Self-marketing top tips for contractors

Continuing our series of top tips for contractors, we examine the importance of promoting yourself and your business.

Call it marketing. Call it self-promotion, personal PR, or simply getting remembered –showcasing your expertise is vital to put yourself in the shop window for that next contract assignment.  

You need to manage your brand and reputation carefully, as they’re the most important assets you possess. The main objective is to build a trusted network of colleagues, past and present, fellow contracting specialists who would happily call on your expertise time and again.

We’re not talking about spending huge amounts of time creating a personal website, investing in business cards and marketing collateral – of course, if you grow your business and start employing people, you will need to do this. But assuming you’re on your own, there are some basics you need to focus on to build your profile.

Networking sites for contractors

LinkedIn is the premier professional networking site, so it’s an absolute must that you have an updated profile. At a basic level, it’s an extension of your CV but the platform offers so much more. As well as including your experience, you can update and be endorsed for skills, include courses and add multimedia content. Remember to connect with people you’re working for, grow your followers and keep in touch with old colleagues. You never know what opportunities could come your way.   

Make sure you always ask for recommendations after every assignment. These are effectively client testimonials and there is nothing more powerful to alert potential employers and recruiters of your worth. Have you considered blogging? The platform allows you to not only share articles of interest but write your own and these get shared to your first degree connections and wider afield. You can also join some of the 1,000 or so LinkedIn groups for public and private sector contractors. Just type in the relevant search terms to find those relevant to your line of work.

LinkedIn isn’t the only site to think about of course. Whatever your specialty, the chances are that it is served by an online industry forum. You need to be on it.

And in the real world…

Even more effective than online content is to actually get out there and meet professionals in your specialist field. There are many industry conferences, exhibitions and functions that are hosted by your local chamber of commerce or by the many freelancer meetup associations. You might even choose to speak at such an event although clearly you’d need to be an authority in your chosen specialism. Have you perhaps thought about running a paid training course based on what you delivered to a client?

Detail your contract work

Despite the power of LinkedIn, you will still need a clear and focused CV to make it onto many interview shortlists. Update it regularly and list all your work. Provide a short executive summary at the top highlighting your key skills – remember that Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) will scan for keywords. Then comes the really important part: detail each assignment. Always quantify your achievements, so if for example your process helped to cut costs by x %, then say so. Similarly, if your input added y % to revenue, be as accurate as you can. Use the first person singular – it’s the impact you had and the difference you made.

Your recruiter may want to tweak your CV to their format when presenting you to a client, but nevertheless you need to have a polished version that properly reflects your capabilities. Don’t forget to tailor your CV for different roles, so again you might want to change titles and focus on different skill sets. A common mistake that job applicants make is not to spend enough time on their CVs – you really do need to grab the hiring manager’s attention in a matter of minutes.  

Nothing is ever guaranteed in the world of contracting, so it is imperative that you keep ahead of the game and ensure that your skills remain in demand. Competition is fierce, whether from other contractors or consultancy firms. A ‘knockout’ CV is essential, use social media constructively to grow your network and think about writing articles and attending industry events. Your brand and reputation really do matter – ‘Top of Mind Awareness’ (TOMA) is very much the name of the game.

We’d love to hear about your experiences and the channels you’ve found to be particularly effective in securing that next contract. If there are any specific topics you’d like us to cover, we’d love to hear from you.

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