Surviving as a Writer in a Bad Economy

Life as a career writer, or really as any employee in a down economy, is a difficult one. If you are out of work, your situation is bad, but your goals and direction are clear. You want to do whatever it takes to bring in an income again. If you are employed, you have the benefit of a job, but your need to walk a tightrope. You want to be in the best possible position to find another job (or at least an income) if you need it but you don’t want to alienate your current employer by appearing to be putting yourself on the market. I have already written an article about How to Find Publishing Industry Jobs.  If you are out of work, you should read that article immediately. It has the process you need to follow in any job search, whether the economy is good or bad. The advice below is aimed at both promoting and protecting yourself so that you can minimize the risks of losing your job and put yourself in the best position to find work if you do lose your job.

Put Your Money Aside

A bad economy is not a good time to be spending money on non-essentials. I know the current philosophy is that you can spend your way out of a recession, but let the rest of the people do that for you.  Put aside as much money as possible. I know how difficult it can be, but do whatever you can do because any cushion you have will help keep you afloat if you lose your job.

Do Your Job Really Well

A down economy is not a good time to be a bad employee. Don’t give your company an excuse to let you go. Get your projects done on time or early if at all possible. Double-check your work to be sure everything was done properly. Be willing to help out another employee if they need it. Do what you can to promote as positive a reputation at work as you can muster. If the stress is getting to you, look for healthy ways to let off steam after work such as exercising or getting back to a hobby you enjoy.

Know Your Market

At least once a week, take the time to do a general online job search for writing positions in your area. Your goal is to get a sense of where the market is and what your options are. I recommend Indeed for this search because they aggregate multiple job sites and they allow you to include salary levels as a filter so that you can see where you stand when it comes to pay. If a job sounds interesting, you can apply, but the main goal is to stay informed.

Perfect Your Resume

Make sure your resume is complete and flexible. Create a single-page version for basic job search needs, and a longer, detailed version that discusses all of your past writing experiences in depth. The second resume is more of a reminder of what you have done in the past at each job so that you are ready to discuss those things if they come up. The in-depth resume should come complete with exact work dates and company addresses. This will come in handy if you find yourself filling out a job application.

You might also want to create some tailored single-page resumes. If you are capable of working in multiple fields (copywriting, technical writing, editing, proofreading, public relations, etc.) create a resume for each type of job. In a down economy, you may need to take a position you would otherwise not be interested in. It is best to be prepared for those openings before times get desperate.

Putting your resume online with a service such as Monster, Dice or Career Builder is a judgment call. If you are worried about your employer finding your resume, than either make it private/anonymous or fill out the resume but leave it inactive so that you can activate it the moment you know your job is in peril.

Update Your Portfolio

Often, when you are laid off, the notice comes quickly and there is no time to assemble current samples of your work. If you want to be ready, work on your portfolio before there is a crisis. Keep it updated. If you need to use unpublished company materials that may contain protected information, working on this in advance gives you the time to remove or rewrite any sensitive information that your company may object to your distributing.  Much like your resume, you will want to tailor your portfolio to different career paths. Samples of your copywriting work are not appropriate when applying for a technical writing job.

Increase Your Visibility

While a company may object to you sending out your resume, there are plenty of other ways to increase your visibility. You may want to start your own professional blog. Some companies do object to employee blogs, so make sure you aren’t in violation of any policies. If you cannot run your own blog, you can always write guest articles for other blogs or industry publications. Work on your networking. Join organizations in your career field and attend events such as conferences and seminars. Try to meet as many people as you can at these events and be sure to bring business cards. You can also join business networking sites such as LinkedIn or Xing. If you do join, try to be as active as possible. The more you interact, the more options you will have if you ever need to put your network into play.

Diversify Your Income

If you can develop a secondary income source, it will help lessen the blow of losing your primary income. You can take a second job, freelance or set up a small business such as an income producing blog. You know your own strengths so I can’t tell you which one will work best for you, but find a way to keep all your eggs from being in the same basket.

That’s it for my advice. I welcome advice from others. What do you recommend for a down economy?

Related links

• 4-Hour Work Week: Lessons for Writers (0.500)
• 5 Reasons I Love Blogging More than Freelancing (0.500)
• White Papers: The Niche Where 20 Pages Can Net You $20,000 - Really! (0.500)
• Want to be a Freelance Writer? Get Ready for Business! (0.500)
• Blogging Changed My Life (0.500)

Contact John Hewitt

Writing Content and Web Consulting

Email: hewitt@poewar.com
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