If you freelance on the side, then at some point, you have to decide if you're going to tell your employer or keep it on the down-low. Sometimes telling your employer can yield useful contacts. Or it could give the impression that you'll jump ship at any moment to freelance full time. Of course, if you keep it quiet, it's also possible that your secret could back-fire if someone finds out, particularly if your company has a no-moonlighting policy.
In my case, my boss knew about my freelance writing when he hired me. In fact, I leveraged my blog and writing clips to set myself apart. But I wasn't too public with other people in the company, because freelancing is the kind of thing that can be hard to explain ("what is it that you do? And you actually get paid for that?"). I also wanted to avoid the stigma of appearing disloyal, so I mostly kept it to myself. Well, one day my photo appeared in The Boston Globe and the article mentioned that I freelance. It gave me a ton of great exposure, but it also outed me to my coworkers. At that point I didn't have immediate plans to go full time, but within four months, I had given my notice.
For those who are still working at a day job, do you tell your boss about freelance projects? What about those of you who've left the 9-5 world? How did you handle both worlds?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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11 comments:
Maybe I'm naive, but I always think it's best to be honest about what you're doing on the side. The repercussions from perceived deception are simply too great.
I agree in general with Ruth that it's good to be honest. That said, there have been times when I've had a job that was no really compatible with freelancing but I've needed or wanted to freelance. I didn't tell my employer or not tell my employer -- I just kept my freelancing life separate from my other job life (without hiding anything per se)
I haven't worked for an employer for years, but I wasn't secretive about it when I did. Lately, I wonder how transparent I need to be as a freelancer. Sometimes my clients want to know who else I'm working with or for. I never know if that's appropriate.
@Ruth: My boss knew, but I didn't feel that other people in the company needed to know, especially if they might question my loyalty. Like Jennifer, I kept those worlds separate. Maybe it wouldn't have been an issue, but I didn't want to spend time justifying or explaining it.
@Alisa: I know what you mean. Sometimes they're just curious but other times it's a trap. One prospect asked who else I'd written for, then asked if I'd agree not to write for those competing publications for a certain lenght of time. If you're a freelancer, then I don't think it's fair for a client to make that kind of request unless it's very narrowly defined so that it doesn't limit your livelihood.
I think as long as you aren't in a conflict of interest it's not necessary to tell your boss. For example: If you work for a parenting magazine and you are freelancing for parenting magazines on the side I think that's pretty unethical. What you do in your own time is simply that...your own time.
At the last company I worked for, which published many different magazines, freelancing was encouraged. Probably not your typical setup.
So why did you have to give notice? Was the response from coworkers/boss that bad or that good? :)
I freelanced while I worked full time. I didn't announce it, but I didn't hide it, either. It was just there. We were paid so abysmally that most of the people in the office were freelancing. The projects then were few and far between, but in an office of creatives, they were sometimes good conversation starters.
Oddly, one of my coworkers introduced me - at work - to his agent, who became my agent. So the atmosphere was probably a little more open.
@Lori: It's not that I was coerced into giving notice. It's that pyschologically, once my freelancing became public knowledge, I became that much closer to going full time. At the beginning of last year, I had no clue that I would be ready to strike out on my own that spring. But once I was ready, I was READY!
I am currently in a full time job but i am looking for a casual job (e.g. retail or hospitality). That casual job has nothing to do/no conflict of interest with my full time job at all. However, in my full time job contract it is stated and i quote that i must "devote my whole time and attention to my duties as an employee of the company and not without its consent directly or indirectly engage or be concerned or interested in any other business or profession". does that mean that i cannot have any casual job outside of my full time job? even if it does not have even a slight source of conflict of interest? HELP! i need this extra job to keep my family in place financially...please advise..someone...
@Jeante: It sounds like your contract would prevent you from getting a second job. However, you could consult a lawyer to determine if that clause is legal or enforceable. I certainly sympathize with your need to bring in a second income, and it's really a shame if your primary employer doesn't respect that!
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