Transitioning Back to Full-Time Work after Freelancing 

Job transitions are frequent this year for many. I keep reading about women leaving the workforce in droves, due to the challenges of balancing work and childcare in a pandemic. Many others are laid off or underemployed. But even in this economic climate, many people are changing jobs. Some are switching to freelancing, due to its more flexible schedule, and I recently wrote about that transition.

Today, I’d like to look at it from the other side: moving to full-time work from freelancing. A friend of mine is going through this change, seeking the higher pay and benefits offered by corporate life. I’m fascinated by some of the stuff she has shared about the process, so I’m sharing it along with some tips of mine to help you organize if you go through this transition.

1. Brush up your resume. If you’ve been self-employed for a long time, your resume probably has a few dust bunnies. You don’t hand out a resume when networking; you instead show off your work and website. Of course, you know you need to improve your resume, but here’s the tough part: you have to contend with ATS, which is software that HR departments use to reduce the pile of applicants from 527 to 20 or so. Writing a resume with the right keywords isn’t easy, and my friend turned to a resume writer for this reason. The writer analyzed job posts and counted keywords, putting in a lot of work to create a resume that will pass that robot test.

Learn more about this in a blog post written by a job recruiter I know.

2. Consider your schedule. Moving from a schedule with no limits to a 9-to-5 job may feel restrictive. On the plus side, your work is in one lump time, which makes it easier to set boundaries. On the other hand, it’s harder to leave at 10 a.m. and run a quick errand or leave at 3:30 to pick up your kid from school. Spend some time thinking about how this schedule change will impact your daily life. Communicate with your partner about how he or she may need to adjust as well. My freelancer friend was the go-to parent for home-related work and childcare because of her flexibility. The pandemic has changed a lot of our work schedules, but even so, it’s something to ponder.

3. Consider your office. Many freelancers work from home. Due to the pandemic, work has shifted and your new job may be remote or at least temporarily so.  However, some may not or may require you to be in the office after the pandemic is over. The commute time is often a dealbreaker, so think carefully about whether you want to work remotely, in an office, or a mix and where that office might be located. As you job hunt, map the location and estimated commute time. Even if you’re willing to drive, walk, bus, or bike to that location daily, will it cause problems when school lets out early or something comes up with your partner? If you care for aging relatives, is that a factor?

4. Reorganize your finances. After you get a new job, you will probably have to adjust your finances in some way, good or bad. If you don’t have or use a monthly budget, that’s a good time to start. Is it time to find a financial adviser to manage your IRA and new 401(k) plus that old 401(k) you still have floating somewhere? One useful tip I picked up from my husband is to use a percentage of your income toward retirement, not a set dollar amount. That way, when you get a raise, adding more money to retirement is baked right in.

Did you transition to a full-time job after freelancing or self-employment? What surprised you about the switch?