Janet Underwood

   

The Pros and Cons of Working as a Contract Technical Writer

To become a contract technical writer, follow these steps:

1.      Look in the yellow pages for employment agencies that place technical and professional employees. Ones that specialize in placing clerical and manufacturing personnel aren’t likely to have technical writing jobs available, and if they do, they probably won’t pay as much as the agencies that place technical and professional personnel.

2.      Call several of these agencies and tell them that you want to find work as a technical writer. Employment agencies often are more willing to interview you than a company that might have jobs. Employment agencies only make money when they are placing people in positions, so they usually want to interview as many people as possible. Even if you don’t get a job through an agency, it’s a way to practice your interviewing skills. Set up interviews with as many as possible and show them your writing samples.

3.      During the interview, don’t commit to working only with this agency, but be honest with them. If they press you to commit to working only with them, tell them that you’d love to do that – after they find you a job, but in the meantime, you need to keep your options open.

4.      After the interview, the agency employees start looking for a job for you. Don’t wait for them to call, however. Call your contact person once a week for updates. Make sure they don’t forget you.

5.      If you’ve left your resume with more than one employment agency and more than one contacts you about the same job, only accept the invitation to interview for the job with one of the agencies. Be sure to tell the other agency that your resume is being submitted for the position so no one is embarrassed or inconvenienced by multiple submissions of the same resume.

6.      Once you get a job, be professional and remember that you’re working for the employment agency, not the client. Never, never, never try to get the client to work with you directly or hire you behind the employment agency’s back. If the client suggests doing these things, politely tell them that you would love to work for them as a full-time employee (if indeed, you would), but they need to talk to the employment agency about how to achieve that. Most employment agencies have clauses in their contracts with their clients that if the client wants to hire one of their employees, they have to pay the employment agency a finder’s fee. Don’t get in the middle of a situation where you’ll probably end up being the loser.

Working as a contract employee has both pros and cons.

Pros:

• You’re generally paid much more than you would earn as a full-time employee.
• It’s often easier to get a job as a contract employee than it is to get a job as a full-time employee.
• You usually have more freedom to set your hours, take time off from work, etc., when you’re working as a contract employee.
• Employment agencies have Account Managers whose primary job is to form relationships with the people who hire, so they often are the first to know when a job will be available.
• Employment agencies can give you the extra credibility with the employer that you need when you’re looking for your first technical writing job. They will do everything in their power to convince the employer that you are the best choice for the job.
• Many companies like to “try before they buy.” Many contract technical writing jobs are extended interviews for full-time positions.
• “Try before you buy” goes both ways. Working as a contract employee enables you to learn first-hand what it’s like to work for a specific company. If you decide you don’t want to work for this company, but are offered a full-time position, you can just thank them for the offer, tell them that you prefer to work as a contractor, and then leave at the end of the contract.
• You can use the person who supervised you in your contract position as a reference on your resume. Be sure to ask for permission to do this.
• As a contract employee, you typically won’t be caught up in office politics.

Cons

• Although this is changing, some employment agencies don’t offer benefits, such as health insurance.
• You’ll be the “new kid on the block” more often if you do a lot of contracting. Some people don’t have a problem with this, but others do.
• Contract employees sometimes are asked to do the “dirty work,” like working on projects or with people that the full-time employees don’t want to deal with.
• You sometimes have to wait for a while between jobs. This is called “being on the bench.” I generally start trying to line up a new contract before the one I’m working is finished, but I know I have to be prepared to sit at home and wait for a while before the next job comes along.
• Some employees might resent you. I find that this doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s best to be prepared. People may resent you because they wish they had the nerve to do what you’re doing. Or they feel that the company didn’t need to hire outsiders to do the job. There can be thousands of reasons why employees might resent you, but how you handle it is up to you. Keep a smile on your face and be pleasant and professional at all times. Never talk about how much you’re being paid. You’re probably being paid far more than the full-time employees. Try to build rapport. Bring bagels to work for everyone to share every now and then. Offer to help whenever you can. All of these efforts really do pay off!