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Advice for a freelancer returning to the workforce
#11

Hey congrats! whatever happens i'm sure you will learn from it. my suggestion first is never talk about religion, politics, or sports in the office even if someone tries to draw you in to a conversation about them. the problem is that you can say something even innocently which can change someones opinion of you forever, and then later stall your work progress.
on a more positive note - if people go out of the office for lunch - then make a point of asking and going to lunch with different people. a little bit of personal time with people outside of the office can really make a huge difference long term. you also might make some new friends. there is also no harm in asking your manager or direct boss to have lunch with you.
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#12

(This post was last modified: 10-12-2016, 02:11 AM by PaulD.)

Hey, cool advice, thank you. I am one to rant on about such things on occasion, nothing I like more than a good debate/argument about religion and politics. I must say shedding my freelance life has been quite a weight lifted to be honest, however I am sure the weight will return when the responsibilities as the new role start to kick in. Am quite excited by it.

Thanks again,

Paul.

PS Had quite forgotten about the 24 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays. What a bonus!

PPS They are actually going to be sending me to some formal training as well, have not done that in a very long time either. Although there are a lot of down sides to having a normal job, there are certainly some up sides too.
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#13

Unless you have a lot of very good clients or a good successful project on your own I think that having a good job is 10000000000000x times better then working as a freelancer :p
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#14

(This post was last modified: 10-20-2016, 04:04 AM by marksman.)

(10-05-2016, 03:29 PM)PaulD Wrote: Any advice about this situation would be gratefully received and valued so thank you in advance.

I am a self taught freelancer that has been freelancing for over 15 years. It has paid my mortgage, fed and clothed my family and up until recently I have had a passion and love for what I do. However, for the last 6 months I have been feeling a bit like I need a change, the passion for working alone and externally sort of evaporated, but I was not really sure what change or how I could achieve it. Obviously I plowed on with freelancing, but had not been entirely content with the jobs and tasks I was doing any more. My own coding experience is missing working in a team, and I have watched over the years the sort of work I do become more and more common place.

Following a meeting at a long term customers premises, where I gave a presentation to the directors and IT team (quite a brutal one actually all about the business mistakes I thought they had been making) which was surprisingly very well received, a surprising turn happened. I was expecting some kick back but it seems I had hit a nerve they knew was exposed and expressed some things no one else had said, but everyone was aware of. There was a discussion, then a break, and after the break the owner and directors offered me a job. The salary was certainly good enough, the role was excellent, I like the owner and respect him, the team is a good one, and much to my own surprise and after some thought, I accepted the offer the next day.

I am now concerned that my 'freelancer' mentality and my long term self-employed mind set might actually cause some problems as a new member of the team and as an employee. So does any one have any advice for me joining this new team. I am committed to this role and quite excited by the larger scale challenges that will be involved. I am particularly looking forward to learning from and working with some of the more experienced people on this team, but at the same time am quite nervous about working in the team but not as an outsider or freelancer that I normally would be. How can I make this transition as successfully as possible without letting whatever bad habits I might have developed as a freelancer cocking everything up for myself. As a freelancer I am quite used to speaking my mind and being quite upfront and open with criticism (as well as praise of course).

Does anyone have any advice for me returning to the workforce from this background. I am not sure if I am childishly worrying or just nervously excited by the prospect.

Thank you in advance for any input,

Paul.

I'm working 3 years developer with a team, and as advice you should keep your self low and open your mind for suggestions. working in a team is not just a single decision you need everybody's opinion for a project. One of the most important is to let them know you appreciate them. It is normal that some of your teammate might get jealous because you are smarter than them, they will try and make ways to pull you down. Just ignore them and do your job as a team. Don't forget to share something every scrum meeting. Just be your self, learn their conventions and that's it.. Congratulations..

BTW.. You will missed working alone.. Smile BUT, You will enjoy together with a team. I promise..
God Bless CI Contributors Smile
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#15

Yup. It's basically play in a team instead of playing alone. Even if we are the best that doesn't mean that you alone will do the job of your entire team. You have to learn to be a team-player to push the team forward to victory Smile
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