Freelance Finance Writer and Journalist 👩🏻💻🧲 | Business and Personal Finance Blogs | On-page SEO is my second language | U.S. News and World, Investopedia, & More | Founder of All Things Freelance Writing
The waves of mass layoffs continue to roll in—many in the media and tech industries. And the abrupt manner in which they're being done is gut-wrenching. I'm sorry if you're reading this and are one of the many who have been impacted. I also keep hearing from freelance writers who are abruptly losing clients because their editors are laid off without any notice. Sometimes the editors are cut off from email immediately and aren't able to email the freelance teams they were managing. 🤯 This is leaving freelancers scrambling to wrap up their projects, get paid, and replace the client. Has this happened to you? I hope not, but I did experience it at the start of 2022. I'm going to share my experience and 4 tips on how freelancers can mitigate the risk in tomorrow's ATFW jobs newsletter (plus 30 new freelance writing gigs from the week). Join the list here: https://lnkd.in/g-jPqnCX P.S. Also, here are a few other resources for finding media jobs as a freelancer or employee: Kaitlyn Arford shares 100+ freelance opportunities for writing and beyond each week through her newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gqHZFgdC Harlow has a job board with hundreds of freelance opportunities https://lnkd.in/gTvuqPAA Mandy Hofmockel shares journalism jobs regularly (and cute pictures of her dog 🐶 ) https://lnkd.in/gYCvfczH Qwoted has a job board now for the media industry https://lnkd.in/guF5gdYG
So upsetting to witness. One tip from an editor who works with freelance writers regularly: Ask your editor for a back-up contact and an accounting department contact. At my company we try to do this proactively for all writers. But it never hurts to ask for this at the start of an assignment.
Unfortunately yes, I lost one client this way last month :( it was a shame because that editor was so great to work with! I agree things should be done differently — nobody should be laid off with no notice. Not only does it negatively impact the people getting laid off, but also the entire teams that must scramble to pick up the pieces after 😬
I experienced a lot of those situations myself in 2022, and it continued into much of 2023. I've actually found that new opportunities are presenting themselves this year. Despite the layoffs that are devastating hardworking people worldwide, I've found that more freelance gigs are emerging in the midst of all that uncertainty. Hopefully, that's a silver lining that can offer hope to some people. Great share, Jessica.
Just wait until their AI generated content starts inventing facts. They will need editors more than ever!
I had an editor laid off a couple months ago. Thankfully, she sent an email letting people know and also mentioned she'd be cut off from that email. Polite of her to email as I'm sure she was in shock with the news.
This happened to me—an editor vanished & her emails bounced back. It took weeks to get ahold of someone to edit and submit my story so I could get paid.
That's so sad. Thanks for watching out for us and for going above and beyond to support other freelancers 🙏💙
Thank you so much for featuring us. Hopefully we can connect a freelancer or 100 with new clients. 🤗
Thank you for the mention!
Freelance Finance Writer | Former Certified Credit Counselor (NFCC) & Housing Counselor (HUD) | @ForbesAdvisor @YahooFinance | Big-Time Money Nerd 🤓
1moI wish these companies had procedures in place for informing/managing freelancers when layoffs happen. Instead they act like we don’t exist or we’ll just figure it out on our own. I find it to be careless and irresponsible. If nothing else they could keep a list of our contact info and send an email. 🤷♀️