The contracting market has grown exponentially over the past few years; the allure of flexible working, remote working anywhere with wi-fi and being your own boss has attracted many to the contractor way of life. This new series catches up with contractors from around the world on why they decided the contracting life was for them.
First up is Lucinda Scholey a Freelance Graphic Designer from London who has notable positions at Rufus Leonard, InMotion to name a few and is currently onsite at Unilever with the OLIVER Agency.
I switched from permanent to contracting work because…
I was a little restless in my permanent role, so I started to job-hunt. The ‘dream job’ I was looking for was an extremely integrated design position, doing everything from UI, to digital, to print, to conceptual design. I soon realised that this didn’t really exist, so decided to create it for myself. By going freelance it meant I could pick up a variety of projects and work with all sorts of clients.
Top 3 things I have learned this year…
- Hard work always pays off.
- Have confidence in yourself, your ability, your worth and your knowledge.
- Down-time is just as important as work-time.
My favourite co-working space when I work remotely is…
WeWork…or any decent coffee shop
One thing I wish I knew before becoming a contractor…
How lonely it is. You can go all day without talking to anyone, and it can make you feel isolated pretty quickly.
*Some examples of Lucinda’s work
My favourite tech tool/platform is…
Google Drive for calendar, emails, spreadsheets and docs. Asana for project planning/to do lists/working through projects and giving clients visibility.
The skill I want to add to my profile in the next year is…
Front-end coding and development. I’ve done a couple of big UI projects this year, so it would be great to be able to bring my designs to life myself rather than sending them off to a dev team.
My recommended industry website for news, tips, and trends is…
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Finish the sentence;
Contracting work is…different every day! Hard work, but extremely rewarding.
Find junior digital designer jobs with Salt, a global digital recruitment agency or check out Lucinda’s great portfolio at www.lms.design
