Knowledge and Artisan skills – what do you offer the world, and does the world want it?!
If you had to work as an independent consultant — i.e., work for various employers where you are paid directly for services provided — could you confidently answer this statement: ‘I am a junior/mid-level/senior level ______. An appropriate hourly rate for my services is $___.’
Most people have trouble answering the first part, and are totally clueless about the second — although many are tempted to take their current paycheck and divide by 40, the hours in a normal workweek.
The rules of successful career progression and employment are changing. Reality is that significant change in the nature of employment began long before the Great Recession of 2007.
By the late 1990s the percentage of Americans employed in the job market had slowed and rapidly began to tumble by 2000. Even when the economy supposedly recovered in the mid-2000s the number of Americans in the workplace continued to thin.
Read more at http://wjmc.blogspot.com/
Instead of thinking big and large scale, the future for the average person awaits them in their community by filling local or virtual needs for your services — go to Guru.com for an example of how people are offering their services around the world; even Administrative Assistants (people formerly known as secretaries and step-and-fetch-its are making money virtually).
- Success will come to those possessing more than just an average knowledge of some skills or craft.
- Success will come from holding certifications that make you ‘skilled’ vice having a skill.
- Success will come from being active in your community and reaching out to others in the business community, either through direct involvement or virtually, and making it known that you are available with a menu of services and skills.
- Success will come from you knowing your market value and being realistic about fish-of-the-day pricing for your services. It doesn’t matter if you are a rocket scientist when the room is full of them and demand is low. Supply and demand rule the day.
BTW — many businesses like to hire consultants AKA 1099 workers. They pay for what they get and are willing to pay even more for what they like. Paying a bit extra is often worth it to employers that outsource work to you, knowing that they are getting their money’s worth.
Unemployment numbers measure how many Americans are participating in the work place.
Reality is that far fewer Americans are working as a percentage of the entire population.
Reality is that employers can do more with less. More work and productivity can be achieved by fewer professionals. Current technology makes possible fulfillment of the promise that we can do more with less.
Are you less or more?
Some of that doing more with less involves using more outsourced professionals. Protect your job by adjusting to new employment market realities and being able to confidently answer this statement: ‘I am a junior/mid-level/senior level ______. An appropriate hourly rate for my services is $___.’
By William ‘Bill’ Golden, CEO of IntelligenceCareers, Inc., aka IntelligenceCareers.com, USAJobZoo.com, and USADefenseIndustryJobs.com plus 148 niche jobs blogs.
