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Is freelance a dirty word to you? It really shouldn’t be. In public relations, with its crisis-lull-crisis rhythm, good freelancers can save you money and . . .

What a great opener for starting a discussion. Use the possible contact as an entrée to a permanent job. Great places to start looking for consulting gigs are www.guru.com, www.net-temps.com, or www.elance.com. Or, simply target companies you’re interested in and:

• Focus on the employer’s needs, not yours.

• Dismiss their concerns about hiring a consultant by quickly stating the benefits in the first paragraph.

• Provide letters of reference from former employers.

• Give the employer your absolute best effort because you may be auditioning for a permanent job.

• If you’re not hired full-time, ask for referrals to other departments, divisions, or companies that they think might benefit from your services.

■ TEMP TO PERM

The temporary help industry employs nearly 2 million Americans on any given day. “Temping” is a multibillion-dollar industry. This is a great way to break into a company through the backdoor. Remember, employers hire from within first, so it’s to your advantage to already be there. Although there may not necessarily be a lot of firms hiring people on a full-time basis, there are probably a lot of firms that can afford to hire someone for 1 day a week. Try this:

• Market yourself as a “Top gun for hire.” A good rule of thumb on what to charge is 1.6 times your previous daily rate.

• Try to get hired for full days not half days.

• Ask the employer to provide parking.

• Invoice people every week.

■ AUDITION

It worked well for the people on Survivor and The Apprentice, so why not you? Produce a video, burn it on a CD or DVD, and distribute it to potential employers. Keep it tasteful and highlight the results you achieved on 1 or 2 projects. Ask for an in-person interview. If you have video editing software, you can burn your own copies for less than $2, complete with the box. In addition, do the following:

• Use a DVD box because you can tuck a resume inside the front cover.

• At the beginning of each video, tell the employer why you’re interested in working for the company.

• Talk about the research you did to conclude the company is a good fit for your skills.

• Highlight accomplishments that would be of interest to this employer.

• Ask for an in-person interview.

A WAR STORY

Jim Moens

I had recruited a young guy (very early 20s) for a visual basic developer position at one of my clients. He had a 2-year computer science degree and had been working for a year and a half to 2 years as a sort of one-man IT department for a very small, rural manufacturer. He did it all: programming, networking, support, you name it. The day before the interview, he and I met for lunch. He brought along his laptop and proceeded to show me how he had developed an application for my client, based on information he had gleaned from me, their web site, and other sources. He had been working on it every evening for the past week, and it was most impressive. Good functionality, slick interface, intelligent use of technology . . . simply awesome. The day of the interview came and went. He did well, just as I had expected, but we were a bit nervous. Another, more experienced programmer had applied on his own and interviewed as well. I spoke with the client just after he had made the decision to hire my candidate. He stated the deciding factor was (no surprise) the “home brew” application my candidate had developed. It proved, in one fell swoop, that he could, without a doubt, do the job, and perhaps most important—that he wanted it more.

Compliments of Jim Moens, owner, SearchWorks at www.searchworkscareers.com.

■ DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

There’s an obvious benefit to out-of-the-box activities that bring you to the attention of employers. There is also a real danger of crossing the line and doing something