Turn your gig into your job
Dear Sam: I know some love this new “gig economy,” but I don’t. I was laid off from my corporate IT job eight years ago and have since only been able to find contract work.
My peers—most of whom are much younger—say this is the new thing, and that I should embrace it.
The problem is that some of my peers are fortunate enough to still be covered by their partner’s or parents’ health insurance, and I am not, so I need to be a full-time employee in order to get the benefits my family needs.
I’m not just writing to complain. I am writing to ask how I take the past eight years of experience—spread over a handful of short- and long-term assignments—and create a resume that attracts a full-time jobs with benefits. — Jason
Dear Jason: Your email has such coincidental timing, as I just sat in a room of professionals addressing this very question and discussing the pros, cons and future of the gig economy.
I absolutely understand your situation and have seen that reflected in the generations of my client base.
I work with many individuals who thrive on the shortterm gig and the opportunity to have change at every turn, while I also work with many who are tired of not having a “home” when it comes to their 9-5 day.
From a personal branding perspective, however, you can absolutely turn around the image on paper.
Having said that, start by compiling a list of all of your projects and start digging deeper than the project name, client and time line. Think about the projects you have engaged in that have challenged you, helped you grow professionally, and added value to your professional legacy.
Do you have performance evaluations or letters of recommendation from any of those engagements? If so, now is the time to gather them; if not, now is the time to ask for those letters.
Equipped with a deep-dive into your projects, define the approach you need to take in presenting all of that data. Did you have a handful of longer-term assignments you can present by client or project sponsor? Or would it make more sense to present your last eight years in one section under independent engagements? The answer depends on the structure of your employment, the duration of your engagements and how relevant the longer-term roles are to your career search.
The latter leads me into my next recommendation: Clearly define where you want to go so you can develop a hypertargeted brand that promotes you with rich content and keyword relevance.
Do not simply list all of the roles you have held; instead, weave a story through your journey that explains to a hiring manager the skills you have emerged with following those project-driven assignments. If a shorter-term project doesn’t relate, don’t be afraid to omit it.
Be strategic in this section, presenting what adds value to your candidacy in terms of how you want to be seen at this juncture in your career.
One of the keys to transitioning out of shorter-term project-based roles is sometimes the picture you paint for the reader (and applicant tracking system). Reinforce where you want to go by grouping gigs into a robust section on your resume that shows the strength of the past eight years as a 1099, followed by the success you had as an employee. I wish you all the best.
View Dear Sam’s column at dispatch.com/jobs. Samantha Nolan is a certified professional resume writer and owner of Nolan Branding. Reach her at dearsam@nolanbranding. com, visit nolanbranding.com or call 614-570-3442 or 1-888-9523928. Meet her on Facebook, live on Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. EDT, for an extended discussion of this week’s Dear Sam topic.