Something new
The projects I've been working the last couple of years have been getting longer and longer. I've been asking myself why I'm even freelancing. Freedom and money would be a valid answer.
Dutch law makes freelancing more difficult than it has to be. There used to be rules, these were changed, then replaced with vague rules of which every company has their own interpretation. For some companies the max duration of a freelance project is one year, for others three.
My last project lasted two and a half years. But even before that I'd been getting pickier about the type of client I work for. I'm not just working for money, I want to spend my time doing something worthwhile.
I also noticed finding new projects was harder than before. Something recruiters I spoke with acknowledged: less projects and more freelancers. A bad timing to get picky.
So I gave it a few months looking for freelance projects before I also started looking at regular jobs.
I am now forty nine years old and I've always been self-employed. So this is new territory.
One thing I've noticed is recruitment for freelance projects is a lot more fast paced. Time from first contact to signing a contract could even be a few days.
A regular job on the other hand takes multiple interviews. Even when all works out, it takes a lot of time and red tape before you can really start. Even when you start it takes a lot of reading material before picking up your first story.
But I'm here now. I've landed my first regular job at the Volksbank. I am a week in and I'll commit my first change tomorrow.
This will not mean much change for my website. I've removed my CV though, and I will probably not add many more projects. But I'll keep posting from time to time.
ps: you might wonder how working for a bank is 'something worthwhile'. The Volksbank is the most sustainable bank in the Netherlands by a margin. They promote this with their brand ASN, but the other three brands follow the same policies.