Title

Kioshana LaCount Burrell

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Other works by this author:

Network to Increase Your Net Worth

30 Days to SpeakLove – Self-care Action Journal

Effortless Abundance: A Guide to Living an Abundant Life, Effortlessly

The Truth about the Job Market

It’s no secret that the job market is more volatile and unpredictable than ever these days. Depending on where you live, the unemployment rates can fluctuate from a reasonable 7% to as high as 25% and even the most qualified jobseekers may experience issues identifying positions that fit them.

Even when you’re able to find positions that you want, it can feel practically impossible to get your foot in the door. With the rise of applicant tracking systems (you know, those pesky resume robots), well-suited applicants are often excluded from the interview pool before anyone ever actually sees their resume. Companies everywhere are cutting costs and downsizing like there’s no tomorrow. For many companies there really is no tomorrow; even the “Fail-proof” companies are seeing bankruptcies and buyouts more often than ever in the past 100 years! If you don’t already have a steady, stable job with a well-established company then you definitely picked the wrong decade to be unemployed in. Even if you have a stable job there’s really no telling if it will be there next month, or even next week.

So what’s the solution? What can do you? You can’t just magically change the economy and make the job market better; you probably won’t get a lot done by writing a letter to your senator either. You could continue applying for jobs left and right, going on interviews and working for companies with the knowledge that you might be downsized at any given moment. Or – you can try something different. Believe it or not there is a better solution. It requires a lot of work and dedication, but it’s a lot better than being unemployed.

You can create your own job! I know, that sounds a little funny when you just look at it like that but it’s the truth. Specifically I’m talking about freelancing.

Though there is a lot of chatter about the rise of the ”gig economy” over the last few years, the truth is that freelancing is not a new concept. People have been working for themselves for millenia; even in ancient Rome the army hired mercenaries to go into battle when there weren’t enough soldiers. Mercenaries were freelance warriors; they weren’t employed full-time by a particular nation’s army—they just worked for whoever was willing to pay the most.

Hopefully you don’t have to do any paid fighting any time soon but the spirit of the mercenary and the idea of contract work carries on thousands of years later in the form of freelancing. By becoming your own boss and establishing contract relationships you open up a world of money-making possibilities while completely abandoning all of the negative aspects that come with a typical, “9 to 5” job.

In this book we’re going to explore the many options you have should you choose to become a freelancer. We’re going to talk about freelance work in a way that allows you to learn the essential techniques regardless of what field you choose to freelance in, be it business, graphic design or even housekeeping!

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