Job market is shrinking everywhere. The IT bubble is facing an impending burst (though I have been reading about this phenomenon for quite some time now) and robots will soon replace the human workforce. If you are determined to fly solo in these trying times, then congratulations. You are showing sheer grit already. But what to do to safeguard your solopreneur-ship so that you become ‘kind of’ irreplaceable?
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I have been freelancing for almost 3 years now and these questions have started gnawing lot. Learning new things is one way to go but it’s not easy when you are on your own. There will be no further training to upgrade your skill at company’s cost.
I have drawn a plan containing 4-points for aptitude enhancing as a freelance writer. I have started working on some of them. Others have to wait till next year due to cash and time crunch. If you write for web to pust food on the table, then going through the following points may give you ideas.
The free certifications related digital marketing
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Knowing digital marketing is only going to make your resume stand out amidst the sea of freelance applicants. Don’t want to spend a penny on an expensive course yet? Head towards Google AdWords and HubSpot Inbound Marketing certifications for starters. Concentration is my pet peeve while studying, but I am hell-bent on finishing off these two this year itself.
Some may say that if you don’t have real time exposure in managing digital ad campaigns then what’s the use? But I think it will show that a) you took initiatives and b) you have basic idea of how online ad campaigns work.
Cambridge Business Certificates
I have been rejected quite a few times for my non-English major background while pitching to clients, except for academic writings on which I am not intrigued. Cambridge School has plethora of English language certifications which can compensate the English language gap non-native speakers or non-English majors (like me) have.
Aim for the business certificates that are popularly known as BEC Vantage. It has three types of test based on your level of proficiency in the queen’s language- preliminary, intermediate and advanced. Ensure for which one you shall be going after giving a free language assessment test on Cambridge’s site itself. BEC Vantage is another certification on my wish list.
Toastmasters Club
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This is on my to-do list in the year of 2017. Toastmasters Club is a world renowned non-for-profit society that hosts clubs for developing public speaking as well as leadership talents world-over. What I have heard from those who have attended Toastmasters is that- it may have life-changing positive impact on your level of confidence and presentation capacity.
MOOC
With the advent of Udemy, EDX, Coursera, Lynda- we are quite spoilt with the choices when it comes to MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses). I am taking couple of courses from Udemy right now and the content is good (though the videos are sluggish). Now what a freelance writer can learn from a MOOC? How about teaching yourself little bit of Web Development, Adobe, and CMS? Heck, even studying about proper usage of grammar and punctuations would come handy too.
If you are reading this, then do comment upon what additional courses you are doing or planning to do besides your main job.
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