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The Born Freelancer Examines Teaching: A Post-Pandemic Primer
This series of posts by the Born Freelancer shares personal experiences and thoughts on issues relevant to freelancers. Have something to add to the conversation? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
In my previous column, on Ageism, I began to discuss options for mature or soon-to-be-considered-mature freelancers put out of work due to unbridled prejudice against their age.
It seems to me a tragic waste if all our irreplaceable experience should be lost, forgotten, or simply ignored.
Another option is to channel our experience into a sharing opportunity with those younger and less experienced.
In a word: Teaching.
Traditional venues
Once upon a time, it was relatively easy for an experienced professional to move into the rarified world of academia.
Conventional institutions of higher learning—colleges, universities, etc.—all hired those with knowledge and insights into the industry you have had experience in.
Today, it is not so easy. The competition is fierce and the requirements for even contract jobs have become more and more stringent. Most require teacher union membership.
If you are seeking a conventional academic position it is considered essential to have a university degree or two. Many jobs require a PhD if you intend to move up the academic ladder. The exception: most community colleges place more emphasis on professional experience than paper. They are generally more receptive to industry veterans looking to teach. But available positions may still prove elusive.
Should you feel the need, you could consider upgrading your qualifications. Many institutions offer reduced rates or even free courses for mature students.
Of course, time may be against you. By the time you’ve completed such courses, you might be fighting the Ageism also endemic in the world of academia.
Guest lecturing—another option
Having done your research on suitable institutions, phone the relevant department heads and senior profs and/or lecturers. Explain your qualifications and interest in guest lecturing. Follow up with an email recounting your career and skill sets. Send them a copy of any book you’ve published—we will discuss this again in a moment—and express interest to come in for a personal chat.
During pandemic times, a video call might suffice.
Once there, get specific. You’ll have competition. Offer as many topics as you feel comfortable teaching. You’ll want to prepare this list with an outline of how you plan to approach each topic. You should also prepare at least one full length lecture with which you may “audition.”
The point is to get “in.” Once “in” keep your eyes and ears open. Make friends with the department office manager. They always know what is going on. If you are good and become well-liked, you may even get a shot at a short-term contract. If you get the chance, join their union. You’ll be paid better, if that is your goal.
Otherwise, of course, there are no guarantees. As a freelancer you are already used to that.
Content creation
Consider: Someone has to create course content. Its teacher is not always its creator.
This may surprise some of you. I know it surprised me.
So offer to create course content. Your experience will allow an established prof or lecturer to impart your knowledge as part of their established courses or else as the bulk of a new course.
I’ve worked both sides. I’ve been offered teaching positions at the community college level with already-created content. In short, they were looking for a working professional to front it. Conversely, I have created course content at university level for tenured profs to teach who didn’t have the time or personal background to research my areas of expertise. Both can be extremely satisfying endeavours.
All fees are negotiable.
More opportunities
I mentioned sending out a copy of your book. Nothing impresses the academic world more than being published. It’s also another laudable way to convey your experience and knowledge. In short, to teach. It might also be your ticket into guest lecturing at various public libraries and high schools, also worth investigating.
Check out my posts on self-publishing if this interests you.
Teaching, however, isn’t confined to traditional institutions and books. Don’t overlook organizations offering educational content online only. A quick search will give up many. Why not approach some and pitch your best guest lecture? Unions, professional organizations and guilds are a fine place to start. Don’t care to be moderated? Set up your own content on any appropriate online platform. Build it and they will come.
The takeaway
We all remember good teachers who inspired us—as well as lousy ones who killed our enthusiasm.
What separates average or lousy teachers from the good and great is “heart.” It’s the passion to share what you have learned with others.
If you don’t have it, please don’t bother. There are already too many mediocre teachers.
Teaching can take many forms and use many media.
But true teaching isn’t simply a matter of transferring information from one brain into another or many.
It’s about building and inspiring passion for a subject.
It’s about sharing personal experiences in such a way that they motivate others to want to try similar but different pursuits.
And perhaps, most importantly, for some of us…
It’s about the giving of our very best in the hope that it will not all be lost, forgotten or simply ignored once we are gone.
If you are a Canadian Freelance Guild Member, you are welcome to propose an idea for a professional development webinar for your colleagues. Login to the CFG homepage and go the Webinars page. At the top of the page you’ll find a “Suggest A Webinar” button. Click on it to fill out a form with your idea(s). Members who end up presenting a webinar can receive an honorarium or an extension to their membership for a full year.
POSTSCRIPT…A belated thank you to our former editor, Rachel, for her many years of guidance, inspiration and great kindness. If you have ever enjoyed or learned from even one of most of my previous 140 posts, please know that she had somehow made it better. I look forward to hearing much distinctive journalism from her elsewhere in the future.
Had any experience teaching after working in media? Any memories of a teacher who especially inspired you to pursue your freelance career? Why not share with the rest of us, using the comments feature below.
Posted on March 23, 2022 at 2:56 pm by editor · One Comment · Tagged with: born freelancer, the Born Freelancer
Webinar: Understanding Freelance Contracts
If you want to better understand how freelance contracts work, then you do not want to miss this webinar.
Part of the CFG’s “Business of Freelancing” Series, our expert panel will explain common freelance contract clauses and terminology, including the most dangerous clauses freelancers are often asked to agree to when it comes to indemnity and liability. Our panelists will also discuss how to make counteroffers and negotiation tips on language and payment.
Our Presenters
Tracey Arial
As a creative entrepreneur and organization co-founder, Tracey Arial has 30 years of experience dealing with contracts.
Don Genova
Don Genova is the CFG’s organizer and former president of CMG Freelance, where he negotiated contracts with the CBC along with his freelance writing and broadcasting outside of the Corporation. He currently is the Guild’s chief advice-giver when it comes to reviewing contracts for members.
Alison Motluk
Alison Motluk has been a freelance journalist for over 20 years. Her work has appeared in The Economist, The Walrus, Maisonneuve, Toronto Life, The Local, Nature, The Globe and Mail, New Scientist, Quirks and Quarks, TheCurrent, The Sunday Edition, IDEAS, and others. She always reads her contracts very carefully.
Understanding Freelance Contracts
- Online: Thursday, March 17th
- 7pm to 8pm Eastern Time
- $5 for members
- $15 for non-members
This session is structured with lots of room for questions, and your chances of getting them answered are increased if you send them to CFG Organizer Don Genova in advance.
You can register for this webinar right here.
Learn more about the cost and benefits of membership in the CFG on this webpage.
The link to the Zoom webinar will be sent to you via email about half an hour before the start time.
Please check your spam or junk folders if you can’t find the email, and contact organizer@canadianfreelanceguild.ca if you haven’t received the link 10 minutes before the scheduled start time
Posted on March 14, 2022 at 3:53 pm by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT
Off the wire: News for the Canadian media freelancer February 2022
We’ve gathered a few stories about the media business, journalism, writing, communications, and freelancing—with a freelance focus—and share them in Off the Wire.
Around the web
- My (Exact) Response To A Cheap Client Who Offered Me $500 For A $5,550 Job [Jano le Roux]
- Freelancing Can Be Lonely. Here’s How To Find Community—And a Mentor [Girl Boss]
- What If We Just Stopped Being So Available? [The Atlantic]
- A Look at the Most Annoying Twitter Marketing Approaches (and How to Avoid Them) [Social Media Today]
- What Is a Niche Site? Consider Building One For Fun and Profit [Word Wise Tips]
- Addressing the Elephant in the Room: 6 Strategies for Writing About the Hard Stuff [Ann Handley]
- 5 Simple Rules for Writing a Solid Business Plan [FreshBooks]
- Opportunities for writers: February 2022 calls for submissions [The Writer]
Do you like this opportunity posting? Find hundreds more at the Canadian Freelance Guild Job Bank. It’s members-only, but membership is very reasonable.
Recently on Story Board
- Webinar: Tax Time for Freelancers
From the moment the clock ticked midnight on December 31st your financial affairs, for the most part, of 2021, came to an end. All the receipts and bills and invoices you’ve been throwing into the big shoebox (or however you track your finances) are basically done for the year and it’s time to start the preparation to make your peace with the CRA. Learn how to navigate the tax return minefield with Shannon Lee Simmons, founder of the New School of Finance. She’ll do a deep dive on eligible deductions from your income, G/HST returns, income from foreign sources and yes, what to do if indeed you end up taking that shoebox full of receipts to a tax professional. Register here.
Spot a story you think we should include in the next Off the Wire? Email the link to editor@thestoryboard.ca or tweet us at @storyboard_ca.
Posted on February 22, 2022 at 7:17 pm by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT
Webinar: Tax Time for Freelancers
From the moment the clock ticked midnight on December 31st your financial affairs, for the most part, of 2021, came to an end.
All the receipts and bills and invoices you’ve been throwing into the big shoebox (or however you track your finances) are basically done for the year and it’s time to start the preparation to make your peace with the CRA.
Learn how to navigate the tax return minefield with Shannon Lee Simmons, founder of the New School of Finance. She’ll do a deep dive on eligible deductions from your income, G/HST returns, income from foreign sources and yes, what to do if indeed you end up taking that shoebox full of receipts to a tax professional.
Tax Time for Freelancers
- Online: Thursday, March 3rd
- 1pm to 2pm Eastern Time
- $5 for members
- $15 for non-members (CMG Freelance Members and SATW-Canada members check with your associations for a discount code)
This session is structured with lots of room for questions, and your chances of getting them answered are increased if you send them to CFG Organizer Don Genova in advance.
You can register for this webinar right here.
Learn more about the cost and benefits of membership in the CFG on this webpage.
The link to the Zoom webinar will be sent to you via email about an hour before the start time.
Please check your spam or junk folders if you can’t find the email, and contact organizer@canadianfreelanceguild.ca if you haven’t received the link 10 minutes before the scheduled start time
Posted on February 10, 2022 at 5:15 am by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT · Tagged with: freelance taxes, money, taxes, webinar
Webinar: Investing Basics For Freelancers
So, how is your retirement savings going? No matter if you’re a full-time freelancer or freelance off the side of your desk, it’s important to take charge of your financial future, and that includes saving for retirement.
This co-presented webinar will focus on the two main retirement saving vehicles for freelancers: RRSPs and TFSAs. Helen and Rita will cover the key benefits and also the potential pitfalls of each, including ways to maximize tax efficiency in asset allocation. The 20- to 30-minute presentation will be followed by a Q&A.
Our Presenters
Rita Silvan, Chartered Investment Manager
Rita is an award-winning former publishing executive who has held leadership positions in print and digital publications.
Her freelance writing has appeared in RBC’s Inspired Investor, The National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, and more.
She’s passionate about personal finance and investing as a means to a happy and self-empowered life.
Helen Burnett-Nichols
Heather is a Hamilton, Ontario-based freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience covering investment, business, legal and personal finance topics.
Her work has appeared in publications such as The Globe and Mail, National Post Legal Post, Golden Girl Finance, Benefits Canada, SAGE Magazine, EY Reporting and Tangerine Bank’s “Forward Thinking” brand.
Helen completed the Canadian Securities Course in 2010.
Investing Basics For Freelancers
- Online: Thursday, February 3rd
- 7pm to 8pm Eastern Time
- $5 for members
- $15 for non-members
This session is structured with lots of room for questions, and your chances of getting them answered are increased if you send them to CFG Organizer Don Genova in advance.
You can register for this webinar right here.
Learn more about the cost and benefits of membership in the CFG on this webpage.
The link to the Zoom webinar will be sent to you via email about half an hour before the start time.
Please check your spam or junk folders if you can’t find the email, and contact organizer@canadianfreelanceguild.ca if you haven’t received the link 10 minutes before the scheduled start time
Posted on January 28, 2022 at 11:13 am by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT · Tagged with: finances, financial planning, money, retirement, webinar
Canadaland Union ratify first collective agreement with Canadaland
On Thursday, January 20, staff at Canadaland voted unanimously to ratify a collective agreement after a year of bargaining, CWA Canada reported.
Canadaland‘s publisher and editor in chief Jesse Brown tweeted, “Life’s funny and I never thought that complaining about labor practices at other media orgs I worked for would lead to me being given a chance to do better. Thank you @CanadalandUnion for the opportunity to walk the talk. Together we’re building the best news org in Canada.”
According to the Canadaland Union Mission Statement, they believe a union will help their company “implement systems and standards to reduce turnover and burnout, increase productivity, and provide capacity within each position for exploration and growth.”
CWA Canada is the country’s only all-media union and is the parent union of the Canadian Freelance Guild. They represent more than 6,000 workers including Canadaland, The Canadian Press and CBC.
Posted on January 24, 2022 at 7:04 pm by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT
Canadian Freelance Guild announces Winter 2022 Webinar Schedule
The Canadian Freelance Guild is pleased to announce its Winter 2022 webinar schedule. You’ve missed the first one, but it is now available for purchase (just $10) in the CFG Video-On-Demand portal. The first webinar was Managing Your Social Media Expectations, with Rebecca Coleman.
In this hour-long session, Rebecca looked at the different social networks and which ones may be important for freelancers to participate in, talked about some best practices for those platforms, and then there was a great Q&A to help answer all your social media questions!
Rebecca Coleman teaches Social Media Marketing at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), and is a Social MediaStrategist. She is also a blogger and the published author of two cookbooks, and regularly contributes to the GoDaddy Marketing Blog.
CFG members can look in the Webinars section of your website to get a code to reduce your payment to $5.
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LinkedIn Learning is a resource that contains thousands of training videos to help you learn skills across many disciplines. A personal account is free of charge to you as a member of the Canadian Media Guild. Contact us to find out how to apply.
You’ll get a basic introduction to the learning platform, our presenter will talk about his experience, what he liked and what he’d change. Then he’ll take us through snippets of courses that he thinks are of value to freelancers and do some live searches on topics that participants ask about.
Our presenter is Michael Strickland, CFG founding member, is a writer/editor, strategic storyteller, and story coach. He began his career as a print and TV journalist. Today, he freelances stories that capture his interest while at the same time helping others share their strategic stories.
Online: Thursday, January 20th
7pm-8pm Eastern Time
$5 for members
$15 for non-members
The event link is: https://canadianfreelanceguild.wildapricot.org/event-4633065. Promo codes for members of CMG Freelance and SATW-Canada are available from your respective organizations.
———————————
Thursday, February 3rd: Investing Basics for Freelancers
This co-presented webinar will focus on the two main retirement saving vehicles for freelancers: RRSPs and TFSAs. Helen and Rita will cover the key benefits and also the potential pitfalls of each, including ways to maximize tax efficiency in asset allocation. The 20-30-minute presentation will be followed by a Q&A.
Our Presenters:
Rita Silvan, Chartered Investment Manager, is an award-winning former publishing executive who has held leadership positions in print and digital publications. Her freelance writing has appeared in RBC’s Inspired Investor, The National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, and many more. She’s passionate about personal finance and investing as a means to a happy and self-empowered life.
Helen Burnett-Nichols is a Hamilton, Ont.-based freelance writer with more than15 years of experience covering investment, business, legal and personal finance topics. Her work has appeared in publications such as The Globe and Mail, National Post Legal Post, Golden Girl Finance, Benefits Canada, SAGE Magazine, EY Reporting and Tangerine Bank’s ‘Forward Thinking’ brand. Helen completed the Canadian Securities Course in 2010.
Online: Thursday, February 3rd
7pm-8pm Eastern Time
$5 for members
$15 for non-members
The event link is: https://canadianfreelanceguild.wildapricot.org/event-4633221 . Promo codes for members of CMG Freelance and SATW-Canada are available from your respective organizations.
————————————————
Thursday, March 3rd: Tax Time for Freelancers
Online – Thursday, March 3rd
1pm to 2pm Eastern Time
$5 for members, $15 for non-members
From the moment the clock ticked midnight on December 31st your financial affairs, for the most part, of 2021, came to an end. All the receipts and bills and invoices you’ve been throwing into the big shoebox (or however you track your finances) are basically done for the year and it’s time to start the preparation to make your peace with the CRA.
Learn how to navigate the tax return minefield with Shannon Lee Simmons, founder of the New School of Finance. She’ll do a deep dive on eligible deductions from your income, G/HST returns, income from foreign sources and yes, what to do if indeed you end up taking that shoebox full of receipts to a tax professional.
This session is structured with lots of room for questions, and your chances of getting them answered are increased if you send them to CFG Organizer Don Genova in advance.
The event link is: https://canadianfreelanceguild.wildapricot.org/event-4633397 . Promo codes for members of CMG Freelance and SATW-Canada are available from your respective organizations.
——————————————
Thursday, March 17th: Understanding Freelance Contracts
This panel will explain common freelance contract clauses and terminology, including the most dangerous clauses freelancers are often asked to agree to when it comes to indemnity and liability. Our panelists will also discuss how to make counteroffers and negotiation tips on language and payment.
Our Panelists (more tba):
As a creative entrepreneur and organization co-founder, Tracey Arial has thirty years of experience dealing with contracts.
Don Genova is the CFG’s organizer and former president of CMG Freelance, where he negotiated contracts with the CBC along with his freelance writing and broadcasting outside of the Corporation. He currently is the Guild’s chief advice-giver when it comes to reviewing contracts for members.
Online: Thursday, March 17th
7pm-8pm Eastern Time
$5 for members
$15 for non-members
The event link is: https://canadianfreelanceguild.wildapricot.org/event-4633273 . Promo codes for members of CMG Freelance and SATW-Canada are available from your respective organizations.
Posted on January 17, 2022 at 1:24 pm by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT
2022 National Magazine Awards Call For Entries
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Posted on January 5, 2022 at 10:38 am by editor · LEAVE A COMMENT
A note from the departing Story Board editor
Rachel Sanders
It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly a decade, but I became the editor of Story Board in July of 2012. I was fully freelance at that point, fitting writing assignments in between snack time, loads of laundry, school drop-offs, and all of the other work involved in raising two small children.
Now, after nearly ten years of satisfying and meaningful work, I’m leaving this role for a full-time job in journalism.
The work I’ve done here has meant a lot to me. It’s provided some income stability — a key to success for many freelancers. And I’ve also learned an enormous amount from the dozens of freelancers I’ve spoken with for Story Board, as well as the ones I forged relationships with through my membership in the Canadian Freelance Guild.
I wanted to leave a parting note to highlight a few great things on this blog to show how it is a very good resource for Canadian freelancers.
Read the rest of this post »
Posted on January 3, 2022 at 10:25 am by editor · 3 Comments · Tagged with: Canadian Media Guild, CMG freelance, freelance life, Success stories
2022 Travers Fellowship open for applications
Applications are now open for the 2022 Travers Fellowship, an international reporting bursary that helps finance foreign reporting projects by Canadian journalists working in any medium.
Freelancers, students enrolled in a graduate level journalism or equivalent program, and full-time journalists are welcome to apply for the fellowship, which provides a $25,000 award to cover travel, reporting and research expenses, and a stipend. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, applicants are advised to keep in mind that travel may be difficult, and should frame their applications accordingly.
The fellowship is named after Jim Travers, a reporter, foreign correspondent, and former editor of The Ottawa Citizen who spent six years reporting from Africa and the Middle East. When Travers died in 2011, his friends and colleagues created the fellowship to commemorate his contribution to Canadian journalism. The award is administered by Carleton University.
The application deadline is Monday March 7, 2022 at 12 p.m. (noon) ET. More information and application instructions are available on the Travers Fellowship website.
Posted on December 28, 2021 at 10:10 am by editor · One Comment
