With the entire globe struggling through one of the darkest periods in world economic history, the number of people joining the ranks of those out of work and looking for jobs is rising fast. Coping with being made redundant or watching your debts spiral out of control can be really difficult, but it is possible to carve a path through your difficulties simply by re-packaging your existing knowledge and distributing it online.
Exploiting online opportunities by following these 8 easy steps can help you showcase your talent, help you find freelance work in your area of expertise and kick-start your progress towards financial health even if you’re currently searching for work.Step 1: Tackle debt problems
If money worries are beginning to weigh you down, it’s important to get urgent issues resolved as soon as possible. It’s hard to concentrate on building an online profile and finding work whilst debts are hanging around your neck.If you can no longer meet your financial commitments, it may be time to set up a Debt Management Plan. This is an effective way to get your finances back on track and repay the people you owe money to in a structured and manageable way.
Step 2: Set up an online bank account
Once you’ve taken care of any large, outstanding debts, make sure that you can send and receive money easily online. If you are planning to apply for freelance work using the internet you may need to pay website subscriptions fees and you’ll hopefully need to receive payments, too, so a good bank account is essential.If your current bank has downgraded your account due to a poor credit rating, consider moving to another online bank account that can meet your needs.
Step 3: Decide what to be an ‘expert’ in
This is perhaps the most critical step of them all.Decide what area of expertise you want to establish yourself as an expert in?
Did you used to work in IT, qualifying you to write authoritatively about computing? Are you an ex-marketer who can become a social media guru? Everything you do in life – from being a parent to indulging a hobby – gives you expert, insider knowledge.
Just decide on the area that interests you most and off you go.
Step 4: Register for freelance websites
Once you’ve decided how to pitch yourself, register for as many freelance websites as possible, putting websites such as Elance or People Per Hour at the top of your list. There are plenty of freelance exchange websites out there – websites that put those who need freelancers in touch with people looking for work – just try to pick ones that seem active in your chosen area of specialism.Step 5: Build an online portfolio
Most people will want to see evidence of what you can do before hiring you. If you already have a portfolio of previous work, great, just get it up, online, looking as good as possible. If you’re starting from scratch, that doesn’t matter.Use anything you can from your career to date and if all else fails, create some ‘worked examples’. Write an e-mail campaign for a local business, design a website for a fictional company.
It doesn’t matter as long as it puts you and your skills in the best possible light.
Step 6: Upload a presentation to Slideshare
Slideshare is a great way to position yourself as a subject expert. Put together some slides on your chosen area, including as much background info and stats as you can. There’s no end to the number of different slide decks you can create and upload and, each time you do so, you’ll be growing your reputation as a subject expert.Step 7: Set up a blog
People want to connect with individuals. They like to see what you think about things, what your style is like and whether you have interesting comments to add to the equation.Writing a regular blog is a great way to help people find out who you really are and offers a free route to advertise yourself online as well.
Step 8: Write an e-book
And once you’ve honed those skills creating presentations and setting up blogs, how about an e-book. Uploading an e-book using Amazon’s Kindle service has never been easier.There’s no longer anything standing between you and an appreciative audience… as long as what you write is interesting and compelling.
Amazon will pay you a royalty every time someone buys your book and, who knows, if another job doesn’t come knocking on the door, you might just have found your niche as an author instead.
Summarizing the steps…
To understand more clear on this topic, lets summarize what we discussed above:- Identify your debt problems and make a debt management plan to fix it immediately.
- Have an online bank account which allows you to transact for your online business/work without limitations.
- Identify your area of expertise and what you are interested to work for the long term.
- Join freelancing web sites, create great profile and start your online work with Elance or PeoplePerHour as a first step.
- Build your portfolio with all your experiences, work samples and show that you are an expertise in the market – and ready to serve customers professionally.
- You can also setup a blog and share your own knowledge/experiences which attracts similar people in the market which helps to grow your online reputation for the long term.
- Consider writing an ebook which takes your profile higher and you can also make money from selling ebooks.
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