Specific Project Based Employment Turns
Workers Into Freelancers
More accurately is "E-lancing" a new
word. It is the marriage of the words
"electronic" and "freelancing". Like so many
new terms produced in the information age,
e-lancing has grown beyond it's simple
beginning. At first, "e-lancing" was a term
reserved for computer professionals that
moved from one high tech project to the
next. Now anyone that uses the Internet to
get work-on-the-side is called an e-lancer.
Contract employment has proven to be a handy
tool to employers strapped for talent. It
allows for better use of seasonal budgets
and lowers human resource expenses when only
temporary work is needed. Contract employees
love working in this way too-- more than 84%
report that they do not care to be employed
any other way, according to the U.S.
Department of Labor.
The Internet allows companies to shop
projects to a broader base of experts. It
also allows jobseekers with expertise to
capitalize on opportunities otherwise
unavailable in their immediate locations.
As companies continue to make decisions
based upon earnings and stock prices, look
to e-lancing to expand as an overall trend.
Already more than 25 million people earn
some sort of income through e-lancing. The
U.S. Department of Labor estimates that
nearly 50% of the workforce could be
e-lancing by the year 2005.
What does this mean to jobseekers?
Jobseekers are going to have to get use to
frequent job and project changes. It means
that jobseekers will be required to be more
connected and adept at connecting. The days
of hanging a shingle are back-- only now it
is done online. It means being your own boss
and enjoying a larger degree of
independence. It also means needing to know
how to deal with employers-as-customers-- a
unique twist on a traditionally challenging
relationship. Most importantly, it will
require skills and disciplines never seen
before in the workplace.
Loyalty Takes A Backseat
The early 1990's trend of downsizing did
more than make the bottom line healthier for
corporations. It caused the average worker
to cast a wary eye upon long-term employment
commitments. The hot job market has only
fueled the need for many workers to escape
connection with any one employer for too
long.
PC Computing reports that the average 32
year-old has held nine jobs. Most workers
can expect to change jobs now every 24
months.
Job-hopping was once thought of as an
ill-advised move for most jobseekers.
Multiple employers listed on a resume over
relatively short time frames was not
perceived well. These days that is not
necessarily the case.
Shorter relationships have proven beneficial
for both worker and employer. Not because it
makes life any easier on the worker or
employer-- but simply because economics
demands it. Why stay with an employer for a
5% yearly raise if you can get a 20%
increase plus stock options from a competing
employer as a new hire?
As employers struggle to staff in a tight
labor market they provide greater incentives
than what current employees receive. And
they throw loyalty out the window with it.
What does this mean to jobseekers? It means
that jobseekers must assume a larger role in
managing career progression. Advances in
position may not be awarded so much as they
are obtained through a carefully executed
strategy of moving between companies.
Jobseekers need to be constantly aware of
industry trends and react appropriately to
emerging opportunities. The real benefit of
the information age is not the information
itself-- it's what you do with it.
Creative Work Arrangements
Employers by necessity are becoming more
flexible and creative in their work
arrangements. Telecommuting, job sharing and
creative work scheduling are all getting
renewed attention.
Two factors motivate employers to be
creative beyond the burdens imposed by a
tight labor market-- better productivity and
improved employer-to-employee relations.
Technology in the home is quickly rising to
the level of the office, allowing for
seamless continuity in job performance as
the lines between home and work are blurred.
Telecommuters with broadband Internet access
and video conferencing capabilities report
not only higher rates of job satisfaction
but increased productivity as well.
Additionally, employers look to the
work-at-home arrangements as a means of
retaining key employees that clearly have
options with competing employers. The value
of a telecommuting arrangement is not
measured strictly along the lines of dollars
and cents. It provides a large degree of
trust from employer to employee that is much
sought after.
Alternative employment arrangements-- such
as job sharing where two part-time
professionals share a single position-- are
being explored. For companies, the costs of
having two part-time employees are lower.
For employees, this kind of arrangement
allows for greater job flexibility in
working around the demands of home and
family.
A December 1999 study by Development
Dimension International indicates that
employers are prepared to explore creative
employment options. Of the hiring managers
surveyed, over 50% say they plan to
significantly change recruiting and hiring
practices in order to acquire the talent
that is eluding them in a surging employment
market.
What does this mean to jobseekers? It means
that everything is negotiable. Finding a job
you love is all that much more possible if
you just ask for what you want when job
offers are extended. Employers look to be
more receptive to methods that would not
only retain employees but make them more
productive. They are listening more than
ever.
New Workplace Skills
Jobs are changing. What it meant to be in
the insurance industry or work as a teacher
or any other kind of professional ten years
ago is not what it means to be the same
today. In fact, the one job skill common
across all professional lines is the ability
to change and adapt as technology is further
refined in the workplace.
As we enter the next millennium, the most
fundamental shift will reflect a
redefinition of training. To better develop
people and remain competitive, organizations
are making dramatic changes in the way they
develop the knowledge and skills of their
workforce.
Training as something provided for employees
will be replaced by learning that employees
initiate themselves. Training as it has been
traditionally known will go away. "Learning"
as it is needed will gain in use. Training
for the masses will be replaced by highly
customized, just-for-me learning.
This shift is driven by the fact that
traditional training has been ineffective.
And companies just cannot afford it anymore.
Studies show that less than 20% of all
training is ever taken back to the job. New
methods of building skills in employees will
include training that is results-driven. And
employees are going to have to keep up with
the results the new workplace demands.
What does this mean to jobseekers? Know your
computer. It holds not only the key to how
your job is done in the years ahead but also
how you will learn new skills for the
future. Focus especially upon the Internet.
Know how to get around, make connections and
conduct business in an online world that
never sleeps and constantly demands results.
With the work world moving squarely in step
with Internet time, it is not difficult to
feel overwhelmed. Jobs are just are easily
lost these days as they are gained. And that
means that the job search is never truly
over.
The numbers all of these sources throw out
at us are staggering. In order to capitalize
on all the opportunity the information age
provides the jobseeker must take action. The
best defense is a good offense.
