As economic conditions change, it does not hurt to get a creative staffing agency presenting your portfolio and resume to prospects. Freelance contracts furnished by staffing agencies open new doors, and sometimes lead to more long-term or steady arrangements. Staffing or employment agencies may familiarizes you with clients or projects you could be unable to win otherwise. Additionally, owning an agency by your side can be very convenient with regards to insurance, invoicing and collections. Letting a professional do the back-office tasks leaves someone to focus on creative work, and never having to wait for invoices or remittance to get paid.
Whether or you cannot you have used a credit repair professional before, a number of things freelancers are able to do to make the services you provide more marketable to such firms.
1. Finding a credit repair professional. For me, this means a professional that “walks the walk”. My best experiences as a professional freelancer happen to be with recruiters who know (to some extent) what our life is like on our side of the table. I find it frustrating to get interviewed using a recruiter who doesn’t always have even a beginner’s knowledge of the tools and technologies we use. For the outsider, design and development often looks easy. Under the covers, however, designing and developing complex campaigns or websites just isn’t as easy as it appears. It helps undertake a professional helping you who knows the real difference between HTML and ActionScript.
2. Online profile. Many (most) staffing agencies get some candidate-facing portal that you can apply. For the back-end, there are lots of software packages currently available that provide recruiters with database having access to the information you enter around the portal. Be thorough, and make it current. Saving a while by neglecting to provide “Photoshop” for a profile cost you an potential for which you are qualified.
3. Be honest. Do not boast experience or credentials you don’t have. Claiming proficiency in a area what your location is a novice is really a sure strategy to embarrass your agent, and have your file stapled shut.
4. Online samples. As a general rule, agencies concentrating on creative staffing have a tendency to get requests for talent that fall in two categories: Designers or Production artists (Developers). Production artists and developers are usually responsible for the job behind the scenes; the front-ends that have usually been laid-out using a designer or creative director. For such request, image samples or screen shots tend to be “nice to have” however, not required. For design requests, however, your visual samples really are a tremendous asset to promote your work, and winning the work. Agency clients need to know that they are contracting a competent designer whose style is commensurate with their brand, their message, and also the imagery they decide to project. A picture will probably be worth a thousand words, and this also example isn’t any exception. Here can be a few more items to consider when posting samples:
“I curently have an online portfolio and/or personal web site”. Agencies are only not about to direct clients in your personal website. Typically your very own pages or social network sites have your contact details – a wide open door for any client get in touch with you directly and circumvent the agent. Although the honor system usually works well inside our industry, agencies are usually more protective of these “inventory”. Consistency is the one other factor. By submitting portfolio samples, a credit repair professional can collect talent samples into consistent presentations with regards to clients.
Remove contact info. Avoid posting samples including your contact details, or perhaps your individual’s name as part of the image. As described above, your agent will want being the direct people receiving any contact attempts as a result of the promotion of one’s portfolio.
Description of involvement. When uploading samples, make sure to include a description of one’s involvement to every single piece (if at all possible). For example, in case you are posting a JPG screen shot of any website you created, don’t add descriptive text like “this is usually a website for XYZ company”. For any viewer, will probably be plainly obvious the screen shot is really a web site. It would be easier to write “I was liable for the design and growth of this website; using Photoshop and Dreamweaver”.
Real live work. Sure, we kicked-out some gems in art school; but this may not be the best place to exhibit that off. Rather, keep to the samples that have been produced as part of an experienced effort.
Here are a couple of examples of talent portfolios that consistently generate client interest.
5. Professional references. most of us have seen (or used) the rsum tagline: “references available upon request.” try and have 3 gleaming professional references on the ready. If you’ve no professional experience with a credit repair professional, they could depend upon references from previous managers or employers to aid your claims.
6. Credentials, certifications and tests. make sure you indicate with your online application and/or rsum any professional certifications possibly you have. Many agencies will invite that you take a test to examine your proficiency in some skills or software titles. Be sure to indicate your willingness to evaluate in those areas in that you just feel most confident. Certifications or stellar test results might sway a decision with your favor compared to a less credentialed applicant.
7. Visibility. Provide the agency that has a reliable strategy to reach you when a chance becomes available. Many times, clients call agencies having a sense of urgency; and agencies scramble to fill such positions before their competitors. In doing so, a professional may call or email a directory of applicants when such opportunities open. Being visible and responsive can make the visible difference – an appointment back tomorrow could be too late.
8. Dependability. When working with a credit repair professional, you might undoubtedly be asked to jump through a couple of hoops to acquire started. The steps above describing online samples and profile information are simply two examples. What’s more, a credit repair professional representing you wants nothing less a gleaming report through the client about your punctuality, and power to meet deadlines for deliverables. Being dependable means your agent can submit you for a possibility with confidence.
9. Pricing. Today’s economic conditions have some of implications within our industry; not the least ones is competition. As unemployment figures rise, an increasing number of talented designers and developers experience the looking for work. More supply (of talent) and much less demand (less hiring) means lower wages plus more choice for the hiring managers aiming to expand their staff. Hiring managers are keenly conscious of this, and sometimes impose upon agencies a maximum rate that they will pay. If you set a main point here for your wages way too high, your agent may skip you together with call the following candidate. While this is simply not always a bad thing, consider lowering your main point here in order to incorperate your profile with your agent’s search engine results. If the level of wages is not enough, you are able to always pass around the opportunity; but you’ve to be “in it” to “win it”.