It’s important to have a solid online presence if you are a freelancer or a contractor working in the UK, according to industry experts.
Whether you’re a contractor who works under the aegis of an umbrella service company, a freelancer, or a limited liability contractor, there’s no way you’re going to be getting the number of clients you need unless your online presence is a solid one. Recruitment industry insiders say that it’s a rare firm now that does not conduct rather thorough online research when it comes to selecting an interim worker, with prospective clients looking up a temporary worker through social media and other online outlets such as a personal or professional website, before making a final decision on who is awarded what could possibly be a lucrative contract.
You need to be found before you can be hired as a freelancer, experts say, and that means you’ll have to either operate your own blog or website. You should also have a strong social media presence on Twitter, LinkedIn, and other such professional networking sites, as well as take steps to have a portfolio of your work showcased on the website of any umbrella company you may be associated with.
This means that you need to also separate your personal life from your professional one, especially if you maintain a personal social media profile on a website such as Facebook. Ensure that any unprofessional status updates or pictures you post are unavailable for viewing by anyone but your most trusted friends – though even better would be to take them down completely.
