspaper journalist positions so i am not finding the process as easy as you say.
Posted by: Mon | January 08, 2008 at 12:09 AM
I can't speak for all who employee unpaid journalist interns, but we've hired a number of ours on a paid basis. One is transitioning this week, actually.
She started as an unpaid writing intern and wowed me. I transitioned her to a part-time freelance writer. She continued to wow me. She's now transitioning to a regular employee writer.
Posted by: Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com | January 09, 2008 at 11:15 AM