The book "Freelancing Expertise - Contract Professionals in the New Economy" I already mentioned here is more than ever the perfect mirror of my current situation. I have been rereading snippets of it at rare off-time moments, carrying it in my bag. It feels good to relate with a book, be in resonance with the author's description although the book is by no means a self-help fluffy and airy volume. I urge you to read it for a change with the lame stuff that monopolize the slim landscape of news and expression surrounding freelancing, rich with scanty articles reading like "7 ways to start your daily chores with a smile".
The book chapters are right onto the spot, Performing Expertise starting from Day Zero when you meet your potential client. Managing Marginality, because as a contractor, in an office where a drama is in full stage, you don't belong, although forces are at play that may make you think you may belong, or put into different words : some people may lure you into thinking that being an active part of the drama is a show of allegiance to a play you may be thrown away from the next day. In fact, I was explicitly told so despite the contract terms and expectations of "dying for the corporation", a contradiction my counterparts didn't fake not to understand. And I kept all to myself as required.
Sub-chapters like Participation and Exclusion, Identifying Organizational Boundaries, Maintaining Distance, Autonomy and Accountability are brilliantly reflecting reality and they all deserve more pages than are offered.
Another point of interest is Stretchworking.
"Stretchwork is a strategy for bridging the gap between experience and aspiration. Basically, it builds on a contractor’s current skill set but provides opportunities for adding new skills." (See Ref.1)
I don't know about simul booth interpretation but with liaison interpreting, it often starts with an inquiry like this : "Are you familiar with -------- ?" Replace --------- with what subject you like or fancy about. I mentioned in the past that more than often, subjects and situations are two things, the situation making the very definition of what is the subject at stake a moving target.
In very narrow, or very broad subjects, chances that the true answer is "No" may be high depending on your experience. The urge to answer back things like : "If you ever find an interpreter qualified in -------, I'll pay you a drink", must be refrained by all means, including sly smiles and looking at the sky whispering "oy gevalt!"
"People who are good at presenting their prior experience in a way that allows for an easy translation to the desired job can narrow the gap between their past experience and future capabilities."(Cited in Ref. 2)
There is lot of stretchwork involved then. The hirer hopes to find the rare species already wet in his daily professional environment. The eager (maybe) to be hired is or should be first a professional at adapting to new situations, that first aware enough to triage between what may be new, the core subject, and what is often but a repeat of a déjà-vu Vaudeville, the inside-the-corporation-drama. Thanks to prior reading of "Freelancing Expertise", the vista is clearer than ever. All in all, awareness of what really matters in the dynamics of freelancing is probably at the core of progress in professionalization. What may be lacking beyond book then is something related with social networks among peers and pairs.
The two following short reads, despite their surprising titles, are not of the lame type.
Ref.1 Bluff your way into a new job
Ref.2 Career advancement without experience
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