I have worked as a technical writer at mostly large companies for almost 35 years. Most of that time I was a contractor or consultant. I would usually work for a recruitment firm and get paid on a W-2 but I would sit at a client site (like AT&T, Verizon, J&J, AIG, etc.). These contracts were years long in some cases. Now they can be 3–6 months or 1 year long, with possible extension or even hire as permanent. There used to be a big difference between working as a permanent employee and working as a contractor. Now, not so much. Layoffs are rampant (especially in IT), and permanent doesn’t mean much anymore.
If contracting is new to you, and you are coming off of years spent at one company, you may not be “hip” to the latest job market. For one thing, it’s all online and recruiters operate based on the “key words” they find on your resume’.
When you apply to a job with your resume’, you may hear absolutely nothing about it. Sometimes you will get a perfunctory message about how they went with someone else, but often you will hear nothing. It can get really discouraging.
I have been doing this for a long time and have discovered some key tips to help you land a contract job:
- Polish your resume. Get help if you need it. Use a clean new looking format. Make sure you have the right…
