Why I Love Empty Job Freelancing

Freelance Switch - Posted: 03 Jul 2008 07:00 PM CDT I've been freelancing for about five years now, sometimes only part time, and sometime s in a serious attempt to rake in all the cash I can before I drop dead from project overload. Yet when I read the freelancing sites out there I hardly ever find mention of my situation. You see, I've always managed to freelance while working a paid job. I don't mean I've worked, then gone home and beavered away – I mean I've gone to my paid employment AND freelanced at the same time. I deliberately hunt for positions that I call "Empty Jobs". These are the oddball, or even plain boring, non-career focused jobs that most people overlook. The pay isn't great, and it's likely to be a dead end as far as career progression. But I love them. To me it's like a glorified Work For the Dole program. I turn up, I do the pea-sized brain job I was hired for, I take my paycheck. And with all of the spare hours I have, I write, or research or do whatever takes my fancy. But wait, I hear you cry. Isn't this unethical? Surely I'm stealing from my employers if I'm also pulling in paid freelance work. I'm double dipping. Well, yes. The trick is to find the right Empty Job – with a boss and work culture that allows you the freedom to fill in your spare time in whatever way you see fit. For me this means my basic food and shelter are always covered and I'm protected from the absolute highs and lows of the freelance world. I satisfy my creative urges *and* my desires to afford a nice house and new pyjamas at the same time. I once took a job as night manager at a backpackers’ hostel. My job was really just to babysit the hostel overnight. Make sure the drunks went to bed and everyone kicked their one-night stands out before 7am when the "real" workers of the hostel arrived. After adjusting to the shift work it turned out to be about seven hours of uninterrupted writing time per shift, with only the occasional drunk demanding late night conversation. Currently I'm working for a small office with only one other person managing the business. The company has found it hard to keep staff past the six month point due to the utter tediousness of waiting for a handful of phone calls a day. It's a job that needs someone in the office full time, but only really for "just in case" dramas. For me it's perfect. It makes me get out of bed at least. Once I've done all of my tasks the boss doesn't mind if I fill some time reading comic books, surfing the web or editing a short story. Always with the proviso that if I'm needed for "real" work then I jump to it when asked. I've now been here three years and both of us are happy. The Golden Rules of Empty Job Freelancing 1. The day job comes first. If you have a big freelance project due AND a crisis in the office you have to deal with the office first. It's not fair otherwise. 2. Kick butt in your day job. Give them absolutely no excuse not to trust you. Always be on time. Do more than what is asked of you. Pay attention to detail. Answer phones quickly. Fly through your work with glee – more time for the interesting stuff that way. 3. Don't take advantage. Sure, use the office printer or fax for your own work. Grab a few pens or a notepad. But the day you catch yourself ordering shredders, labellers and hard drives from the office catalogue for your home office is the day you've gone too far. 4. Be discrete. If you've got a nice working arrangement going with your immediate supervisors then there is no need to blab to everyone that you're just finished your novel on work time. Other departments and bosses in the same company may have different attitudes. I've known people in Empty Jobs forced to sit and stare at the wall to make up the face time of the job. Totally pointless. 5. Don't undercut your Freelance rates too much. Even though you have a great base salary from which to freelance from, it's bad karma to underprice yourself too much. Sure, use the safety net to bid a bit lower on a job you know you'd enjoy, but don't drag down industry rates. 6. You're still a Freelancer. Clients don't need to know about your work environment. If they do you'll find they want you to work cheaper, longer or harder for higher quality because, after all, you're "already in the office." Jody E. is a stand up comedian, freelance writer and gal-about-town.