One of the questions I’m asked A LOT is “How Do I Get Your Job?” It’s no secret I LOVE what I do for a living. In my short career as a writer and photographer I’ve gotten to do some pretty amazing things. Meet celebrities, have wild experiences such as jet skiing and parasailing, enjoy the best (and worst) meals of my life and have enjoyed every single minute of being a freelancer! So, I’ve decided to finally answer the question, “How Do I Get Your Job?” by telling you what I did. If you think it will work for you too, feel free to follow my steps. I feel like my tips can be adapted by anyone, no matter what industry they’re wanting to get into. For example, my friend that proof-read this article before I posted it was trying to learn how to get gigs in comedy and she said she had taken a lot of the points on board! However, not everyone is going to agree with me. If not, how do you think I could have done it better?
Step one- decide you actually want what you are after. I had to make the conscious decision that I want to be a freelance writer and photographer for the rest of my life.
Step two- decide who you want to work for and then immediately contact them to find out how to do just that
Step three- annoy the hell out of them until they let you work for them. Okay, this might sound crazy but my persistence is what got me some of my first paid writing gigs. I actually had one client tell me they would give me a story if I would just quit calling and emailing them.
Step four- be on time with every deadline. I have heard from so many of my clients how they have to cease working with writers simply because they don’t turn stuff in on time- some of them don’t even give a reason and worse some of them don’t turn their stuff in at all!
Step five- keep coming up with ideas constantly. One of my gigs dried up because I quit submitting fresh ideas. I fully plan to sit down and brainstorm a big list and try to get this gig back ASAP but I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire right now and I’m trying to figure out my next move.
Step six- have a back up plan when the chips are down. I started several of my own websites including this one as well as Tampa Bay Freebies, Living the Secret, and We Are Full of Bull simply to keep having a place to write daily. A lot of companies have stopped hiring me because they are short on funds and having my own sites allows me to keep writing and hopefully soon make more money. I’ve signed up for several affiliate programs and adsense in hopes of having my websites make me cash even while I sleep.
That’s really it. I still just knock on doors and make phone calls and send emails when there is some gig I want, I’m persistent and I follow through. I have a back up plan that may ultimately become my plan A if all works out.
As I mentioned recently, my goals are far from complete. My next massive goal for my career is to become a 6-figure earner annually. I will spill the beans in an upcoming post on how I plan to make that goal a reality.
What are your tips for success?
