I'm on indefinite freelancing - what should I do?

[wienerdog]

I've been freelancing at a Fortune 500 (my first) for 9 weeks and would like to go full time, but don't think the company will hire me. They say I'mbasically on an indefinite freelance job, and they don't really talk to me about what their future plans are for the position. I'mfilling a position that was full time for 1.5 years. The person before me was an assistant, not trained in design, but helped out on projects whenit was busy. They wanted to bring in someone who had a design background to replace her when she moved to another part of the U.S.

I got the job from a staffing agency that pays me $20/hr, and told me it was a temp-to-perm, but I need health benefits, paid holidays, and some security by having a full time gig. I don't know if I should put my resume out there for a full time job, or take what I have, and push a freelance business.

How long should I question my agent or the company about being hired? I think I want to ask my agent with the staffing company first, but should I wait until it's been 3 months, the usual time a new hire is offered benefits and is off-probationary status? How long should a company take to know they want to hire a temp?


wiEnerDog
Weinerdog Graphics - My portfolio site! (http://www.wienerdoggraphics.com)

[morea]

well, it looks like I am nobody to give you advice, considering you make almost twice an hour what I do.

Good luck with that.

We are one, our cause us one, and we must help each other if we are to succeed. ~ Frederick Douglass

[wienerdog]

It's amazing how little it is with a mortgage, $140/month for a lousy HMO, no Dental, $20,000+ in student loans, and a commute to Philly. Freelancing is not good when the place you're working is planning a week long vacation in June, and I don't get paid.

wiEnerDog
Weinerdog Graphics - My portfolio site! (http://www.wienerdoggraphics.com)

[Keyare]

Freelancing is not 'Working at a place'

Freelancing is getting jobs wherever, however you can get them.

Freelancing means no medical, no dental, no guarantees.

Freelancing does however, mean you can take those days off and go scrape up more work from other companies. You can also work whenever you want, wherever you want and for whomever you want.

Freelancing is working for yourself.

I'd take your $20/hr job and treat it as comfortable bas upon which to build a true freelance business. Most freelancers don't get the opportunity to be as comfortably taken care of as you are while they build their business.

[EC]

I have zero experience with temping, but if you want to do the freelance biz thing? Get used to paying your own benefits (mine are more than double what you pay and they are still lousy). And, what's a paid vacation?

If your priority is security, then I think you already know the answer to all of this.

A temporary position is just that, right? Something that pays the bills until you find something better? So, keep looking for something better. This company you are at can still opt to hire you, but nothing wrong with looking out for yourself and having more options open to you.

[EC]

What Keyare said, too.

[wienerdog]

The problem is I'm not really working for myself. If I do the full job search, that means I have to take days off to interview, and I'm on-site 8:30-5:30 Mon-Fri. So they'll probably have issues with me taking time off a lot to interview, but I'm bitter, because it's not like they're giving me commitment. And the agency is probably charging the client double for my services! I leave the house around 7:30 and get home around 7pm. So it's not like I'm free to find other work during the week.

wiEnerDog
Weinerdog Graphics - My portfolio site! (http://www.wienerdoggraphics.com)

[EC]

That's sort of what I suspected. You're in a temporary position (not 'secure' for you but convenient for them in case they want to pull the plug.) They are categorizing you as a 'freelancer' but there is nothing free about it. Only you can decide if you want to pursue a freelance business or a full-time job, but I'd start exploring options if I were you. They *might* make you an offer, they *might* not. Best not to leave your fate up to them.

[Bear]

In the UK, it's illegal to employ someone in your studio for more than a couple of months straight as a freelancer. Because it's not up to the company, but the freelancer to declare their tax and income, it's fairly difficult to regulate them.

C*** Designer

[BonnieSimz]

It might be the company using the agency is afriad to committ. if they keep using you as a contractor, they have no committment to keep you for any given time. Keep asking your agent about it. But they may never change their mind. Plus, if a company decides to hire you on fullltime, they have to pay an agency a huge fee usually in order to release you to them. it sucks. but that's the way it is sometimes. If your contract ends with this agency and you want to approach this company directly, you will have to wait a full year at least before you contact the company directly. Most agencies have a non-compete agreement.

B

[Michelle P.R.G.D.]

if you are looking for dental and health you should look into purchasing health and dental coverage, it is available for people that are self employed, usually for a small monthly fee, worth it in the end.

Michelle, P.R.G.D.



'We strive to exceed your expectations'

[Bear]

if at all possible, do some research into the agency you got the gig through. I've heard that the release fee can equal far less than if the company had to keep spending a percentage of your wages to the agency and kept paying you for a year. Maybe you can explain this to them. If they're a fortune 500, then they may be interested in paying you alittle more, the agency alittle less, and the rest goes back into their pockets for a rainy day

C*** Designer

[Drorain]

i just want something that will pay me a little better *sniff* this is hard living

http://www.grivakisgraphics.com/images/img_logomark.jpg

"OH what a big man you are!...Let me buy you a pack of gum, I'll show ya how to chew it..."

~Al Pacino, Glen Gary Glenn Ross

[wienerdog]

Well, they have a release fee of $2,000 (US) or 5% of the employee's expected first year income after completeing 800 billable hours.

But the senior designer here (not the dept. manager) said they could keep me a temp indefinitely, which really sucks, because the agency doesn't offer health benefits. This is a lousy way to work, it's such a tease and makes me a little resentful of the situation. I was under the impression this was temp-to-perm, and expected within several months, I'd be brought in as an employee. Now I'm not so sure, and feel a little foolish. I'm not naive, I understand the nature of temp work, and the benefits for a firm to make someone indefinitely temp, but they can't expect a temp to be reliable, really.

That may yet happen, but who knows if/when. I'll have to go job hunting again, and I was hoping this was my big break into the world of a comfy Fortune 100 firm. Unfortunately, I'll have to take days off to interview, so if I get lucky and have frequent interviews, they'll wonder why I'm taking so many days away from work. I guess I can make it clear to the department manager that this situation isn't what I'm comfortable with long-term.

wiEnerDog
Weinerdog Graphics - My portfolio site! (http://www.wienerdoggraphics.com)