CareerAlley

For those of us who are temporarily retired (okay, the “U” word – unemployed), there comes a point in time where if you’ve not found full time employment in your field you need to start thinking about other alternatives. Whether this decision is driven by the need to do get out of the house and do something or driven by financial needs (or both), there are options that you can consider.

Back in October I wrote an article about consulting as a career change (Have you thought about consulting?), what was not covered in the article was consulting on a contract or temporary basis while looking for full time work. This option satisfies several objectives:

• You stay current and in the work enviornment
• Potential employers will not ask what you’ve been doing if you’ve been out of work for an extended period
• Many contract consulting roles can be leveraged into full time employment
• You expand your network of potential job opportunity sources
• You are earning some income (and even a very low hourly rate is more than zero)

The downside is that you have less time to look for a job if you are working, but I believe that the benefits outweigh the downside. Today’s article will review some links to contract consulting resources to get you started.

• LimeExchange – This site is a “meeting place” (for lack of a better term) for companies looking for contract consultants (or freelancers) and professionals looking for contract work. The site is structured to cover several functions and has several tabs at the top which are there to service these functions. Click on the “Get Work” tab to get started. This particular site is focused on Technology, Writing, Graphic Arts and Audio/Video. You start by posting your profile. The site shows the steps to accomplish contract work (post profile, search for projects, bid, get awarded and get paid).
• GoFreelance – GoFreelance is a “Work Exchange” site. There are several tabs at the top of the main page – Join, Post Jobs, Search, Articles and more. The Articles tab is a good place to start as it provides background articles that will help you get started. You can search for jobs based on keywords or browse based on category (such as Data Entry).
• Freelancers Union -This site is dedicated to freelancers and provides a number of resources (such as benefits and discounts). The site also provides seminars on related topics. Clicking on “Gigs” (“find people who need people”) lists the most recent postings and the page also offers more specific search criteria. There is a forum, Yellow Pages, a Blog and more.
• Robert Half International – RHI is a consulting and staffing firm. The benefit of signing on as a consultant is that all of the leg work (as is required with the first three sites mentioned) is taken care of for you. RHI provides this through their Robert Half Management Resources division. They specialize in Finance, Treasury, Accounting, Operations, IT and more. Start by clicking on the link, click on your country, read through the “About Us” and then click on Jobs to see current project and interim opportunities. You can register on the site similar to other recruiters.

Good luck in your search.