We get complaints now and then regarding "on site" freelance writing jobs. Some of the regulars want to know why we include them when most freelancers work at home. Some even complain they’re not "true" freelance writing jobs. There are also those who think we shouldn’t include "local" gigs. That it’s not fair to single out one particular area. I thought I’d address it today. Especially after this comment regarding today’s leads:
"At least seven of today’s listings are on-site or require local
residence. Are these accidentally getting slipped into the list, or
are they intentionally included in case someone local to those areas
reads this? I’ve noticed that sometimes when I click on an appealing
ad, I then find out it’s on-site, or the company wants to meet with
the writer/editor once a week in their office, or something like that.
Just about all of us are telecommuters, and I wonder how
valuable these local-only gigs are to anyone here."
First Jodee’s thoughts, since she works hard to get these leads to you:
When I look for freelance jobs, I can’t assume
that the readers are only interested in one type of gig or that they
are all telecommuters. I do try to note when the employer would
prefer local residents when I post them. Some days, if I limited the
list to telecommute stuff only, the list would be pretty short. I do
try to give the readers as much variety as I can in the listings, but
ultimately I want to respond to their needs.
Here’s what I think:
When I worked in publishing we employed tons of freelancers. Some were on-site and many were not. In fact, at least half of those who worked from home originally responded to a job for on-site freelancers. When editors want an on-site freelancer it’s usually because they want him to be available for consultation or meetings. If you don’t want to work in an office, you can offer to work at home but come to the office once a week for meetings or strategy sessions. Many on-site gigs can be negotiated to become work at home gigs.
A new kind of freelancer
I think the web gave birth to a whole new breed of freelancers – the kind who don’t want to leave their homes at all or communicate in any manner other than email. I remember when freelancers had no problem coming in to offices now and then for meetings and planning sessions. Now verbal communication appears to be a dying art. I can’t tell you how many of today’s freelancers recoil in horror at the thought of doing a phone interview.
I also know some of the people who visit Freelance Writing Jobs freelance for the variety. They also enjoy taking sort of "temp" assignments at different clients’ offices as it allows them to still leave the home everyday, but not be tied down to one particular office.
Jobs requiring freelancers to live locally aren’t anything out of the ordinary. It means the client doesn’t want to spend millions of dollars on phone bills and express mail. Plus they’d like you to be handy now and then for meetings. Freelancing doesn’t only mean jobs that are available to everyone regardless of location. Sometimes a gig requires you to live near your client.
Actually, Jodee uses more discretion when picking out gigs. I don’t know if you remember 6 months or a year ago, but I used to post super long lists listing local gigs as well as jobs open to all. Just because a freelance job involves face to face communication, doesn’t mean no one wants it. So yes, ideally we like to find jobs that are open to everyone, but there are some great local and on-site freelancing gigs and we’ll still bring those to you as well.
So let’s open this up for discussion. Would you meet with a client for a lucrative local gig? Would you work on-site if it’s temporary or are you only a work at home communicate via email type of person?
Deb,
I LOVE the mix of jobs you offer each week. I appreciate when you mention if the job is seeking locals (often you/Jodee add the city/locale after the post if it’s not strictly web-based).
I would like you to please continue offering freelance jobs that may require some in-person meetings. Why limit it?
I absolutely would meet with a client onsite. I probably wouldn’t be able to take an onsite job at the moment because I need to be home for my kids, but I’d be open to it in the future when they are self sufficient.
Freelancing does not necessarily mean working only from home. It means working for yourself and taking work from the companies you want. That is often in your own home, but there are lots of freelancers in other professions who always work on site.
Don’t get rid of the local jobs. It only takes half a minute for me to see that a local job is not for me, but it may be just what someone else who is reading your blog is looking for. You’re not here just to serve me. (Right? I mean if you are here just to serve me and forgot to tell me, let me know and I’ll start being more demanding.)
Hi,thank you very much for the listings, they are very useful. I havent had any luck yet but I’m positive that eventually I’ll get a good gig. I think that some people is asking for only web-based gigs because they don’t live on the United States. I live in China and even though I’d like to apply for some of the gigs you list, I can’t because some of them require interviews or are on-site jobs. And I’m almost sure that employers dont want to spend that much money on phone calls to China, India, or any other country.
But I don’t think this should be a reason to stop publishing on-site jobs. There are people who can certainly benefit from them, so it’s not fair to limit their chances just because people like us.
However I would suggest in any case to try to separate the listings, I think that It can be a good idea if at least once a week you publish only web based gigs, I understand that they might be short, but It’s a way for foreigners like me, to feel that you are actually addresseing to those who want to work only from their home.
You can take an account of the different countries of all of us, so far I’ve spoted someone from Portugal, and from India… so It would be good to try an look for jobs in other areas like europe and asia, or strictly web-based ones.
I agree, a few on-site writing jobs are negotiable and the client may be willing to consider telecommuting. I found one of my first writing gigs on a local job board. I lived in a different state, and since the client didn’t specify whether applicants had to be local, I applied. As it turns out, they were looking for a local writer and had never even considered the idea of hiring a telecommute writer. Still, they gave me a chance, and I stayed on that assignment for nearly six months. All communication was via e-mail.
I like the fact that you have local and on-site freelance writing jobs. It’s interesting to see some of the jobs that are out there. I have forwarded a few local jobs to acquaintances.
The on-site jobs would not benefit myself. I’m a business owner, but I imagine someone can take advantage of the jobs that are offered.
I really appreciate the service that is offered here. I’ve been able to pick up two gigs, in the past month, from this website.
Though on-site doesn’t work for me, it certainly makes sense to include them. Even if on site is preferred, the company may find the best candidate doesn’t need to be on site.
Others here might be close enough to the potential client for some meetings. I’m close to Chicago and could meet with a client in the area, though I wouldn’t work on site, nor would I want a lot of on-site meetings. For others, that may be different.
I think Jodee and Deb do a fine job of trolling through a lot of sites and weeding out the lowest paying items and term paper mills.
I agree with Phil. As long as the crappy pay jobs are off the list, it’s fine with me.
I don’t mind the on-site listings at all, but it would be great if you guys could separate the listings by on-site or telecommute–not necessarily into a separate post like some are suggesting, but just a separate paragraph.
Either way, you both do a fantastic job with this blog. Thank you!
Deb,
I would be willing to meet with a client or even work onsite for the right gig if it happened to be in my local area; but, because I live in a relatively small town, I’ve never yet found one on your list that fits that description. I think it’s great, though, for those who do live in the areas where these jobs are available.
If every onsite job listing were clearly labeled as such, with the city indicated in the listing, those of us not from those areas would be able to save time by not clicking those particular job links.
Thanks for providing a great service to writers!
Jeanne
I do meet with clients at their offices (and at coffee shops and at their homes) and I also work on-site when needed and when my schedule allows. If I only worked in my pajamas, there’d be a lot of jobs I would have missed.
I love the listings, both national and local opportunities included. In fact, I ran across a posting just this week in Michigan, my state of residence. It was a gig I never would have run across otherwise and dealt with writing on local activities.
In this case, help is help, and I appreciate every posting. If possible, I’d love to meet with an editor or on-staff writer for an assignment. Not only does it create a more personal relationship, a simple handshake opens up more doors than you might imagine.
I’m new here. In fact, I’m new to freelance writing in general. I might not be able to apply for the local jobs, but knowing what the market is looking for is valuable to me. Thank you for taking the spending the considerable amount of time and effort to continue it.
I’m in a small town in Canada, and all of my clients except for one are based in the United States. If I could work for a local company and get a similar rate of pay, I would be more than willing to travel to their location. It would actually be nice to get out of the house. However, I don’t see it happening any time soon.
I’d go to a meeting on-site, and I would try working on-site as well. (I’ve worked only for home for more than 10 years, and it’s getting a little old. At this point, I’ve never met most of my clients, so working with one in person sure would be a change!)
And, really, how much time does it take to click on a job and see it’s local only and close the window? Seconds. I don’t think Jodee and Deb need to do *more* work and break it down into on-site and remote. I just click on anything close to interesting and open ‘em all up in separate windows, then breeze through.
Actually, with web-based phone systems, it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to call China or India, or vice versa. My husband has a customer from the Czech Republic who calls frequently — he has an Internet phone system, so I don’t think it costs him a thing. It might be worth checking out, if you really want to work remotely in a different country.
I think it’s very informative to see as much that’s out there as possible, especially for writers in smaller towns; it’s good to know what other companies are looking for, other cities, other countries, even. It gives a global perspective on what kind of writing/writers are demand, and it’s crucial as a writer to stay on top of the industry.
I’m having terrific luck with local freelancing opportunities, and don’t think cutting out on-site gigs is going to solve anyone’s problems.
On the one hand it would be cool if local only opportunities were marked with the local city “only” so I didn’t have to read through the listing to find out that I’m on the opposite coast. On the other hand, I have applied for jobs that said local only and gotten them, despite not being able to attend meetings (I’ve also been told to get bent). Sometimes those things are not set in stone. Sometimes they are. You never know til you ask.
On the third hand, I have been known to take local gigs that require showing up in person. But it depends on pay and location. Some “local” jobs require a TWO HOUR drive. The money have got to be good for me to drive two hours. But then I have a current client who is an airplane flight away. They are paying twice my regular rate. They pay my travel and my time and when they want an onsite, I arrange it.
Hi Deb/Jodee
I love this site. I’m from a small place in Canada and I don’t mind seeing the local postings along with the others. You tell us they’re local and so people that live in the area can apply. I’m just glad that you’re site is saving me time, hours in fact, because you do so much searching to arrive at the leads that you post. As a freelancer, that leaves me more time to send off my queries. Thank you to both of you. You’re awesome!
I would definitely meet with clients for writing, and have done several times. I enjoy meeting new people and doing new things, not to mention how much faster requirements can be sorted out in person compared to back-and-forth e-mails.
I suppose it’s an effect of my writing – a number of my pieces involved going out and doing things, meeting people, working with photographers etc, so the idea of staying at home “protected” from the world doesn’t really appeal to me. How can you write about the world unless you interact with it?
I like the on-site jobs too – I’m in Chicago, so there are enough companies located here that I occasionally do on-site work. And I don’t mind traveling for a client either.
It only takes a second to close a window when you see a job isn’t for you, anyways, so it’s not like they take up so much time.
And for people who live outside the U.S., Skype is awesome! It’s very cheap and all you need is an internet connection and a headset.
I think its a petty complaint unless this were a service that I had to pay for.
Yes, all combinations of 100% onsite and 100% telecommute are helpful. In fact, I consider myself 100% telecommute but today I found a very specific position for a local writer in my city. It is work from home but they want someone in city.
I’m not sure breaking it out would be helpful unless you include the city name and whether or not working from home is okay. But, really, I don’t expect you to go to that much trouble!
You’re doing us a service by doing daily lists. It’s up to us to spend the time researching them.
I forgot to comment about on-site jobs. I don’t think I’d mind meeting people in person, it would probably be a help if questions ever arose about something. On the other hand, if I couldn’t telecommute, I would not have been able to do many of the writing gigs that you feature on your site. (Again, due to living in Canada.)
I like them all. I applied for one today that turned out to be on-site-ish. No worries, I sent the lead off to my friend in that city!
Thanks again for all the wonderful leads.
Lela
I’m the one who posted that original comment that triggered this article and ensuing discussion.
It’s not that I’m afraid to meet with someone face to face; it’s just that unless I can get ahole of Star Trek beaming technology, I’m unable to write for someone in the Silicon Valley who wants a local person, and I’m way out here in Colorado.
I wouldn’t mind at all if the remote and onsite jobs were separated. But one person suggested that the city be named first. But this doesn’t mean it’s onsite.
I’m in Colorado and a gig in California could still be a telecommute gig.
Someone suggested there be two paragraphs: one for telecommute, and one for onsite. That sounds like a good idea.
A separation between the gigs to differentiate would be a good idea, but I see no reason to eliminate them. Just because I do not qualify for a job in, say NYC because I don’t live locally, doesn’t mean that there won’t be a qualified writer in the NYC area to take the job. I appreciate that this website would include those listings. I say, keep at it.
I am a real estate writer and recently applied to an ad for a local Austin writer for neighborhood profiles. I live is So Cal but the pay was very good so I sent my Resume and guess what…they didn’t care and I got the job and a very lucrative ongoing gig.
@Jacqueline,
Another Chicagoan! I was born and raised there, but am in subrubia now. I do have one active and one inactive client in the city.
I personally can’t take advantage of on-site work (full school load), but I like seeing them anyway. The on-site jobs give me an idea of the job market for when I’m able to go on-site.
I prefer offsite work, but only because I have a 2-month old. And if something is on site only, I just skip it. I figure there might be someone else who would be interested.
I don’t seek out on-site work myself, but I have passed along those types of leads to friends from time to time.
I think Jodee does a great job of finding a good mix for all types of freelancers. Considering the job leads provided to us here save us time and don’t cost us anything, do any of us here really have the right to complain? Seems a bit rude. Deb, you’re more kind than I am. I’d tell anyone who doesn’t like it to go find their own friggen leads.
I find myself in agreement with Amy Derby. (I love your blog Amy).
I can’t believe someone would look such a gift horse in the mouth. It’s a free service. Deb and Jodee give up their time so we don’t have to wade through all the $2 job offers and someone is going to complain that it’s too much trouble to click?
Don’t section off the jobs Deb and Jodee. You do us a big enough favor as it is. Anyone who can’t see or appreciate that needs to find her own jobs. You’re not going to please everyone and if you change one thing for one person all the nitpickers are going to come out. 99% of us appreciate what you do so don’t ever change.
I agree with Amy and Kate,
The work that Deb and Jodee do is impressive. It takes only a few seconds to find out the job details. It would take me a lot longer to hunt down this information on my own. I’m grateful.
You don’t need to do extra work to provide this free service to your community.
I imagine it takes a lot of work to get the list together, and I truly appreciate it. Thank you!
A freelance job has nothing to do with whether or not it is a telecommunting job. The idea is that there are no benefits associated with the employment, just straight salary. In addition, employers have a set of criteria established by the IRS to determine whether the worker is freelance or an employee, which tells them whether or not they are responsible for withholdings from the money paid said worker.
You can be a freelancer and work in site or you can be a company employee and work full time at home; it all depends on where you fit in the IRS guidelines.
One final note, thanks Jodee for taking the time to do what you do.
I haven’t taken much notice really. If a gig doesn’t appeal to me I just skip and go on to view the next one.
My current role includes both telephone and email contact which suits me fine
I would agree that looking a gift horse in the mouth … is a bit rude. Separating the leads? No way. I don’t think Deb & Jodee need to hand feed leads to me or anyone else. If the gig doesn’t work, move on to the next. Thanks for what you do!
Years ago, I used to shy away from “on-site only” ads out of respect for the poster. Then, I read (in about a dozen or so separate articles both online and in print) that the poster of these ads tend not to think about how off-site work *could* be accomplished and post “on-site only” out of habit. So, now I query every ad I feel I’m qualified for despite the verbage. I do note that I have read their ad requirements and ask that they reconsider. The majority of them have replied in a postive manner, and the worst that has happened is a poster responded explaining why they needed on-site work. Now, was that so bad? An explanation? I don’t think so, so I wage onward and upward.
I use telephone and email contact. Having small children, I prefer to use email because 3 year olds do not understand that staying quiet means more than 3 seconds of silence. I still like to offer the option to clients, though. I can always hide in the basement and have!
As for the job listings, sometimes I am dissapointed when I see it is an onsite job, but I just move on. Every freelancer works differently, that job may be perfect for the person who is surfing for jobs the same time I am.
@Erricka – Yeah, I know! A SciFi-like “worm hole” would be nice for central Nebraska.
@everyone – I’ve lived in either eastern or central Nebraska all of my life. I’ve never expected the local access to the vast choices of a big city – partly why I’ve stayed here is to avoid the other stuff that comes with a big city. So for myself, I may get disappointed in something that looks like a nice opportunity, but I keep it to about 2 seconds and then move on.
There are certainly more people who are likely to be near those big city areas than those who are not. So I have no hard feelings about seeing those listings for “locals only” in NYC, Miami, Boston, L.A., etc.
Don’t get so focused on what you can’t have – just focus on what is available. None of us would have any of these online opportunities that are advertise, or the immediate knowledge of many “local” ones, 10 years ago because the internet was really in its infancy then.
If something really good pops up in central NE for “locals only,” don’t anyone bother applying – It’s all mine!
A big thank you to everyone who took the time to post postive comments. You are all very welcome and it means a lot to me.
It’s nice to see some fellow Canucks here too!
I like the mix of jobs.
In my experience, if it’s the right fit, I can turn an on-site job into an ongoing or occasional telecommute after the initial contract. Also, I’ve pitched myself to companies who advertise for on-site, and convinced them why they should consider me as a telecommuter. And landed, sometimes not the gig advertised, but work from the company.
You have to read creatively, and, if you like the company, figure out how to convince them they can’t live without you. At your rate.
I like the mix too. In the future when all the kids are in school, I’d love to meet face-to-face with someone, anyone…
Any human being older than 8 yrs old….
Sorry, my 8 yr old isn’t home all day! I meant anyone older than 3yrs old. Yikes, just spent the last hour trying to write an article while getting 2 separate snacks and possibly early lunch, giving a bath, answering mumbly questions….
No need to separate the leads, but it would help me if you listed the city only if the client requires an onsite writer, and left off the city if pure telecommuting is allowed.
Keep the onsite job leads. I’ve seen a few, though haven’t applied for, listings “local” to me in NYC. I enjoy working at home, but I’d be more than willing to travel periodically or weekly to NYC for the right opportunity. I’ve never automatically assumed the connection between “freelance” and “work-at-home.” I think of them as separate, yet sometimes overlapping labels, but I can see why some people would lump them into the same category.
Erika, on a particularly bad day, consider getting a sitter for a couple of hours.
My wife was a stay-at-home Mom when my daughter was just old enough to get into a lot of trouble. Then my mother-in-law had surgery. My wife went, naturally, but I had deadlines I had to meet. So I hired a sitter for the day.
@ Yindra
Yea, I agree with you as well. I’m based in South Africa and will soon be moving abroad again and so telecommuting is a blessing – being able to go in the world and yet your livelihood is online. I like the idea of including on-site and telecommute in job section, but it could be separated like Yindra pointed out. Great site by the way, keep up the good work.
I think you guys offer a great variety of work and the amazing part is that people want to work at all. I mean when I just dreamed of writing for a living I ran an office and it was so hard to find people that actually wanted to do a job, most just wanted to get the paycheck for being there, not working. I live in a very rural area in TN, nowhere close to New York or L.A. and would find it hard to meet with a lot of these people if they needed to do a weekly meeting but for others doing this it is great too. But I am one of those that prefer to communicate by email and I do have a complaint I was wondering if you might address on that front: I have done a lot of online writing for the last couple of years and have had many that want me to have my IM on and while I’m trying to research and then write, they are constantly popping on with, “how’s it going?” or “how much longer?” when I still have a day or days. It is a constant distraction and irritating, at least to me, but I leave it on in case of whatever coming up. How do you deal with this?
Tiffany:
While it is good to be accessible, sometimes, when we are available to everyone, we are available to no one. One of the struggles in freelancing is to be recognized as a business. For that, you need to establish rules as in any other enterprise.
You could set limits. For example, tell clients that you will be available for IM communications during a certain time of the day. And then log out.
Or, if you prefer email communications with clients, limit yourself to those. You can spell out those terms in your contract, but you want to be flexible to the needs of your clients. Most will respect your wishes, and will understand that you will deliver as promised.