A while back, Aaron wrote a post about the business logic of using contractors versus full time employees during an economic downturn like the one we’re experiencing. I got thinking about this again, thanks to an email I received from Anne Gentle last week.
In that email, Anne (among other things):
- Asked how the current economic conditions were affecting DMN’s consulting business
- Commented that there didn’t seem to be too much of a drop off in the Austin, Texas area
The second point is interesting. But when I mentioned the first one to Aaron while we were chatting over the weekend, it moved our conversation into an entirely different direction. And that was how is the downturn affecting the contracting/consulting market in our neck of the woods?
After some thought and some back and forth, we came to the conclusion that times are tough. But more so for people looking for full-time work. While the contracting market might not be going through a massive boom, we’ve noticed that there are a good number of gigs out there. As Aaron pointed out, businesses have to keep running and they need to document their applications and processes.
The key to having a shot at them is to diversify your search. As I mentioned in a previous post, the STC job banks aren’t the be all, end all. In fact, I don’t view them as a very good indicator of the number of jobs that are available out there. You need to dig deeper. Check out other job sites. Contract recruiters (reputable ones, I mean). Plumb your network. Even try cold calling or cold mailing. During the recession of the early 1990s, I snagged my first contract gig that way. It was only supposed to last a few months, but spun out into two years.
Aaron and I concluded, though, that it is a little tougher to get a gig. There’s more competition, and it sometimes takes potential employers a while to weed through applications and resumes to find candidates for interviews. On top of that, we’ve found that contractors may have to take a small (or occasionally significant) cut in their hourly rate in order to get a gig. Overall, though, Aaron and I haven’t found ourselves so desperate as to take a low paying job because we need to cash to keep the company afloat.
Of course, all of that could change in the next few months. Work could dry up. It’s one of the risks that business owners take.
On a related note, I stumbled across this article the other day. Good advice.
What have your contracting/consulting experiences in the current economy been? Feel free to leave a comment.
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2 Responses
Anne Gentle
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
1Great post, Scott. And nice bookstore widget! I just noticed that. Whoo.
I just had an IM conversation with a technical writer in India who has to take a 5% pay cut. He wondered if he could make up the difference by working on freelance contracting jobs. I pointed him to Elance.com and Odesk.com, but I wasn’t sure if it’s probable or even possible to make up the difference on your salary with freelancing. I’d love to hear what advice you’d give to an individual writer in a similar situation?
Scott
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:45 pm
2Anne,
Thanks for the comment. You got me thinking about the question of making up the difference in salary with a freelance gig. Is it possible? I think so, to a point — if you’re making $40K/year, a 5% cut is $2K. The problem is a full-timer willing and able to spend the time and energy doing that. One decent side gig can pull that much in. But chances are the writer will have to take on multiple smaller gigs.
It’s not just a matter of doing the job, it’s getting the job too. Many of the employers who post on freelance bidding sites are looking for the lowest bidder — there are a lot of people who will work for lower wages.
Hmm … maybe that’s worth a bit more thought and a blog post in itself.
And glad you like the bookstore widget. It’s on all of my blogs!
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