Advance Your Career By Working For Free

Work for free.  That’s almost an oxymoron, isn’t it?

After all, isn’t the whole point of going to work, toiling away for forty-plus hours a week, to earn money?

Luckily for me, aside from a slight misstep with my first career, work has never been “toil”.  I’ve enjoyed my chosen field and am grateful to never feel like I’m working.

That said, I still enjoy getting paid.

There are times, however, when you can boost your career by working for free.

Sounds like crazy-talk, I know. Many will simply quit reading right now.  Go ahead; that leaves more opportunity for the rest of us.

Take myself, for example.  As a writer I like to get paid for my work. Duh.  Yet websites and other publications like to get free content.  The battle wages between getting paid vs. getting noticed.

When writers are first starting out, it’s more important to get noticed.  The goal is to build a following; to become the “go-to” person that people seek out on a specific topic.

Then the tables start to turn.  The websites and publications need you.  In addition, if you have strategically aligned yourself with publications that attract a large following, your byline can tie back to your own website where you can market yourself, maybe develop an email list of visitors.

Now you have people to market to; potential paying customers. It’s business in the making. See how that works?

Retailers have known for eons that the best way to attract paying customers is to get people to sample their products first.  Get them hooked.

Same thing for those selling something less-tangible, such as a service.  Give your target audience a sample; a taste of your work so they can try it before they buy it. Once they know your capabilities and feel comfortable with you, they will be more willing to spend money for a long term agreement.

Consider the fact that most jobs are obtained through networking. Why? Because the people in your network know you; they know you’re work and are confident in recommending or hiring you.

Some Ideas

• If you are a consultant or small business person, consider trading work with someone to help build word-of-mouth marketing.  If you’re a marketer, offer to develop a Marcomm plan for an IT consultant in exchange for his help with your computer issues.

• Perhaps an internship is the way to show you are willing to do what it takes to start a new career.  Many internships pay a nominal salary too.  And no, you’re not too old to do an internship.

• Volunteering is another great way to gain experience and spread the word about your fabulous work skills.  Non profits do have paying jobs; they may just be hard to find.  Get your foot in the door by volunteering your business skills for a project.  Get to know the executives and board members. When the project is over, ask them for a recommendation that you can use on LinkedIn, and let them know that you would be interested in working for them when a job opening comes along.

Work for free, or work for less.  Either of these is super important for anyone who is starting out, wants to gain exposure or wishes to change careers into something totally different.

Give it some thought. You may just advance your career by working for free.