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The New ‘Gig Freelance Economy’

Is it Real?

Jean L. Serio CPC, CeMA

Read on and discover what I learned while researching a simple comment regarding what’s being called the new ‘Gig Freelance Economy’.

“No need to pound the pavement,” I read – “to cold-call or waste time and money searching for clients. Companies are desperate for your unique skills and expertise. In fact - Now's the perfect time to join the flourishing new Gig Economy”. 

While I certainly knew freelance jobs were available, I had no idea there were millions – yes millions. And with all the fake news going around, today, my extensive research showed me the previous statements are – indeed - correct. I’ve done a year and half of research and give you the following information to consider on this important topic.

Really? Freelancers are in Demand?For a year and a half I’ve been studiously researching, looking for all the information I could find regarding the freelanceindustry. I, truly, wanted to discover whether this was true, asales pitch or phony news.

Turns out there’s a ton I uncovered in the way of reports, whitepapers and position papers – for example - from established, authoritative research groups. Including white papers and reports from:

The Harvard Business ReviewGallupPewExperian Impact studies from Cone Communications and othersStudies/reports from the U.S. Council of Economic Advisors

To my surprise – point after point began

stressing fact after fact describing a flourishing 'Gig Freelance Economy’

in place.Aside from research and statistics from top groupslike Pew, Gallup and Experian, I discovered in depth research from the N.Y. Times and Forbes. All of which provided more information about thisunspoken about, yet clearly emerging, economy in which Freelancers, Consultants and Independent Contractors were thriving.

In fact, LinkedIn's Vaibhav Goel said in a recent interview:

"The gig economy is here to stay. Not every memberof the workforce is looking for the typical 9 to 5 job", says Goel. Turns out, I found - and you may agree once you’ve read this report - this is more true today, than I would ever have thought.

Wondering why the 'Gig’ Freelance Economy' is flourishing - freelance jobs readily available for a wide variety of skilled individuals? That was my first question.

1. Current U.S. Small Business Administration stats show hundreds of businessesstarting up daily; some days thousands. All flooding the marketplace with new pro-ducts and services. And in need of an immediate infusion of talent to get jobs done.

2. Top brands and corporations are downsizing, evolving into smaller, more agile,competitive entities who can rapidly change directions. This means hiring freelancers, consultants and independent contractors to fill the personnel gaps left with down-sizing.

Companies are wooing

skilled retirees with

big paychecks..

Companies are hiring

freelancers for more

long-term projects.

A good skilled

individual – who takes

time to understand a company - is is likely to be

rehired often.

Consultants are much in demand for both short and long term positions.

I was certainly surprised to discover actual jobs available on freelance marketplaces weren’t jobs no one wants. In fact, many were excellent jobs with top brands. That said, here’s a sampling of what I found on twenty different freelance marketplaces:

• Web, Mobile, Software and Apps Development

• Data Science and analytics; web analytics• IT and networking• Engineering, architecture, electrical• Design and creative jobs of all types -

from logo design to videos to corporate and social media marketing.

• Writing jobs - content, blogs, white papers and more

• Translation - tons of translation jobs for a variety of languages

• Accounting - from simple business accounting to financial, management, auditing and more.

• Legal - covering a wide variety of specialized areas.

• A variety of jobs available in the medical area.

Today the security of a 9-5 job is akin to rotary phones; a thing of the past. In fact, the average worker today is generally open and ready to move when a new job, fitting their skills and expertise, pops up. That said, workers of a wide variety of ages and skills groups - including Millennials and retirees - are making the move to freelance. Here’s a breakdown of 5 groups research shows are choosing freelance over 9-5 jobs:

1. Those interested in a full time freelance career. This group admits never having been comfortableworking in a cubicle 9-5. These individuals want the freedom offered by freelance – working when and where they want; choosing jobs they want. 2. Many individuals are freelancing until finding a full time job. 3. There are people who want to work occasionally, or part time, for personal or medical reasons. 4. There are others planning to leave a current job for freelance. These individuals periodically take freelance jobs to build up their freelance rep until ready to quit their day job.

5. Retirees:

a) Looking for cash to save for trips, activities, new auto, boats, etc. b) Lured by big paychecks offered.c) Taking advantage of on-retainer consulting positions. d) Need additional cash for medical.

An

8 of the many top brands *currently using freelancers, *have used them or *plan to use them:

Ancestry.com Conde’Nast magazines Time-Warner

Connections Academy KMPG – (top global audit & tax advisors)

Shutterfly CompuCon About.com

Info and current stats from 4 popular freelance marketplaces:Businesses from start-ups and entrepreneurial to top brands are regularly searching for freelancers, independents and consultants for a wide variety of work: short and long term projects, hard-to-fill jobs, new product development, consulting positions, and thousands of others.

These companies, I found, are listing jobs, regularly, and generally filling them within 24 hours of posting - top freelance marketplaces say. Providing highly active job marketing sites with hundreds of thousands, some with millions, of jobs available for freelancers. See stats below:• Freelancer.com – Has an average of 9,339,929 jobs available; over 8,800,000 jobs filled

within the last 18 months.• UpWork (formerly Odesk) - filled 1 million jobs in the first 6 months of 2016; has 4

million biz clients.• Guru.com - has an average of 6 million jobs available. Everything from health care, to

business, technology, nursing and more.• Toptal – specializes in the IT field - Hundreds of thousands of jobs filled annually.

NOTE: Stats come directly from these companies; figures current at the writing of this report.

What are the benefits – if any - of working through ‘Gig’ Freelance Marketplaces?

• You are encouraged to upload your portfolio.• Generally freelancers are paid more than 9-5 jobs.• To ensure freelancers are paid, most sites require clients

deposit agreed-to payments into an escrow account.• The majority of sites allow you to choose 1 of 3 ways to be

paid.• You can search the sites for jobs or sign up for job alerts.

• Send proposals to companies who’ve posted jobs you’re interested in.• Most sites allow you to post videos of your work.• All companies have an email or chat system to stay connected w/clients.• You can have as many clients as you feel capable of serving.• Build your rep, referrals and recommendations.

Sites tell us most

jobs filled within 24

hours

Unsurprisingly GenY (Millennials) lean toward freelance for a variety of reasons.

In the 2016 report on Millennials – how they work, how to work with and train them – Skillsoft - pioneers and innovators in the field of learning and talent management, tell us: “Millennials have high expectations and optimism about the workplace that aren’t realistic for most employers, so there’s a mismatch in terms of expectations.”

With unmet expectations rising, it makes this huge group more difficult to engage. Also, they prefer not to join and are unhappy working for companies where technology is lacking. Techies, brought up in a social world, are plugged in and connected to information 24/7.

On the other hand, freelance marketplaces want new talent to fill jobs, immediately. That said, they are a size and type who find it a far easier than corporations to use state of the art technology; readily and rapidly adapting to new. Not to mention they make it brain-dead easy to join their groups.

Millennials have specific personal values. Aren’t afraid to voice their opinion. And aren’t afraid to leave a company who doesn’t meet their needs and/or requirements. Or one who does not align with their values. All added reasons why freelance work appeals to them.

Here’s 8 things Millennials expect from jobs and companies. And while they prefer to work in teams, freelance is emerging as a job source, which is in many ways, a good fit for them:

1. They want, and expect, independent access to learning, when and where they choose; learning at a pace which suits them.

2. They’re socially engaged and want to continue to do so at work.

3. They enjoy interacting with global companies and their employees.

4. They prefer working in a space which is comfortable and suits them. Like - Starbucks, a mall bookstore or the beach, for example.

Millennials cont’d

5. Work-Life balance is their goal.

6. They’re social – preferring texts and social communi- cation rather than email and phone calls; so old school.

7. They want to scale the ladder of success quickly.

8. They prefer change to the static; and gladly accept it when presented.

If you consider the way freelance marketplaces work, they provide everything Millennials expect and want in the way of a work scenario. Not only that, as a freelancer they make most of their own decisions. And can work for whomever they want, whenever they want.

In Summary

While I did confirm there are hundreds of well established freelance marketplaces out there today, as well as facts on how they work and perform – and yes it’s true many actually do have millions of jobs available - I also gathered the following information potential freelancers should know before making the leap to use them.

Consider which freelance marketplaces have the type of jobs for someone with your skills and expertise; some specialize in IT, website development and code writing, PR/writing, for example.

**All freelance marketplaces require verification using a government issued I.D; for example a driver’s license. They also require email and personal address verification and info regarding legal issues with drug abuse. You will be required to join each freelance marketplace; some are free others range from $10 to $29 per month; or pay 1x annually.

In speaking with pros regularly using freelance marketplaces and systems to get hired, they offered the following 4 valuable tips:

1. Understanding the bidding process and the format to be followed is #1 if you want a hiring pro, recruiter or decision maker to choose you.

2. Knowing how to write a unique cover letter that stands out, gets read and helps get you hired, they pointed out, is #2 on their list. The usual boring cover letter written to secure a 9-5 job won’t do and they learned that the hard way.

3. To get jobs and rehired a good rep is absolutely necessary; plus referrals and recommendations.

4. Understanding how to set fees was also top of their list.

In conclusion:

My research shows freelancing is an excellent and viable work choice for those who take the time to understand how to navigate and make the system work for them. Note – almost all freelance market-places have similar systems so joining several should not pose a problem in navigating them once you know how. Part of navigating them is knowing the rules and how they work. If you don’t know that – don’t know what’s required from the start - you will struggle say the pros I interviewed.  

FOOTNOTES:

* “Employee Tenure in 2014”, U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics 9-18-14. * “8 Things You Need To Know About Millennials At Work” by Jacquelyn Smith; Business Insider, 11-14 . * “Leading in the New World of Work” by Deloitte Human Capital Trends, 2015. * “Majority of U.S. Employees Not Engaged Despite Gains in 2014” by Amy Adkins. Gallup, 2015. * Ernst & Young Generations Survey http://www.ey.com/US/en/Issues/Talent- management/Talent-Survey-The-generational-management-shift - 2015

RESOURCES:More info on Freelance: http://goo.gl/30llJY

Free Millennials Whitepaper: http://goo.gl/QqMiT5

Jean L. Serio CPC, CeMAwww.getyourbuzzon.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanlseriosocialmktgstrategist