I just landed my first Freelancer Gig!

Dear all,

as some of you may know I decided to go self-employed some time in 2012. I had thought about this a few times before but now I finally feel ready to take on this challenge.

Late last year I got my ITIL and RHCE finished and send my CV to a few agencies. Then last week I came across an offering that seemed to have been made for me. This company was looking for a Linux Expert to solve some operational problems, do upgrades and come up with ideas for improvements. While this is a very small gig taking only 2-3 days a month, currently limited to three months and about two hours away I decided to apply anyway. I had a phone interview on monday and today they called me to tell me that I get the gig

As I always have Fridays off I will probably take one or two Thrusdays off so I can focus on the project while on site. I will be paid about $500 per day which isn't too much but there is a good chance to get some more work at this place. They do pretty serious stuff and they emphasized that they want to work with the same people again. This could be a pretty good stepping stone

So yeah, I'm pretty excited right now and waiting for the paperwork to get done so that I can get my feet wet in the project business.

Regards,
Lordy

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Turgon

lordy wrote: »

Dear all,

as some of you may know I decided to go self-employed some time in 2012. I had thought about this a few times before but now I finally feel ready to take on this challenge.

Late last year I got my ITIL and RHCE finished and send my CV to a few agencies. Then last week I came across an offering that seemed to have been made for me. This company was looking for a Linux Expert to solve some operational problems, do upgrades and come up with ideas for improvements. While this is a very small gig taking only 2-3 days a month, currently limited to three months and about two hours away I decided to apply anyway. I had a phone interview on monday and today they called me to tell me that I get the gig

As I always have Fridays off I will probably take one or two Thrusdays off so I can focus on the project while on site. I will be paid about $500 per day which isn't too much but there is a good chance to get some more work at this place. They do pretty serious stuff and they emphasized that they want to work with the same people again. This could be a pretty good stepping stone

So yeah, I'm pretty excited right now and waiting for the paperwork to get done so that I can get my feet wet in the project business.

Regards,
Lordy

Good news Lordy. I was a contractor myself for seven years. Many people on TE would kill for $500 dollars for a days work. I advise that you work more than the 2/3 days per month if you need to, but dont bill. Put in extra hours on your own time to ensure that whatever the client requires of you, you get done and done well. The name of the game in self-employment is renewal of contract or offers to go permanent so go the extra mile. Other than that, be friendly and approachable and willing to get the job done. You have good skills in linux/unix that have been totally sidestepped by millions of IT professionals the last 12 years to their complete detriment. You are very employable.

Good luck!

ptilsen

Freelancer, capital F, as in the web site? Or just freelance, lower-case f, working for yourself? I'm just wondering if you found this gig on that site.

Congrats either way!

computer g33k

Congrats lordy. Best of luck with your new gig.

N2IT

lordy wrote: »

Dear all,

as some of you may know I decided to go self-employed some time in 2012. I had thought about this a few times before but now I finally feel ready to take on this challenge.

Late last year I got my ITIL and RHCE finished and send my CV to a few agencies. Then last week I came across an offering that seemed to have been made for me. This company was looking for a Linux Expert to solve some operational problems, do upgrades and come up with ideas for improvements. While this is a very small gig taking only 2-3 days a month, currently limited to three months and about two hours away I decided to apply anyway. I had a phone interview on monday and today they called me to tell me that I get the gig

As I always have Fridays off I will probably take one or two Thrusdays off so I can focus on the project while on site. I will be paid about $500 per day which isn't too much but there is a good chance to get some more work at this place. They do pretty serious stuff and they emphasized that they want to work with the same people again. This could be a pretty good stepping stone

So yeah, I'm pretty excited right now and waiting for the paperwork to get done so that I can get my feet wet in the project business.

Regards,
Lordy

Hey that's great news!

techdudehere

That sounds like a good plan to me, try to get some regular, reoccurring clients before striking out on your own. I think you will not want to work for a flat fee of 500$ per 8 hours, though. That sounds a little low to me, but to get started sure. I would not put in more than 1 or 2 unpaid days ever or 1-2 hours remotely every now and then, though, because what does that say about your time and its worth? No company is going to give them free time unless it's due to a mistake and they should not expect that of you either. Have to draw the line somewhere or people will perceive you as being a volunteer rather than a consultant and actually think they are doing you a favor by employing you rather than the other way around.

lordy

ptilsen wrote: »

Freelancer, capital F, as in the web site? Or just freelance, lower-case f, working for yourself? I'm just wondering if you found this gig on that site.

freelance, working for myself

Xcluziv

Congrats on landing the gig man!

nava87

Congrats, I wish you more success and oppertunities

whatthehell

Congratz on the gig and best of luck! Did you have to outbid a lot of others (or underbid them)?

lordy

whatthehell wrote: »

Congratz on the gig and best of luck! Did you have to outbid a lot of others (or underbid them)?

I was told that there were two other people that applied for this project. During the phone interview they told me that they did a rating on the CVs already and that mine seemed very fitting. They said they would use the CVs plus the impression from the telephone interview to make their decision.

Luckily I am pretty strong on interviews so I was sure I landed it after hanging up. The guy from agency called me afterwards and said that it went fine and that I would be in a good position. I told him that I would be very surprised if they wouldn't pick me

Well, today I got the paperwork in my inbox so it's all moving along. They will take a few days to do a background check on me so I will probably be there the first time in about two weeks. I will keep you guys up to date