Will Kelly

WWD Post: 5 Tips For the Aspiring Part-time Freelancer

The down economy is making many workers realize that it is no longer safe to have just one source of income. On the flip side, employers are also making smaller jobs available to outside contractors, opening up more opportunities for people to have side projects outside of their regular day jobs.

via webworkerdaily.com

My latest WWD post is drawn from my own experience in managing side projects. Today's economy is driving more people to diversify their income sources and part-time freelancing is the way. It can also help make you feel more secure if your day job appears to be shaky.

Are You Seeking a Senior Technical Writer in the Washington, DC Area?

I am currently available for new full-time or contract employment as a senior technical writer in the Washington, DC area or via telecommuting.

Details of my experience are after the jump.

Will Today's Economy Further Thin Out IT Contracting Firms?

The thought passed my mind today after hearing about more than one low ball technical writing contract off and on over the past few months is if today's economy, corporate indecision, and skewed corporate perceptions that the perfect senior person can be found for cheap is going to further thin out the IT contracting firm herd.

I say this because the bulk of most recruiters salary is paid on a commission basis meaning they have to place people and the fact that some IT contract openings have been open for months as employers get lost in indecision, hand wringing, and a myriad of other issues I can only pretend to understand.

Including your Resume in a Proposal or Interviewing for a Contingent Project

There is a whole lot of proposal writing going on in today's  bad economy in the commercial and Federal government sectors. This means technical writers and other IT workers may get approached to have their resume included in a proposal or to come in and interview for a contingent project that the client or potential employer has not yet won.

Five Things Technical Writers need to do at least Once

I've had a chance to meet with some technical writers, hiring managers, and potential clients over the past few weeks and the picture of the technical writing profession remains as troubled as ever.

While many senior technical writers are driven into contracting there is still an insular technical writing community that has never taken such risks. Personally, I think every technical writer needs to spend some time as a W2 and independent contractor and publish original work to expand their own horizons beyond just font fondling.

Computer Book Technical Editing

I am back to contracting and freelancing and trying to research how I can diversify my income streams. Back in the day, I spent a lot of my evenings as a computer book technical editor and reviewer.

Now Available for New Senior Technical Writer Opportunities

I am currently available for new full-time or contract employment as a senior technical writer in the Washington, DC area or via telecommuting.

Details of my experience are after the jump.

Revisiting a Technical Writing and Contracting Career

I recently had an interview for a contract that was so not a fit but one of the questions was Why do I stay a technical writer when it must be such a dull and boring profession?  After the interview when I was peeling rubber out of the parking lot, I took a few moments when I was decelerating to think about some of the more interesting moments (at least to me) from my career to date:

Do I miss Freelance Writing?

I was talking with an old colleague the other night and they wondered if I missed freelance writing. In some ways, I really do miss freelancing but considering where the economy is going it looks like I need to diversify my income again.

Freelance writing was such a rich educational experience for me and contributed to the professional I am today. While freelancing, I was exposed to leading edge technologies and got to interview some really smart people. Writing articles did wonders for honing my writing and analytical skills.

Things I didn't like about Contracting and Consulting

I saw a lot of things as a contractor and consultant that really bothered me even some that left me wanting to take a shower

Things I liked about Contracting, Freelancing, and Consulting

I spent twelve years as a contract technical writer and consultant before making the jump back into full-time employment. There were a number of things I enjoyed about the work including:

1. Knowing the job had a beginning, middle, and end.
2. Being able to pick my own projects and clients.
3. Being responsible for my own professional fate.
4. Being able to fire clients.
5. Learning how to assimilate to different organizational cultures and see how organizational cultures can influence product development for better or worse.
6. Realizing the importance of being on a solid project team even when the rest of the organization could could be crumbling down around me.
7. Being able to take a Friday afternoon off when I wanted it off.
8. Working from home because I always seemed to get more done in my home office versus sitting on most client sites.
9. Being able to stay out of office politics (at least in the early portion of my contracting life).

Kelly's Laws of Meetings

I hate meetings. There I said it. Once I even went to a meeting about meetings when I was on a previous contract

While there are times that I'll admit meetings are necessary, I've seen way to many hours burned by needless meetings. There are also personality types that seem to need meetings so they can feel valuable.

Indelible Truthes Learned from IT Contracting & Consulting

Working as an IT consultant and contractor can teach a lot of life lessons and illuminate a lot of truths into human nature. I've seen a lot working with commercial, Federal, non-profit, and non-governmental organizations.

Here are some of the truths I've learned over time:

CNET Builder.com Off the Air (But not in Australia)

Recently, when I was doing some online research for a client regarding database architecture documentation, I remembered an article I wrote for Builder.com on the subject way back when. When I entered www.builder.com into my browser I was viewing an Australian site.

I had long since archived the article I wrote for them to PDF because the multiple FT editorial staff purges but the shuttering of the American Builder.com site brought back some good and bad memories for me:

• When the tech bubble burst for me I hit the mat like an over the hill prize fighter on his last fight. Builder.com had an open call for writers at the time and I applied with the few clips I had from my professional writing career because I needed the money. I hadn't really written any articles since I was a college English major. I had to learn all over again how to express myself in hundreds of words versus the page count of a requirements document, functional specifications, operations guide, or user guide.
• Surviving multiple editorial changes on the Builder.com side until they got a new editor who offshored editorial content to India.
• Learning how to navigate PR agencies and talking to some really major players in the business both over the phone and in person.
• Some people not understanding how a technical writer could write original content in the form of an article. It only happened once or twice but the ridiculousness of it even today.
• Writing about soft skills like project management and navigating organizational politics for the first time in my career based upon my experiences as an IT contractor and consultant.

Consolidation in the Federal IT Marketplace

Mid-Tier Contractors Getting Left Out (from Washingtonpost.com)

For many years, the middle tier of companies in the $200 billion federal services industry was regarded as a source of innovation and productivity. They grew into companies that today are big names in the contracting space -- SRA, Alion, CACI and Mantech.

Despite a six-year boom in government contracting, the next generation of mid-size players is seeing its share of federal dollars erode. Larger companies increasingly dominate the service industry, which helps the government run its computers, analyze intelligence, conduct scientific research and even mop the floors.

Backing up Emails and Files to the Cruzer Titanium 4.0 GB

Some client PC problems and later the crash of my MacBook Pro's hard drive made me look for a quick and dirty solution to backup my client issue notebook PC.

I chose the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium 4.0 GB  and while I give it full point value for its ease of use and capacity. My only issue is when the software asked me to upgrade the synchronization software the software crashes each time. Other than that, it works like a champ for me when my Outlook calendar chimes for me to backup my files.

Every contractor should have a Plan-B when it comes to backing up their client data even it means bringing your own backup solution to the table.

Scary Unsolicited Recruiter Email of the Day

Though I've been off the job market for a while I am starting to receive more and more unsolicited recruiters emails. Many times they are on target (though I am engaged and can't pursue the gig), but this one was off target...and a wee bit of a scary proposition (and I am not talking an impossible tech project in a completely dysfunctional Federal or commercial organization).

The Sins of Offshoring

Barry Campbell over at the Knowledge Work blog links to an interesting article in CIO Magazine that compares offshoring to the seven deadly sins.

A Truth about Contract Technical Writing (and Contract IT Work in General)

As a favor to an old friend,  I spoke to one of their friend's kids who got laid off and was forced to go into contract IT work so they could keep paying the bills.

Here is one question and answer that stuck out from out phonecall:

Them: What do you find true about contracting?

Me: The very people who will criticize you for the tiniest mistake will be the same people who take credit for your successes and good ideas after your contract gig ends.

It's about the core and the gap now with much heavy lifting on IT projects being done  by contract staff versus full-time employees.

Dialogue with an IT Recruiter

I work in a field where senior level staff (I am talking ten plus years experience)  in my local market are forced out into contract positions. With the growing use of contract/contingent staff in the IT industry, it's hypocritical to question a person's employment record.

Recruiter: I am very impressed by your resume.
Me: Well, thanks.
Recruiter: It seems like you've done a lot of job hopping.
Me: Well, I've been a contractor.
Recruiter: ??
Me: Does your company stay with clients after they are done an engagement is done and the work is complete?
Recruiter: Errr, well no!
Me: Neither do I.