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by Mel Haughton, 2nd VP
"Prove you can learn something quickly, and you'll get a contracting job," said Becky Swanson as she shared her years of contracting experience with the Fort Worth Satellite on September 28. To her left sat Kathy Johnson, who has also been a contractor for several years. Both emphasized that before they started their contracting jobs, they didn't know much about the topics they would write about. "You learn as you go, but you need to prove to your employer that you are a quick learner," Becky said.
Kathy added that being a contractor is very profitable because you can make a lot of money in a short time, and you "can take on projects that you wouldn't necessarily get if you were a regular full-time employee."
As soon as Becky heard the word money, she shouted: "Oh, yeah, and you can get overtime, too! Under the law, your employer needs to pay you time and a half. Here's my motto: if you want me to work hard, you have to pay for the privilege of abusing me!" We started paying even more attention. Several members of the audience started asking questions, and we learned a lot in an informal, fun atmosphere.
But don't be fooled. Contracting sounds profitable, but you need to consider the downside. For Becky, contracting is great because her husband has good benefits. "If you're by yourself, you'll go through some rocky times if you get laid off," she said. "Contractors need to pay for their own benefits, and if they get laid off, they may not know where they'll be tomorrow."
Remember that employers are going to pay you to produce. Kathy said that if you produce and do your job well, your contract might get extended. "Sometimes I don't like picking up the phone when I am at work because I know that I am there for a reason. I go in and out. I am there to get a job done," she said.
Becky also told us that contracting firms edit résumés for a particular job. If you're interested in a contract job, you can send contract firms your résumés and list several buzz words in it. "Find the different names for the things you do, and work those names into different places of your résumé," she said. "However, you have to remember that recruiters and headhunters don't always know the difference between titles. They may not know that the titles 'curriculum designer' and 'instructional designer' mean the same thing." Becky met a headhunter once who didn't know what the job titles meant. "All she did was look for buzz words. If those buzz words were not in the résumé, she didn't call the applicant. So add them in there! Sell yourself!"
We learned several tips during our entertaining panel. You, too, can participate in our fun and educational Fort Worth Satellite meetings. We look forward to seeing you next month!