Advertorial: Industry decline sees many successfully turn to freelance and contract work

It seems only yesterday that the Guardian’s ‘Media Section’ was the only window job seekers had into the seductive world of newspapers, broadcasting, magazines and advertising.

No matter how tiny the font, advertisements would be scoured religiously every Monday morning by aspiring journalists, all of whom were lacking a key ingredient in their job search – a decent contacts book.

But time moves on, and the ‘Media Section’ is now a shadow of its former self as technology continues to change every aspect of the way journalism operates.

While we all operate and live in a 24-hour news environment, deadlines can be more manageable as copy, pictures and video are now able to be fed from the field at the click of the mouse.

With cameras now smaller, lighter and easier to operate than ever before, students are taught – and editors more importantly are now expecting them - to be multi-skilled, capable of taking and posting photos and videos.

Need an expert? A quick ‘Google’ search usually works, further reducing the usefulness of the contacts book that you’ve painstakingly compiled and guarded over the years.

But the media’s uptake of technology – and the cost advantages it offers – have come at a heavy cost.

While the industry anxiously awaits the outcome of the Times’ efforts to maximise returns from its website via the introduction of its 'paywall', media companies continue to bleed money as advertising revenue, readers – and inevitably jobs – fade away.

The public sector isn’t immune to the pain either. With the funding axe hovering over it the BBC is already operating as a closed shop, drastically cutting back on the number of people on its payroll.

And all this in the midst of the toughest economic climate in living memory.

"Hit by the recession, many employers are reluctant to hire on a full time basis," observed Xenios Thrasyvoulou, founder and CEO of PeoplePerHour, Europe’s biggest contractor and freelancer marketplace.

"Instead, increasing numbers are turning to more flexible options like part-time workers and freelance staff on short term contracts or assignments."

Armed with a reliable laptop and access to high-speed broadband, it’s never been easier to pick up freelance and contract work. It’s no longer necessary to have to commute into 'the office' – your new office can be your home.

In response to the widespread corporate reluctance to take on full-time workers, flexible employment websites like PeoplePerHour.com are witnessing a rapid growth in the number of people setting up on their own and advertising their services.

According to Xenios Thrasyvoulou, this structural change in the way we work is here to stay.

"While the recession may have acted as a catalyst of change to more flexible working practices, we are seeing businesses - especially at the smaller end - embrace what is now becoming the new way of working."

"They're using the connectivity of the internet to hire flexibly on short term contracts and often across borders."

So the introduction of the web has seen it become a double-edged sword, limiting work on the one hand – while opening up new opportunities with the other.

While short-term, freelance work is plentiful on PeoplePerHour.com, your work options will expand if you’re prepared to think creatively – and work laterally.

Obviously, the foundation skills and experience you’ve gained in the newsroom can help you pull in some freelance journalism work - but it pays to have as many employment options as possible. While you may view journalism as your key bread winner, that same expertise may well be in demand in other disciplines, such as freelance pr and freelance copywriter assignments.

Aside from anything else, there’s one key and often understated benefit the digital revolution is now offering – the chance of finally obtaining that hard fought, but rarely achieved ‘work/life balance’.

For example, PeoplePerHour.com is recording increasing numbers of mothers entering the marketplace as a freelance writer or journalist.

"We’re definitely finding more mothers returning to the workplace on their own terms by setting up their own businesses and working for themselves," said Thrasyvoulou.

"Unfortunately, few traditional jobs in the media offer the flexibility they need. But by the key point is that becoming their own bosses through PeoplePerHour.com, they can work and earn money around their family commitments."

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