When Lia Zneimer stepped down as WeWork’s head of social media in the spring of 2020, she initially deliberate to relaxation and recharge earlier than heading again in-house someplace. But as the pandemic rolled on, the social media and content material technique advisor realized making use of for full-time positions was tougher than initially anticipated. “I used to be being fairly explicit about what I wished to do subsequent, and in what sort of setting I wished to try this work,” Zneimer informed us. She went by rounds of interviews with a number of corporations, however discovered herself pulling purposes or not getting the position she was after.Then, a former WeWork colleague supplied her a freelance alternative together with his new firm. She figured, why not?“I’m a fairly pushed, motivated particular person. And I like the inventive freedom and adaptability that include operating my very own work day after day. So that actually appealed to me,” she defined. And, like Jim Carrey’s character in Yes Man, as soon as she stated sure to that chance, extra saved coming. “It felt like the universe opened up and the stars aligned. And all of a sudden, folks began reaching out with alternatives.”And it seems, she wasn’t alone in her resolution. “Among my skilled circles, I undoubtedly noticed a big shift in people who wished to go freelance or wished to begin consulting or determined that being in-house full-time wasn’t for them,” Zneimer stated. According to a examine just lately launched by Upwork, 53% of freelancers present “expert” providers, like advertising and marketing or pc programming, up from 45% in 2019.Marketers—like many others throughout the workforce—appear to have left their jobs en masse in latest months. They’re contributing to what’s broadly been dubbed the “Great Resignation,” with some staff making the swap from inner gigs to unbiased freelance or consulting work. But whereas leaving a firm to work for your self has its perks (suppose: revenue potential and autonomy over one’s time), it’s not all sunshine, rainbows, and WFH.Exit methodsMarketing strategist and course creator Taylor Loren informed us that, for her, the resolution to strike out on her personal stemmed from the pandemic. She stop not one, however two jobs throughout the pandemic—first her gig as head of content material advertising and marketing at Later in August 2020, then as head of selling at Girlboss in June 2021.Losing a cherished one (and the pandemic itself) made her understand she shouldn’t wait to realize what she actually wished in life, she defined. Previously, leaving a job to go freelance had been a three-year purpose she was laying aside. “But it was additionally simply desirous to have a completely different way of life,” Loren stated. “I had a lot of pals that had been course creators, and I actually envied their way of life—and likewise the sum of money they had been in a position to make.”Some suspect back-to-office mandates are additionally spurring the shift to freelance. Flexible expertise market We Are Rosie’s head of expertise and expertise, Katie Elliott, informed us the firm noticed an inflow of name marketers concerned with freelance work throughout summer season 2021.“For us, the large pattern of individuals coming in, elevating their hand, and saying, ‘I’m going to go away my full-time job and go flex,’ was all about corporations demanding them return to the workplace,” Elliott stated.Money cash cashSome marketers have discovered freelancing will be higher for them by way of each pay and hours. “I’m getting paid virtually the very same that I used to be in my final job, however with consulting, I’m working half the period of time,” Loren informed Marketing Brew.But that’s not at all times the case. For occasion, Zneimer finds she’s nonetheless navigating questions round how a lot to cost shoppers. “It’s exhausting. I’m studying a lot as I am going, and might see a path the place unbiased work is extra profitable than an in-house place for some people—however I’m undoubtedly not there but.”Zneimer was initially nervous about putting out on her personal financially. Although she’d been “financially extra cautious since March of 2020,” she had additionally taken break day of work earlier than making the resolution to go freelance, so “it wasn’t like I used to be squirreling away cash whereas I labored up the braveness to stop my job.”Before going solo, Loren, who described herself as the main earner in her family, made positive she had at the very least 4 months of residing bills saved. “Saving as much as stop my job additionally made me in a position to take break day for my psychological well being, and select the shoppers and work that I felt actually aligned with, as a substitute of simply taking over initiatives that may pay my lease that month,” Loren stated.Seeking freedom, discovering burnoutThe potential to work from anyplace, at any time, is maybe one among the largest perks of leaving a salaried gig. “I actually love having autonomy over my schedule—and studying that I don’t do my greatest work in the afternoon,” advertising and marketing and progress advisor Grace Clarke, who stop her company gig at PR agency Derris in early 2020, informed us.While that freedom is perhaps tempting, Zneimer thinks going freelance isn’t a “answer” to the burnout so many have confronted over the previous couple of years. When leaving WeWork, Zneimer assumed her burnout was coming from working internally. But when she nonetheless felt burnt out whereas working independently, she realized the challenge was extra about setting boundaries together with her time.“I do know so many unbiased staff now who’re like, ‘No, no, I’m fully swamped and fully underwater. My hours are off the charts, I’m working far more than I did in-house,’ which is form of like the reverse of why so many individuals, myself included, wished a freelance construction in the first place,” she shared.
https://www.morningbrew.com/advertising and marketing/tales/2021/12/17/as-the-great-resignation-continues-freelance-work-has-been-a-silver-lining-for-some-marketers
