Understand Yourself: After I lost my job, I started an online taxi business, which is a tough business since I gained weight within months and then Covid-19 happened. The business hit rock bottom. With lockdowns and cessation of unnecessary movement means I had more time sitting and waiting for rides. I started writing gigs. I had an academic account and then I went back to Upwork.
UPWORK
Freelancing meant that I had to spend more time online pitching for potential client’s. Pitching is like courting a girl. You tell them how good you and the benefits they will get from hiring you. Pitching isn’t for the faint-hearted. You need a heavenly level of self-confidence and unshakable self-esteem even when you have doubts about what you offering.
You have to provide samples of what you have done over the years for them to believe that you can work satisfactorily on their projects. I gave them links to my website. I had no otherwise. Links are good for SEO and traffic for the blog. So it’s a win-win for both the blog and my pitch.
The first response from 5 pitches was a guy who wanted me to rewrite some articles for his news websites. That looked an interesting piece of work. You know why? It involved reading. Reading peoples thought is something I enjoy, then I had to rewrite their thoughts. So the guy wanted a sample of what I had written. I gave him a link to my blog. This blog. He read an article I wrote about losing a job. He liked it and proceeded to give me details.
The job was like employment. You work 2 hrs a day 5 days a week and the pay is monthly. In my heart, I knew I lucky dude. The constant flow of jobs on a daily basis month in month out. The problem was he shouted an insult so loud in the discussion.
He said, ” now I will pay you PEANUTS at the end of every month.”
I thought I heard that right. I went back to confirm. It read, ” I will pay you $30 a month for the work you will do.”
Friends, I do freelance writing gigs here and there for a living. No one earns $30 for 2*5*4 hrs of work done. I rejected the offer. End of discussion. Here are some thoughts to help you understand yourself when looking for assignments online
Know Yourself
1. What are you best at doing? Many of you spend years trying to get good at what you’re bad at instead of getting better at what you’re good at. It happens a lot especially when you’re in employment. Try and change that. It helps you while heading over to the negotiations table for pay.
2. What do you like to do the most ?. Unless it is illegal or bad for you, do what you like. If it is also productive and useful, it ought to be your career. I like writing and I know I should earn decent from writing. I should not earn anything.
3. What do you wish you were better at? Your answer may guide you to a course you should take or a mentor you should work with. It may also indicate a task you should delegate.
4. Do you have any talents withing you that are underdeveloped? My friend Ken told me he has no talent and he has been thinking for a while. He doesn’t
5. Which of your skills are you most proud of? This often reflects obstacles you’ve overcomee.
6. What do others most often say are your greatest strengths? This question helps you identify skills you may not value because they seem easy to you .
7. What have you gotten better at? This gives you an idea of where putting in additional effort can pay off.
8. What can you just not get better at no matter how hard you try ? This tells you where not to waste any more time.
9. What do you most dislike doing? Your answer here suggests what tasks you might want to delegate or hire out.
10. Which skills do you need to develop in order to perform your job? Your answer to this question might lead you to take a course, read a book, or work with a mentor or coach.
11. What sort of people do you work best/worst with ? Do you love to work with highly organized, analytic types? Do creative types drive you crazy? Make up your own categories.
12. What sort of organizational culture brings out the best in you? It is amazing how many people won ’t leave a culture for which they are hideously unsuited.
13. What were you doing when you were happiest in your work life? Could you find a way to be doing that now?
14. What are your most cherished hopes for your future work life? What could keep you from realizing those hopes?
15. How could your time be better used in your current job to add value to the organization? Your answer here gives your manager valuable input he or she may never have thought to ask for.
