Consultant Exchange - A HotGigs blog

Do's and don'ts of business blogging

Business blogging can be a useful marketing medium for consultants to promote their knowledge and expertise. But this story about a Nintendo worker who was fired because of the job-related content posted on her personal blog,has me thinking about consultants out there who may have business blogs with questionable content.  It can sometimes be hard to judge what material is 'blog-approved' and what posts might have your future clients furiously clicking the 'back' button on your site.  So I've put together my own "dos and don'ts" list. Feel free to add to it.

Dos:

• Try to balance facts and opinions within each post
• Link to reliable sources in your field
• Include an 'About Me' link on your blog's main page with all relevant contact info
• Maintain professionalism when responding to comments/e-mails
• Have guest authors, if appropriate for your blog topics
• Use your blog service's 'Stats' page to see where your site visitors are coming from, or check out StatCounter or Site Meter for free visitor and site referrer information

Don'ts:

• Don't use your blog to vent frustrations concerning clients/co-workers/bosses
• Don't dig deep into your personal life, try to keep the blog's focus business related
• Don't over-promote yourself - there are times for self-promotion, but not in every post
• Don't post anything you don't want Google to pick up
• Don't use client names in posts without express permission or consent

Like the former Nintendo employee, it might be too late to salvage your contract or client relationship once you start seeing comics created about your blog's inappropriate content. If you're new to the blogging arena, it might be helpful to check out this post on How to Start a Blog.

- Colleen

Colleen Williams is the Consultant Community Manager for the HotGigs Staffing Exchange.

More members, new opportunities

We recently welcomed our 100,000th consultant member to our Staffing Exchange -- only 9 months after soaring past the 50,000 mark. Our consultant membership is growing rapidly, and so are the number of opportunities available to consultants. You may think of the Staffing Exchange as a place you come to look for contract work, but keep in mind that it's also the place that companies and firms come to look for contract talent! Having more consultant members on our Staffing Exchange attracts more top firms and companies, which translates into more contract jobs that our Basic Consultant Members can apply to free of charge.

Here's how it works: when a Consulting or Staffing Firm joins our site at the Premium Membership Level, the jobs they post are open to any consultant member who wishes to apply, including Basic Members. We do not require that independent consultants pay to upgrade to a Premium Membership to apply to these positions, so we refer to them as "free jobs".

Another source of free jobs are hiring companies who utilize HotGigs' new Channel Vendor program to help identify consultants and firms who can work for them on contract assignments. Jobs from these Manged Client Companies are open to all consultants on the Staffing Exchange, including Basic Members (HotGigs does factor in a nominal management fee over and above your requested rate, but this does not reduce that rate). More information about how you as an independent consultant can work directly with our Managed Clients companies (including 3M and ADC) through our Channel Vendor program, can be found here.

Currently we have more Free jobs on the HotGigs Staffing Exchange than ever before and we wanted to make sure all of our consultant members understand how easy it is to apply and submit your resumes to these great opportunities.  We recently updated the site to make it easier than ever for our Basic Members to find free jobs. Here's a quick summary:

• On the Advanced Search page, select the location and skills you would like to search on, and then check the box labeled "Find free jobs". This will narrow down the search results to only free jobs.
• You will see the same "Find free jobs" checkbox at the top of every job search results page. Check the box and click the 'Go' button to filter the search results to include only free jobs.
• Free jobs are also linked on the sidebar of the job search results page. Click the links to see jobs from featured companies and firms, or you can do 1-click searches by subcategory.

On any job search results page, the free jobs are always listed first, and the company or firm name is displayed in the listing (you have to be signed in). Find a job that interests you and click the job title to view it. At the top of the job description page, you will see the notice, "All HotGigs consultant members may apply. Premium Membership not required." Click the 'Apply' button and you're on your way! 

If you still have questions about Free jobs (or any other aspects of HotGigs) feel free to check out our new Consultant Member FAQ section located within your HotGigs account.  A link to this new FAQ section (titled Consultant Member FAQ) is located within the Getting Started box of your My HotGigs page.

-Colleen

Colleen Williams is the Consultant Community Manager for the HotGigs Staffing Exchange.

How to steer clear from bad apples

At some point along the way everyone has experienced themselves or heard a story about a 'bad apple'- a seedy salesman, a here-and-then-gone client, or a too-good-to-be-true business partner.  Pamela Slim's recent post, titled 9 ways to keep hucksters, shucksters and slimeballs at arms length when starting your own business, contains some great advice on how to avoid these rotten-to-the-core individuals.  Here's my own take on a few of her tips:

• Pay by credit card, not cash or check - For that seedy salesman, paying by credit card gives you the support of the credit card company who has the ability to refund you for the purchase, while paying by cash or check only produces feelings of hopelessness and offers no recourse.
• Do your background research - Ask for references when needed, check with the Better Business Bureau, RipOffReport.com or at the very least google the company/individual/organization to get a better sense of who you could potentially be doing business with.
• Discuss, clarify and document expectations and agreements-  Thinking about a business partnership?  Make sure you cover all areas of importance with your future partner.  Don't assume anything- put it in writing so there is no confusion on who does what, who buys what, or who works with what client(s).  This work upfront can save time, money, and headaches later on.

As an independent consultant on the HotGigs Exchange, you can rest assured knowing that we verify each and every one of our staffing firms, consulting firms, and hiring companies that register with us so we can toss out the bad ones.

-Colleen

Colleen Williams is the Consultant Community Manager for the HotGigs Staffing Exchange

Would you give yourself an 'A' grade?

If your clients asked how up-to-date your trainings and certifications are, would you be confident in answering them?  Or would you hesitate because you can't quite remember if the last seminar or training you attended was in the fall of 2002 or 2003?

Although the leaves haven't started to change to shades of red, orange and gold here in Minnesota, it's never too early to start thinking about going back to school, attending a seminar, or completing additional training to enhance your consulting business.  Your clients will recognize that you are serious about staying on the cutting edge of your industry and will appreciate the knowledge you can bring to the table. 

Here are some great resources that will help you keep that 'A' grade:

• Back2College.com is a site specficially designed for adults who are looking to go back to school.  They offer a free newsletter and discussion forums that address the issues that non-traditional students may face when going back to school.
• FindaSeminar.com - You can search for seminars by category, city, zip code, title, month, and more, making it easy to find just what you are looking for. While their main offerings are in the U.S. they also have information on seminars in Canada and Puerto Rico.
• Lynda.com is all about "Learning at Your Own Pace", and offers free sample online trainings before you decide to subscribe.  Their basic subscription seems like an easy purchase at $25/month with no long term commitment.  And they have a wide range of available trainings so no matter if you are looking to brush up on your PowerPoint skills or coding in Coldfusion, they have it all.

Do you have any other websites you use to find upcoming trainings or seminars in your field?  I'd love to know what other consultants out there are using.

---Colleen

Colleen Williams is the Consultant Community Manager for the HotGigs Staffing Exchange

Work directly with 3M and other premier companies through HotGigs' new Channel Vendor program

Have you ever wanted to land a contract with a Fortune 500 company, but weren't able to because you weren't on the list or didn't work with one of their approved vendors? If so, you will be glad to know that you can now work directly with 3M and other HotGigs clients who have added HotGigs to their preferred vendor list. It's all part of our new Channel Vendor Program, which we announced last week with an invitation for consultants to work directly with 3M.

How does this work for you as an independent consultant?  Through Channel Vendor, 3M’s IT division is now able to work directly with our Consultant community through a single vendor relationship. This is one example of how our Channel Vendor program gives you direct access to consulting gigs at major companies in your chosen markets.

NOTE: Our Channel Vendor program is open to all HotGigs members, including Basic (free) Members. You do not need to pay to upgrade to apply for consulting jobs through the Channel Vendor program.

(If you are a Premium Member, you may submit to not only Channel Vendor jobs, but any and all jobs on the HotGigs Exchange, including gigs with our network of firms.)

Fast facts for Consultants:

• Access 3M's open IT requirements on the HotGigs Staffing Exchange.
• Leverage our preferred vendor relationship to submit yourself to contract openings at 3M. Receive real-time updates on your submission status from our internal sourcing team.
• Win gigs at 3M and other major clients on HotGigs. (HotGigs adds a 10% markup to the client over your submitted pay rate; this does not reduce your rate.).
• Manage your gig through HotGigs: submit billable hours online, and receive payment directly from HotGigs for all engagements.

Here's a quick overview of the HotGigs Channel Vendor program and how it works for consultants.

Interested in contracting at 3M? Use this search to see all 3M contract opportunities through HotGigs. We are constantly adding new requirements, so check back often.

If you're interested, here's how to get started:

To get started:

1. Search 3M requirements on HotGigs now (and receive future email notifications).
2. Apply online by submitting your profile and rates through HotGigs.
   - Premium (paid) Membership is not required.
3. Get real-time updates on your submission status on the HotGigs Staffing Exchange.
4. Win gigs at 3M (and other major companies) and submit billable hours and receive payment directly from HotGigs for all gigs.

In the near future, we'll be posting several more opportunities with new clients through our Channel Vendor program. Stay tuned.

HotGigs' Doug Berg in BusinessWeek and the New York Times

In the past week, HotGigs has garnered some significant media attention. Last Monday, BusinessWeek.com published an interview with HotGigs founder Doug Berg. The main topic was the rise of contract workers as a significant segment of the US workforce. An excerpt from the Q & A:

What's driving the rise in contract-based workers that we're seeing?

We're mid-course in a major shift in the employment picture in the U.S., particularly in the technology-rich professional areas. Due to compressed market cycles, the old way of doing business just won't work too much longer. This specifically applies to the area of work-force planning and recruiting.

To succeed in the future, those working in corporations and staffing firms, as well as the workers themselves, have to understand the forces at play: cost and on-demand access to short-term labor, preferences among laborers, and technology innovation.

How fast is this contingent-staffing industry growing?

Fast! The growth of the staffing industry is also something that's very indicative of shifts in the labor supply. Data show that the staffing industry has doubled in just the last five years, from about a $60 billion a year industry to an over $120 billion a year industry, and analysts project it will become a $200 billion industry by 2010.

You can read the entire interview here.

This morning, HotGigs was mentioned in an article in the New York Times on sites like TheLadders.com and HotGigs that charge candidates a membership fee for access to some portion of their specialized jobs. Doug's comment can be found at the end of the article (in fact, he literally has the last word).

Both articles are linked in our News Archive on HotGigs.com.

--Andy

Andy Keith is the product manager for the HotGigs Staffing Exchange,

The phone is definitely NOT ringing. HELP!

When I was going through blog comments I came upon a complaint that pops up periodically: "Companies seem to be ignoring me. What gives?"

It's frustrating when you see all those juicy contractor jobs, find a couple that are perfect fits, submit your profile and hear nothing. Did they get your submission? Are they still considering you? If they've hired someone else, why is your status listed as "New/Reviewing" for that project?

Most often, the problem is that hundreds of resumes are being submitted for the same job. These guys are literally swamped by submissions, and most have developed defensive strategies to handle it. Many send, at best, a polite form letter acknowledging receipt and promising to call if interested. Others post disclaimers in the job listing itself--"we get too many resumes to respond to each one." Still others have simply decided to only contact and update status only for the candidates that interest them.

So...if you've not been contacted, it could be a sign that the employer isn't interested. It could also mean that the job is on hold (or canceled), it's changed to something else, or that they're still in the selection process. (LOTS of things can hold up the selection process) Sometimes the job description wasn't very well written and the hiring manager really wanted something else.

Don't write them off. We've had candidates contacted months after they submitted a profile for a job. Sometimes it's the same job. Sometimes the resume was kept on file until a fit came along.

It's easy to click the submit button and sit back to wait for jobs to come along, but the key to success is using HotGigs.com as a long-range marketing tool. We post hundreds or thousands of new jobs every day--we're now one of the largest sources of contract work in the industry. And we're working hard to educate employers and recruiters on the need to cultivate a strong consultant pool. The best already get it.

Make us an active part of your marketing strategy. Visit often, and explore your consultant dashboard. You'll discover tools that allow you to build your network of potential clients, track what you've been doing, build your reputation with past client rankings and find out more about what your target companies are looking for.

Also, don't fall into the trap of submitting a generic profile to every position that comes along. Study the listing and make sure your resume emphasizes the skills requested. Use our search tracking tools to figure out what keywords best describe what you do...and then make sure your profile highlights your experience in that area.

And remember: You're establishing your own business as a consultant, and that takes time and persistence. Stick with it, and you'll be successful.

Cheers--

--Doug

 

Who you know counts toward success

I can’t emphasize enough the value of networking: Who you know—and what they know about you—is probably your best single source of success as a consultant.

I’m mentioning this because I just finished reading the “Annual Sources of Hire” report by staffing consultants at CareerXroads. This report, based on a survey of US corporations with a total of 1.3 million workers, analyzes how managers find new hires. The authors also discuss the report in a telling blog post.

Their conclusion: If you're not networking, good luck finding the best jobs 'cause you're gonna need it. About 75 percent of all hires these companies made came from just five sources:

• Internal transfers and promotions (34% of all hires)
• Referrals (26% of all hires) with employee referrals responsible for a whopping 95% of all referrals
• Company website (14% of all hires)
• Job boards (8%of all hires)
• Media/print ads (5% of all hires)

Also big on the list: rehires or boomerangs, where employees who've left the company come back in some capacity. And as salaries went up, Web-based sourcing became more and more important.

Notice that 60 percent of hires in the survey came from the "who you know" side of the house, i.e., the network. It's not really surprising if you think about it; people are simply more comfortable trusting someone in their network than they are trusting a total stranger. Anything you can do to be included in their network will put you far ahead of your competition.

This is a common theme in "how to find work" seminars, and it's certainly part of the advice I give new contractors. It's easy to let relationships slip as you leave a job, or drop out of local professional associations because you're too busy. Don't do it.

Personally, I think that's one reason for the tremendous popularity of the "new" Web. Social networking sites like LinkedIn allow you not only to track your network, but cultivate and extend it.

That's one reason we opted to include networking and rating functions in your HotGigs profile. Managers and colleagues can, in effect, provide the referrals that make you part of "the network." And by using the "broadcast availability" tool, you can easily update your network on your status.

What are some other ways you build your professional network?

Cheers--

--Doug

New report lists top IT skills in demand

If you're an SAP expert, congratulations! There's a big demand for your skills as an IT consultant. In fact, demand for SAP skills tops the charts when it comes to employers and recruiters looking for IT contractors.

That's what we're reporting in HotGigs' 2007 IT Contract Workforce Report, based on nearly two million searches done over a three month period on the HotGigs Staffing Exchange. If you're a HotGigs member or subscriber you already know this; you should have received a private link to your own copy of this report in your inbox earlier this week. For the rest of you, ERP was the most-requested skill, and within ERP, SAP searches were more than double those of Oracle or Peoplesoft. Better still, if you'll check our billing rates comparison tool, you'll find that consultants with these skills make about $100 hour on average. As demand has grown I've seen bill rates go much higher, to as much as $300/hour for topnotch pros.

Searches for Web development skills came in second, most likely due to all the backlogged Web projects that were put on hold so companies could cut costs and get infrastructure updates in place. Now they're all back in the system, and as a result, we're seeing a strong surge in demand for AJAX developers, PHP skills, ASP.NET and Javascript, especially.

Not surprisingly, project management is also doing well. Might be a sign that it's time to finish that PMP certification...

There's lots more in the report -- we're tracking 30 different demand areas and how they relate to consultant skills demand. This can be a great tool for you to market yourself -- look at the skills most in demand, match them to your own and prioritize your resume with the skills you know employers are looking for.

The 2007 IT Contract Workforce Report is available at no cost to HotGigs members. To download your own copy, just sign in at HotGigs.com. If you're not a member of HotGigs, what are you waiting for? Join HotGigs at the Basic level (free) and download your copy. And leave us a comment below to let us know what you think!

Cheers,
Doug

Time-tracking (and a special deal for members)

Do you know how much time you spend on tasks for clients? Tracking and billing correctly seems to be a real problem for some consultants, especially when they are starting out. That's why I've decided to kick off some of the new offers we're putting together for consultants with a special discount on time management software (see below).

The low-tech way to track your time is to carry a day-timer or a data file on your notebook and spend a lot of time updating it. Then you (oh joy) must decipher what you meant by "2 cstdev M. aft" three weeks later when you have to add all that stuff up and bill the right guy.)

Billing for the time you really spend on a project is good business practice, but many consultants I have worked with rely on "guesstimates" instead of hard numbers, and that often results in underbilling. It can also be really embarrassing if the client catches you doing it--you know you spent a lot of time on the project, but how do you prove your bill is legit?

That's where time tracking software helps. I have evaluated several, used a few, and the one I am really liking right now is Responsive Time Logger. It is time tracking software especially designed for consultants, and if you're having trouble managing time and billing, it's probably worth trying.

There are lots of benefits to using this kind of software. For one thing, you may find you are underbilling your work--THAT is extra money in your pocket right there. If you went to all the trouble to land a contract on HotGigs, you want to be paid for your work, right?

Even more important, though, is the fact that you can bill with confidence. You have documentation to back up your hours if the client questions them, and no guesswork when you create an invoice. The process is also faster, so your clients receive their bills on time. (Believe it or not one of the big complaints many companies have about consultants is slow billing.)

It's also just plain good business. First, if you have accurate records of how long it took you to complete the last ten projects, chances are your estimating will be much more accurate in future bids for fixed-price work, and you never hand any unpleasant surprises to your hourly clients.

That translates to happier clients. They see a real professional because you give them spot-on estimates and you back up your bills with documentation. You can also show them, up front, how to make the most cost-effective project choices.

Good time-tracking software can be a great way to put your consulting business on a professional footing, something I think more consultants should use. So I asked the Responsive Software folks to offer a special discount to HotGigs.com members. Responsive Time Logger normally sells for $89 for one user. If you order it now and use the promo code myhotgigs, you can buy it for $71.20, or 20% off.

I think discounts on business tools are one way we can serve our HotGigs.com members and this will be the first test to see if you agree. I welcome your feedback--and your suggestions for other discounts or services that would help you run your business.

Try the software, and let me know how it goes.

Cheers--

--Doug