Conant Correct by Claire Conant

Have you ever wanted a job really badly and then were so heart-broken that you didn’t get it? Did you wind up discouraged for days and start doubting your abilities, undermining your confidence?

Early in my career, I used to go through this anguish when job hunting. However, I no longer experience this, as I learned a few things along the way. I’ll share what has worked for me, and hopefully some of this will work for you too. In the world of freelancing, contracting, or running my own business, I keep these thoughts front and center so a lost client, a lost gig, a lost opportunity doesn’t ruin my day, week, or month.

1. Have faith in the universe. Opportunities come and go, just like trains. There will be another better opportunity along in ten minutes.

2. Don’t take the rejection personally. Often the job you think you really want is one that you weren’t really suited for. Someone other than you had a vision of what they needed, and somehow your skills didn’t match up. You may never know why, exactly, but it’s not you personally. Even if it was you, would you want to work somewhere or with people with whom you clashed?

3. In time, you may get to see how not getting the job (or client) was just the right thing for you. I recently found out that a colleague I once worked for was select for a job I thought I wanted. It was a prestigious opportunity, rubbing elbows with multi-million dollar clients, including those at the Bill Gates level, and would have meant long-term, steady income. However, in chatting with this colleague today, I realized that I wouldn’t have liked what she is doing now anyway. It’s too fast paced, too technical, and half the time she has to be onsite. Sometimes there are hidden criteria to the job that the client or prospective employer doesn’t let on about because it’s not enticing or appealing. It will surface somehow. Be grateful  you dodged the bullet.

4. Don’t cry when a job ends before you are ready. This is somewhat related to #1, but having had several jobs end in my career involuntarily - layoff, merger, reorganization, downsizing - I’ve learned to go with the flow. Change is mandatory and part of life. It’s rare these days that jobs last for a lifetime. Economies ebb and flow, which in turn means businesses ebb and flow, and it’s all like a wonderful coordinated waltz.

5. The worst things that ever happened to me always turned out to be the best things that ever happened to me. Looking back over all the job changes I’ve had - especially when I was a corporate wage slave - when an involuntary change came along (I’ve never been fired), I can now see how the next job that came along was even better. I also can see that everything I learned in each job set me up for success in the next one.

6. It’s all about your attitude. I firmly believe that my attitude helps me adapt to changes, even when they are changes I don’t like, or things turn out differently than how I wanted. Keeping a positive attitude helps me stay focused on the bigger picture and the finer things in life. After all, it’s just a job. See #1. Next!

What do you do when you work at home, you’re a freelancer, and you get sick? Do you call in to yourself?

"Self, I’m sick. I’ll be staying home today."

"Okay, Self. Hope you feel better soon."

Seriously, though. It’s been a long time since I’ve really been sick with the flu, mostly, I think, because I’m not cooped up in those airtight offices that are breeding grounds for germs. I stay away from sick people, for the most part. When I did get sick, I think the worst part was trying to get ready for work, make myself at least feel presentable, and commuting in to the office. Once there, I could barricade myself at my desk and sniffle away.

Now, working at home, I don’t have to worry about that. Another gift of being self-employed and contracting my services. I can rest when I need to, work when I have bursts of energy, and still meet my deadlines.

In the world of Agile project management methodology, retrospectives are held at the end of each sprint. A sprint is a short period of time, usually two or three weeks, in which a software is revised and a potentially marketable version is ready for release. I was first introduced to Agile methodology a year ago when I was placed at a forensics software development firm as a technical writer. Retrospectives aren’t a new concept. They are part of the “plan-do-check-act” cycle that most businesses use.  What is different, in my opinion, is the short cycle of review that the Agile methodology employs. I think this short cycle works because memories are fresh and courses can be altered swiftly before the project veers too far off track.

In life, everyone performs retrospectives, but at different periods of time, often at yearly intervals. On New Year’s Eve, we look back at the year to see what occurred and then we look forward to see what we want to do differently. On our birthdays or anniversaries we take stock of our relationship and feel gratitude for our successes or sadness for things that might not have turned out how we had hoped.

I grew up in a family that loved sailing. My father raced small, one or two person boats, and he and my brother were champions in their divisions. At the end of each race, win or lose, while folding the sails, hosing off the boat, and tying up the loose sheets (ropes), there’s discussion about what went wrong or how they nearly lost it to a competitor but with the sails set just right, they won.

Retrospectives inspire change, and I always say to myself, that which does not change dies. The reason retrospectives work is because they help us keep a sharp perspective on where we’ve been and where we want to go. (And I don’t think its a coincidence that the word retrospective is so similar to the word perspective.) Retrospectives keep us focused on doing the right thing so we can be successful at whatever we choose.

How can they work for a freelance writer and editor? The same as they do for a major corporation. The point is that even though I am a freelancer, it’s important that I conduct my daily work life as a business, not as a hobby, if I want to be successful. And how do I do that? I can do this by:

• Defining short-term and long-term goals for my business
• Establishing regular intervals to evaluate my own progress in relation to my goals
• Conduct self evaluations regularly - what did I do well, where can I improve, what additional training do I need?
• Review my finances on a regular basis so I know whether I’m making a profit or a loss
• Be regular and disciplined about my work schedule and activities

I thought of this topic today because I realized it was a year ago today that I started working for a consulting firm and my first client was the software forensics firm mentioned above. I’ve learned about the consulting business from the inside, about Agile methodology, about being unemployed, and how to start my own freelance writing and editing business - all in the last twelve months. My plan is to start documenting some of what I learned and how I can apply that to become a successful small business owner. Stay tuned.

Next up: How did I get here and where do I want to go?

Technorati Tags: Agile,software development methodology,freelancing,writing,editing,business,start-ups,retrospectives,perspectives

Whenever I am faced with a decision, I ask myself a question: Does it help get me where I want to be and move me forward on the path I’ve chosen?

If the answer is no, then I have to think really hard about doing it.  “It” can be anything that comes my way during the day, such as pursuing a job opportunity, entertaining a new idea, or even whether to take a mid-day nap.

When I was a young woman, just starting out in my career, I had a very low paying job with a long commute. I needed a higher paying job closer to home so that I could better support myself. At the time, I was living with my parents, paying them $400 a month in rent, and asked my father if he would support me for a month or two while I found a new job. He agreed, but it wasn’t a free ride, and I had to pay them back.

My father also instructed me that I was to consider looking for a job the same as having a job. I’d “work” from 8-5 going on interviews and dropping off resumes, and during my “lunch hour”, I’d follow up on early morning calls and interviews, send thank you notes, or schedule interviews for later that day or another day. My father was a very successful businessman and entrepreneur and so I trusted him and followed directions.

One hot day during the job search, I “quit” early and spent an hour or so in the backyard pool with my mother. My father came home when I was in the pool and promptly admonished me saying, “You won’t get a job in there.” That was true, but as I saw it, I needed the break. His concern was that I’d slack on the discipline required to meet my goals, and that was a legitimate concern as a parent. However, being the over-achiever that I am, within two weeks, I had a new job that was paying almost double what I had been making, and was within fifteen minutes of home.

The work discipline my father instilled in me is still there today. Since then, I’ve never had a problem being unemployed or finding a way to support myself and my family. Today, as I build my own business, I try to treat it exactly the same. Some days I do better than others, and when I waver from my self-imposed discipline, I feel a bit guilty. Still, I try to set goals every day to accomplish tasks that move me forward in the direction I’ve chosen: to be a full-time freelance writer, editor, and consultant, and running my own business.