Hi all. Been headhunted by a large company but they want me to initially work for them on a freelance basis. Is this normal procedure?
Been working most of my design career on a salaried basis for a small, independent retailer and have only really dabbled in Freelance work before. This is a great oppoutunity but worried about leaving job security for possible full time freelance.
Replies9
- This seems pretty odd to me. Personally, if they had headhunted me, and job security was my issue, I would call their bluff.
- As Julia said, ask why? If they are not confident in their own ability to choose the right candidate then you have to think hard about either their abilities to manage or their corporate structure is in crisis. They are asking you to step off a cliff, what safety net are they providing you. Read the freelance contract, and get an employment lawyer to read it too.
- As @Tamryn Kerr says it's happened before but definitly not in a candiate driven market. Most companies can't find good perm people so that is slightly strange. Have you asked them why? At a minimum I would look for a fixed term contract and ideally. for minimum of six months.
- Hi Shaun,I've definitely know this to happen alot but ususally in times where contracts/positions are hard to come by. At the moment there's so much movement that full time jobs or even fixed term contracts aren't hard to come by so this sort of thing should be happening less. You need to weigh up risk vs reward and also consider the cost of getting yourself set up as a freelancer, accountants, IR35 etc. especially if it's short term as it might not be worth it. As you say it's "possible" full time work. I would also consider negitiating for a fixed term contract so that they are deterred from reverting to getting you in ad-hoc.Hope this helps.Tamryn
- I'd say that is the ideal procedure... no one has obligations to no anyone. If they don't find you a good match they simply close the contract, and in the same way if you find something "dodgy" or simply you don't like working there, you do the same.Everyone is happy :)
- Hey Shaun,Yes is the answer - it is pretty normal, but also as implied, it can be insecure. The company might have the intentions of transitioning the role over to a full time role when they can but it's important you go in with your eyes open. In large companies there are various powers at play that might prevent your direct managers from doing so, or a restructure can happen and freelance employees tend to be the most vulnerable in that situation. If it's a great opportunity with a good company then that risk is probably worth it and there are a lot of lucrative freelance gigs out there but I think it's just important to be mentally prepared for the different outcomes.Hope that helps, Lex x
- Hey @Shaun Speight it looks like there are some robust answers below, and the reason they are suggesting this could have a very simple, and have a logical origin. They might love you, but be in the middle of a hiring freeze. All I can say is listen to your gut instincts (they've developed over hundreds of thousands of years), and know your worth. Don't let a company ask you to be less than you are, or accept less than you're worth. Whether that's money, holiday, opportunity, etc.
- Hi Shaun,Samuel below described so well there is just a few things I would say on top of this:- I was working with a contractor and generally the companies who hirers freelancers instead of employing doesn't have a great culture. Not a surprise, big companies do it quite often.- as Samuel mentioned they try to regulate this phenomenon, the extreme case when is apparently 'hided employement' and it's illegal so be careful that you read every detail of your contract etc., ideally have a lawyer read it through
- @Samuel Ryan HI there Samuel. Thank you for a really in-depth answer. As a relative newbie to the Freelance game, this is pretty invaluable information. Really appreciate it.
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