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It's so odd to me when people think having been on staff somewhere makes someone more qualified for a job than freelancing. Staffers can coast on mediocre work for years (we've all seen it happen); freelancers have to fight for every gig they get by doing amazing work each time.
I've also heard folks say their staffers work harder than their freelancers—w/o actually controlling for the fact that...their staffers are paid much higher and get benefits. Try paying your staffers 1/4 of what you pay freelancers and freelancers will suddenly be harder working.
And I've heard people say that calling oneself a freelancer signals that they're not serious about full-time work even when they're...applying for it. This is actually a question you can ask in an interview instead of ruling qualified people out.
People have weird misconceptions about freelancers (that we're uncommitted, can't work collaboratively, etc.) and I'd challenge them to look at actual data, over long periods of time, to see if that's borne out. (I know who my money's on...)
I've also seen a lot of freelancers (myself included) use different terms to describe themselves, which is a double-edged sword since... it doesn't change that you're a freelancer and also makes it harder for people looking for freelance to find you
freelancers looking for full-time often need to still freelance to make money while waiting for the jobs they're unfairly looked over for because people wrongly assume that staffers are more committed/better/harder working
Also, following a specific topic over long periods of time is pretty much the same, whether on staff or freelance. Except that freelancers are more adept at adapting their content to different audiences and working with different specs.
As far as collaborative work, freelancers not only have to collaborate but are placed in different environments to do so and have to adjust each time, Sliders-style. So yes, once again employers who think freelancers lack this skill are mistaken.
It IS true that it's easier for freelancers to walk away from toxic or underpaying gigs, but if you're worried about that, well....
I *am* looking for full-time and am admittedly coming at this from that perspective, but I’m also tired of seeing freelancers who have their fingers on the pulse of industries overlooked for less qualified people someone decided look better on paper.
And honestly, organizations that make this decision could benefit from the freelancers they’re consistently (and admittedly) underestimating, so they are also hurting themselves.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
