A home will hold you back
The chances are that you're living in a house or apartment where you have a long-term rental contract. If by some chance you're actually already footloose - well done, you can skip ahead! If not - it's got to go...
Having a base can be very useful, but when you add up all the maintenance costs it is a big financial burden. You will find yourself working to pay for something you're not using - and discouraged from travelling for that reason. Relying on temporary accommodation can be surprisingly cost effective and opens up a lot of possibilities. (Future post: Accommodation)
If you actually own your home already, that's fantastic: rent it out. I have no experience here but my understanding is that it should pay for any mortgage. Do it through an agent - otherwise you never know when you'll be required to turn up as a landlord. Consider setting aside a locked cupboard or some loft space or a shed for your own long-term storage that you can visit when you need to.
In my case everything to do with the apartment in Germany had to be taken care of - contracts for the place itself, utilities and so on - and in a language I still hadn't mastered. It was a shared apartment which helped a lot: only a few things were in my name, the whole flat did not have to be cleared, the contract needed amending but could continue, most of the furniture were joint purchases and many things I could sell or pass on to my flatmates. However, it still took a huge amount of time and the admin wasn't complete until weeks after I left. Some of this was because I was leaving a foreign country, and one where I was not fluent in the language - if that's you, don't underestimate how much trouble this can be.
I have never taken a formal rental or arranged utilities since, even in my home country of the UK - they make no sense on my timescales. If you go abroad with work, even for months at a time, look for alternatives.
Most jobs are not portable
This blog is about being a technology professional on the move and if you're the target audience, you probably already have a good, permanent employment contract that you're thinking of leaving, or you've recently left. If you're just starting out and you want to do it portably, that's a different road and perhaps a harder one.
Assuming you've decided to leave a long-term job for whatever reasons, there is some useful preparation you can do to lay groundwork for a portable career. I have to admit, I didn't do this out of a clear plan. Rather, it was just important to me to leave on good terms, to keep doors open where possible, to make the most of my experience to date and to start finding new opportunities.
As I've discussed in an introductory post, I am a technology specialist. I realised that my employer would really miss my experience. I talked to them about being available for occasional contract work soon after i gave my notice, and I signed a contract the day I left.
If this might apply to you then make very sure you explore it because there are a lot of benefits to such an arrangement. It instills a great deal of confidence in prospective employers if they know that you were valued enough to be offered part-time work. It's a great basis for keeping future contacts and networking. And if that work comes through, it will give you some confidence and a little security while you're finding your feet - it certainly did for me. If you're fed up with your work or your employer, try to see beyond that and keep the door open without concrete commitment.
If it's not something you can do - and I know of cases where employers simply won't consider it regardless of value - then still make a point of firming up your contacts in your company. Most of my best clients to date have come from word of mouth based on those initial contacts and I think that's a common experience.
I got in touch with a good jobs agency for my field and made sure they knew I was available. I wasn't looking for contracts of even 6 months in length so I didn't expect anything to come of it, but in fact I did take a contract in the end. If you just might take something then call them - but be very honest about what you're looking for. (Future post: Finding Clients)
If you're a technology specialist, you've probably got a wealth of accumulated notes, emails and reference material at work. If you continue to work in a related field, you are likely to really miss these. Take the time to go through these and take whatever you can with you in some form. That might simply be forwarding yourself a list of Internet links or might be making notes on some ideas you had. Don't be tempted to take anything confidential or that violates your contract - especially as an independent, trust is everything.
View your current job as a launch pad for a new, portable career.
YMMV
No comments:
Post a Comment