One of the fastest-growing countries in the world doesn’t have a flag flying at the Olympics or a seat at the United Nations, but you very likely will end up wielding its passport at some point during your career — if you don’t already hold it. It’s called free agent nation — the increasingly large group of freelancers and project workers that employers rely on.
For some workers, joining free agent nation can offer key benefits. The advantages can include a more flexible schedule, a chance to work on new and interesting projects that change frequently and the opportunity to experience different kinds of workplaces and company cultures.
[See: How to Follow Up on a Job Application Without Being Annoying.]
Employers benefit too. They get to bring on expert talent for a particular project or business need and can manage their workforce demands in a more flexible way.
But employers are also increasingly recognizing the risks of free agent nation — whether those employees have the same level of personal investment with the organization as full-time employees, and thus will be as committed to fully upholding the organization’s goals, standards and guidelines. That’s why employers are searching more and more deeply for validation from people who have actually worked with a job candidate, whether the candidate is applying for a full-time position or a contractor job.
Only people who have actually worked with a candidate are able to vouch for their personality, trustworthiness, attitude and other soft skills that can have a tremendous impact on job performance and success. And even though references alone can’t guarantee a perfect outcome every time, they can help a lot in providing a holistic sense of the person an employer is considering bringing inside its organization.
In fact, this is something we have studied with our clients. At one health care organization, we deployed recruiting tools that, when combined with onboarding improvements and other measures, helped reduce turnover for its free agent workforce by 22 percent over three years.
How Can You Be a Better Free Agent?
Given all of these new dynamics around free agent nation, how can you be sure you’re in the best possible position when you’re looking for a contract type position?
[See: 10 Ways Social Media Can Help You Land a Job.]
First, recognize that employers are doing a lot more checking into candidates than they did in the past. Just like people get the opinions of others by turning to Yelp before picking out a restaurant or using Angie’s List when looking to hire a carpenter or plumber, employers are proactively checking out job references — especially for contract workers. This means you need to gather up your supporters and have them ready — past project leads, people who brought you into previous contract jobs and former colleagues. They can all help fill in the blanks about your experience and soft skills.
You might even consider asking some of these folks to post personal recommendations on your LinkedIn page. While these kinds of recommendations are not the same as candid and confidential references, prospective employers do check them out. You’ll want to have several positive commentaries that set the tone for the kind of employee you’d be.
Second, be prepared with more references than you think you might need when you’re looking at a contract position. Prospective employers may very likely want to see more references than they’d request from a full-time employee. Employers want as much information as they can gather about potential contract workers. The good news is that if you’ve been doing contract work for a while, you’ve got a rich group of potential references to choose from — as long as you’ve been diligent about cultivating those references along the way!
Third, keep in mind that when you’re looking for a contract position, there’s a good chance you may be hired through the procurement group at an organization rather than through human resources. The challenge this poses for you is that procurement lacks HR expertise and may not know the right questions to explore, or even the best way to assess your application. As a result, the burden of putting your best foot forward falls more heavily than ever on you. A quality set of job references and testimonials can help with this.
[See: The 8 Stages of a Winning Job Search.]
Free agent nation is adding new citizens every day. The most successful ones will have a cadre of references on their side, ready to vouch for their excellence in the workplace. Those who lack these kinds of endorsements will struggle. Which do you plan to be?
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In Today’s “Free Agent Nation,” Your Job References Matter More Than Ever originally appeared on usnews.com
