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I've always done contracting without a resume at all, with just a few example projects, a list of services offered, and some testimonials. I've never had a clie

I've always done contracting without a resume at all, with just a few example projects, a list of services offered, and some testimonials. I've never had a client ask for a resume, they often aren't experts in the field, they appreciate being spared technical details/jargon, and just want to know that you can take care of their problem within their budget. It's very different compared to being interviewed and hired as an employee. Maybe depends on what kind of clients you're looking for but not having to worry about a resume is great.

throwing_away 2y ago
How do you actually find people to prospect? I've been trying to help a friend get started freelance coding who has super technical skills but not a lot of formal experience and education. It's really a challenge when everything is AI and everyone assumes everything is a scam.
- stevoski 2y ago
  > How do you actually find people to prospect? 1) Start with your personal network: Friends in similar line of work, former colleagues. Contact them and tell them what you are doing “just in case you encounter someone who I can help”. 2) Go to relevant meetups in your city (or nearest city if need be). Be ready with a pithy description of what you do. “So what do you do?”, a conversation might go. “I’m a freelance consultant who helps X do Y”, you’ll answer. Usually, that’ll be followed with polite but disinterested conversation. But one critical time, it’ll be “hey we might need someone who can help with that. Can I connect on LinkedIn? Send me a message tomorrow.” 3) Be persistent. Follow up and do it regularly. Accept that time from first contact to paid work might take many months. 4) Don’t waste your time with the cold pitching. It’s hard to do well, it’s annoying to the recipients, and you’ll just be lost in the tons of cold emails that decision makers get EVERY GOD DAMN DAY. (Sorry about shouting, can you tell I get a lot of this stuff?) One day when I have time and motivation, I’ll write up all the chance encounters, etc that led to me getting a freelance business off the ground a long time ago.
  - lzr_mihnea 2y ago
    This works for local freelancing, conditioned geographically. I aimed to find collaborations with remote companies.
    - brokegrammer 2y ago
      Exactly, these steps work fine if you're blessed geographically. If you live in a developing country like I do, you'd make more money being a construction worker than being a thought working freelancer.
      - yard2010 2y ago
        I wish you all the best in becoming a developed economy. There are good people and business everywhere and the internet makes this more true.
    - soulofmischief 2y ago
      Assess your interests and join related communities. Find new interests and join more communities. Seek out technically interesting domains currently attracting the interest of entrepreneurs and investors. Ignore any stigma and be a good person with integrity. Be attentive. Be intentional. Look for problems you think you can solve. Solve them for people. Build connections. Make genuine friends. Help your friends out. Spend time helping them find work and being there for them when they need it (Looks like you're doing this now!). Good people may return the favor one day when you most need it. Showing up is half the battle. Show up everywhere. Find cool emerging scenes and become an early expert. Don't fake it; develop the ability to be earnestly interested in anything. Be interested in what other people are doing. Make your services and expertise known. Make it easy to contact you. Go out and talk about what you know in public spaces such as this forum. Reach out to people who are doing the same, and build a professional network. No pretense, just reach out, tell them what you like about them/their posts, tell them what you do, and that you'd like to keep in contact with them. Remember personal details they share with you. Follow up. Raise your flag and people will see it, and your tribe will coalesce. I received several emails just yesterday from the Hacker News community, people reaching out to discuss things that I've posted and offer work. You won't find work tomorrow following this advice. You might not find work at all this year, or next. But this is the playbook for networking online and finding yourself in interesting situations with interesting people. Do that enough, and suddenly it becomes history. Suddenly you're a known quantity in your circles, and you have contextual expertise to draw from in order to solve people's problems. People will pay you to do that.
- FrustratedMonky 2y ago
  Leads, Leads, Leads its like Location, Location, Location in Real Estate. Every sales organization on the planet tries to figure this out. So, if some small individual is trying to find 'people to prospect', aka 'customers'. Just know that even though a lot of Software Engineers that aren't great socializers/people people, are actually in the same boat. Everyone is trying to find 'leads', and it is hard for large and small companies. Anyway. I know this was kind of a relief when I realized this. You aren't necessarily bad at it. It is hard for everyone. And there are a hundred suggestions on how, it's an entire cottage industry, 'how to find leads'.
MartijnHols 2y ago
I reckon it really depends on the kind of clients you’re looking for. I’ve had clients call that just started building an app and were looking to hire their first dev. They didn’t need a resume, but also found me too expensive. Most companies that are interested are aware of the going rates. But they want to be sure I’m as good as my marketing says - many companies have been burned before by seniors who weren’t senior - so in my experience they usually do ask for a resume and an interview just like an employee. Main difference seems to be the trust in the work I’ve done; I’ve never been asked to make an assessment. That might also be because I filter out these clients before we get to that point.
- seanwilson 2y ago
  > many companies have been burned before by seniors who weren’t senior - so in my experience they usually do ask for a resume and an interview just like an employee. You mean you've been asked for a resume? Never happened with me when working for small to large companies. Isn't part of it that there's more commitment to taking on an employee and employees are harder to get rid vs a contractor? It feels more like hiring a kitchen installer or a plumber. You look at their past work and testimonials, assume they can do what they say, and maybe ask or look at what options you have if it doesn't work out in the worst case, but you wouldn't ask for a resume.

throwing_away 2y ago

How do you actually find people to prospect? I've been trying to help a friend get started freelance coding who has super technical skills but not a lot of formal experience and education. It's really a challenge when everything is AI and everyone assumes everything is a scam.

stevoski 2y ago
> How do you actually find people to prospect? 1) Start with your personal network: Friends in similar line of work, former colleagues. Contact them and tell them what you are doing “just in case you encounter someone who I can help”. 2) Go to relevant meetups in your city (or nearest city if need be). Be ready with a pithy description of what you do. “So what do you do?”, a conversation might go. “I’m a freelance consultant who helps X do Y”, you’ll answer. Usually, that’ll be followed with polite but disinterested conversation. But one critical time, it’ll be “hey we might need someone who can help with that. Can I connect on LinkedIn? Send me a message tomorrow.” 3) Be persistent. Follow up and do it regularly. Accept that time from first contact to paid work might take many months. 4) Don’t waste your time with the cold pitching. It’s hard to do well, it’s annoying to the recipients, and you’ll just be lost in the tons of cold emails that decision makers get EVERY GOD DAMN DAY. (Sorry about shouting, can you tell I get a lot of this stuff?) One day when I have time and motivation, I’ll write up all the chance encounters, etc that led to me getting a freelance business off the ground a long time ago.
- lzr_mihnea 2y ago
  This works for local freelancing, conditioned geographically. I aimed to find collaborations with remote companies.
  - brokegrammer 2y ago
    Exactly, these steps work fine if you're blessed geographically. If you live in a developing country like I do, you'd make more money being a construction worker than being a thought working freelancer.
    - yard2010 2y ago
      I wish you all the best in becoming a developed economy. There are good people and business everywhere and the internet makes this more true.
  - soulofmischief 2y ago
    Assess your interests and join related communities. Find new interests and join more communities. Seek out technically interesting domains currently attracting the interest of entrepreneurs and investors. Ignore any stigma and be a good person with integrity. Be attentive. Be intentional. Look for problems you think you can solve. Solve them for people. Build connections. Make genuine friends. Help your friends out. Spend time helping them find work and being there for them when they need it (Looks like you're doing this now!). Good people may return the favor one day when you most need it. Showing up is half the battle. Show up everywhere. Find cool emerging scenes and become an early expert. Don't fake it; develop the ability to be earnestly interested in anything. Be interested in what other people are doing. Make your services and expertise known. Make it easy to contact you. Go out and talk about what you know in public spaces such as this forum. Reach out to people who are doing the same, and build a professional network. No pretense, just reach out, tell them what you like about them/their posts, tell them what you do, and that you'd like to keep in contact with them. Remember personal details they share with you. Follow up. Raise your flag and people will see it, and your tribe will coalesce. I received several emails just yesterday from the Hacker News community, people reaching out to discuss things that I've posted and offer work. You won't find work tomorrow following this advice. You might not find work at all this year, or next. But this is the playbook for networking online and finding yourself in interesting situations with interesting people. Do that enough, and suddenly it becomes history. Suddenly you're a known quantity in your circles, and you have contextual expertise to draw from in order to solve people's problems. People will pay you to do that.
FrustratedMonky 2y ago
Leads, Leads, Leads its like Location, Location, Location in Real Estate. Every sales organization on the planet tries to figure this out. So, if some small individual is trying to find 'people to prospect', aka 'customers'. Just know that even though a lot of Software Engineers that aren't great socializers/people people, are actually in the same boat. Everyone is trying to find 'leads', and it is hard for large and small companies. Anyway. I know this was kind of a relief when I realized this. You aren't necessarily bad at it. It is hard for everyone. And there are a hundred suggestions on how, it's an entire cottage industry, 'how to find leads'.

MartijnHols 2y ago

I reckon it really depends on the kind of clients you’re looking for. I’ve had clients call that just started building an app and were looking to hire their first dev. They didn’t need a resume, but also found me too expensive. Most companies that are interested are aware of the going rates. But they want to be sure I’m as good as my marketing says - many companies have been burned before by seniors who weren’t senior - so in my experience they usually do ask for a resume and an interview just like an employee. Main difference seems to be the trust in the work I’ve done; I’ve never been asked to make an assessment. That might also be because I filter out these clients before we get to that point.

seanwilson 2y ago
> many companies have been burned before by seniors who weren’t senior - so in my experience they usually do ask for a resume and an interview just like an employee. You mean you've been asked for a resume? Never happened with me when working for small to large companies. Isn't part of it that there's more commitment to taking on an employee and employees are harder to get rid vs a contractor? It feels more like hiring a kitchen installer or a plumber. You look at their past work and testimonials, assume they can do what they say, and maybe ask or look at what options you have if it doesn't work out in the worst case, but you wouldn't ask for a resume.