Freelance
- Started
- Last post
- 36 Responses
- clearThoughts
Question time.
Is it normal for somebody working full time at an agency as for example Art Director or Senior Designer, to do loads of personal freelance work on the side?
- akrokdesign0
normal? yes.
- gramme0
Normal? Yes. Smiled upon? No.
It depends on the agency policy, in addition to exactly how much "loads" of freelance work amounts to—i.e., does it conflict with agency responsibilities.
- waterhouse0
Don't scream it. But have personal business cards handy.
- You know, discretion.waterhouse
- Don't scream it but when hired be upfront.Iggyboo
- hellojeehae0
what do you mean normal
- utopian0
Fucking A
- PonyBoy0
nobody's business by mine and my baby's
- baseline_shift0
its been done
- cherub0
what is this "freelance" you speak of?
- flashbender0
Do it until someone tells you not to
- luckyorphan0
Best practice is to clear up that kind of relationship with the agency before agreeing to employment.
If that's impossible, ensure that whatever work is done in freelance does not impact the day job. Make sure that if you're designing something for Coke during the day, you're not moonlighting for Pepsi, in other words.
One related issue I've heard, however, is when people show up to the day job dead tired because they've been pulling late hours on freelance. I've heard producers and mgmt. vent that they are often pissed about this because their off-hours work lessens the quality of their day job, and in one case I've seen, that's led to a contract not being renewed.
That being said, if you do web and print during the day and motion graphics at night, the studio shouldn't be too bothered by it. All in all, full disclosure, and, like waterhouse said, discretion is optimal.
But never...ever contact an agency client to offer your services. Doesn't matter if the agency hasn't had a relationship with the client in over a decade. It's just bad policy.
Hope that helps.
- +1000000 - use discretion and avoid a conflict of interestflashbender
- this makes no sense, first you say coming tired to your day job could be a problem, and then "if you do Mograph at night is ok"?Meeklo
- ok...
something tells me you never experienced a mograph project :)Meeklo
- clearThoughts0
To be more precise.
This is a case of me having built a healthy list of personal clients and thinking about taking a full time job at the moment.Might as well stay freelance, but I'm considering taking a job at a big agency - that has been offered to me BTW.
It's good $$$ and I would never be able to get such big clients on my own.Having said that, I am likely to get approached to do even more freelance work in the future by newer clients, because that's always the case when you get your name out there.
Contacting an agency client would never cross my mind. I have my own ones. Just don't want to loose them.
- Dancer0
Almost everyone does it but that is because the industry, generally nowadays, is not that well paid. Alot of contracts (esp. in the UK) have a clause stating that you cannot work for anyone else but it happens.
luckyorphan is right if it does not affect your day job then people tend to turn a blind eye.
- vespa0
unless you have specifically signed a contract (i.e conflict of interest etc), then what you do on your own time is your own business.
if you end up being rubbish at work because of late nights on something else then that is a separate issue. you need to be able to manage your time and get enough sleep -- otherwise you are being unprofessional.
- neue75_bold0
usually our full–time day jobs are so fucking mundane, we're left with little choice but to work on interesting jobs that pay peanuts after dark...
- < said the man who hasn't opened up a file in 4 weeksneue75_bold
- Do you spend all day in meetings at this fulltime job?vaxorcist
- I used to, but at the moment of writing this post and note though I had been off for 4 weeks...neue75_bold
- CyBrain0
Of course it's normal. I bet half the people here do it, but why would your full time employer even have to know. I don't think it's anyone's else's business. (literally and figuratively)
- mydo0
I used to work for a company that would pretty much fire you for taking freelance. They were shit scared of designers taking client work, or not bringing in jobs. I didn't really understand this.
Now i run a company, and i have to keep my eyes open for it. mainly because the clients are dishonest. Indeed i've had a designer forward me client emails asking them to freelance. As they see it, why pay an agency when they only get a designer to do the work! logical i guess.
- That'd be very shady if the client went to directly to a designer. Damn.acrossthesea
- mydo0
anyone ever taken your employers client freelance? tempting.
- < nah.akrokdesign
- just checkinmydo
- Good way to get black-listed.luckyorphan
- When I left one company, on good terms, the company wanted me to take the clients for freelance gigsvaxorcist
- ... this is because the company changed direction, no longer doing what I did...vaxorcist
- luckyorphan0
clearthoughts:
You are in an interesting position.
Clearly, the agency wants you because they offered you the job. And you want to work for them (I'm assuming), because they money is good and they have big clients that could enhance your folio and experience.
Question is, how good is your relationship with the person who interviewed you? Could you ask them what their policy is about freelancing? Or do you think that would be a buzz-kill, and lead to an offer being rescinded? If you think you can ask, do so. Then if they say that it is prohibited, ask for more salary. Or at the very least, tell them that you cannot start right away because you've made agreements with freelance clients and you believe to the core of your being that providing quality design services is what you're all about, and that doing anything less for your current clients would be unprofessional. Mgmt. types eat that shit up.
Either way, to me, it sounds like the best policy is to inform them. What happens if you are asked to pull a full weekend on a Friday afternoon because the agency got a sudden chance to turn around a killer proposal for an amazing client that you would kill to work on – yet, you've already committed to a freelance gig? It's rare, I know, but that would be exactly the wrong time to kill your freelance contact, and inform your new boss that you'll only be half-available because of your previously undisclosed moonlighting, and could lead to your eventual dismissal, just because people don't think you're a team player.
I'm just sayin' that I've seen it happen. Tread lightly and with full disclosure. No games.