自由职业者：梦想照进现实

It's tough to be free 自由职业者：梦想照进现实

导读：作为当代都市的新新人类，自由职业者(freelancer)受到广大年轻人的追捧。他们的独立，他们的随性，他们的收入，他们的成就使他们成为时下最风光的一个工作群体，新新青年最羡慕的对象。而现实中他们生活是否真的如此光鲜自由呢？本文特别采访了三名自由职业者，为大家还原他们最真实的生活状态。

Many students dream of becoming freelancers upon graduation. In their fantasies, a freelancer’s life means waking up just before noon, meeting friends and traveling on a whim, and turning down boring or low-paying work.
很多学生梦想着毕业以后能够成为一名自由职业者。在他们的想象中，自由职业者的生活就是睡到中午才起床、和朋友们见面、随心所欲地旅行、告别那些乏味且收入微薄的工作。

But is this really the way they live? We talked with three young freelancers to give readers a more authentic sense of their life and work:
但这是他们真正的生活方式吗？为了使读者们更真实地了解他们生活与工作，我们特别采访了三名自由职业者。


You`ll need a full contact book
你需要一本记满人名的通讯薄


Contacts are critical to freelancers, as most of their job opportunities come from friends.
社会关系对于自由职业者来说至关重要，因为他们大部分工作机会都来自于朋友。


That may require you to maintain a good relationship with every client. Wen Yujie, a 23-year-old graduate from Communication University of China, has been a freelance model and animation designer for nearly a year. She has a model contract with VIVI magazine, and so she accepts all job offers from VIVI – even the ones that don’t pay.
那就意味着你需要和所有客户都保持良好关系。23岁的温玉洁（音译）毕业于中国传媒大学，她做自由职业模特和动画设计师已经有近一年的时间了。作为《ViVi》杂志的签约模特，她接受所有由《ViVi》杂志安排的工作，甚至一些工作根本没有报酬。


“I can make a lot of friends who may later introduce me to other modeling jobs,” Wen said.
温玉洁说：“我能结交到很多的朋友，今后他们可能会给我介绍其他的模特工作机会。”


Potential employers are increasingly using the Web to learn more about freelancers. To attract more contacts, Wen suggests that would-be freelancers set up a website, or simply a blog or a webpage at social networking sites like renren.com, to highlight their skills and experience.
越来越多的潜在客户开始上网了解自由职业者。为扩大自己的社交圈，温玉洁建议那些想从事自由职业的人们可以建设一个网站，或者只是在人人网上开设自己的博客或个人主页，以突出自己技能和经验。


Social activities in business circles also help freelancers. Connections they make help gain a better grasp of the industry.
商业圈中的社交活动同样可以使自由职业者收获颇丰。广泛交往有助于更好地掌握业内信息。


Zheng Yuantao, 29, is a freelance translator and writer. “I used to volunteer a lot for an HIV/AIDS organization and thus have some contacts in the NGO world,” said Zheng. “They would give me assignments, trusting both my language skills and my understanding of specific terms.”
29岁的郑远涛（音译）是一名自由译者兼作家。他表示：“我过去常常会到抗艾滋病组织中做义工，因此结识了很多来自非政府组织的熟人。他们相信我的语言能力以及对于专业词汇的理解，所以会分派给我一些工作。”


Outstanding skills are a must
出色的技能是关键


It’s hard for a freelancer to compete against corporations. Zhao Tianting, 27, was disqualified for several projects because he was an “individual” freelancer instead of a “corporation” when he freelanced as an art designer for half a year.
自由职业者很难与那些企业竞争。27岁的赵田廷（音译）在做自由职业美术设计师的半年时间里，就曾多次与项目失之交臂，原因只是由于他是个体自由职业者而并非公司团体。


“Corporations have more financial and personnel support. So a lower price alone is not that appealing to your potential clients. You need to show that you’re strict with deadlines and have reliable skills,” said Zhao.
赵田廷表示：“公司拥有更多的财力与人力支持。所以单单想凭借价格优势不足以吸引潜在客户。你需要表现出严格遵守对于交工期限以及具备令人信服的技能。”


Zheng Yuantao agreed: “It’s not that my friends give me work because they favor me, but because they believe they can trust me with certain assignments.”
郑远涛对此表示赞同：“朋友们将工作交给我并非出于想帮助我，而是因为他们相信我能够胜任这些工作。”


Zheng suggests that would-be freelancers learn more about their industry by joining online communities of industry insiders, like QQ groups and douban groups.
郑远涛建议那些想从事自由职业的人可以通过加入像QQ群或豆瓣小组这样的业内人士网络联盟，来了解行业信息。


“This will help them to learn about the industry’s ‘mysteries’,” said Zheng.
他说：“这会帮助他们了解一些行业的‘奥秘’。”


Prepare to lose a little sleep
准备好牺牲睡眠


Freelancing is not as “free” as you might think. Freelancers, especially those just starting out, don’t have much freedom when choosing assignments. Wen Yujie sometimes has to bite the bullet and undertake jobs she doesn’t like, low pay and picky clients in order to “return a favor”.
从事自由职业并非如你想象的那般自由。自由职业者，尤其是那些刚刚上路的新手，在选择工作的时候往往不能随心所欲。温玉洁有时会出于报答，而勉为其难来应付一些自己并不喜欢的工作，为了微薄的报酬而面对挑剔的客户。


“For example, a friend who in the past gave you a well-paying job now is asking you to take one that is not so satisfactory. You have to accept it in order to return the favor,” Wen said.
她说：“比如，一个朋友曾经给了你一份美差，现在又要你做一项不称心的工作。为了报答你必须答应。”


Also, freelancers seldom have long-term contracts. Failing to meet a deadline once could burn one’s bridges with a client forever.
另外，自由职业者几乎不会获得长期合同。一旦不能如期交工，你将可能永远地失去这个客户。


For this reason, freelancing often means days packed with work. For instance, although Wen receives animation design projects twice-monthly, she often goes three days without sleep to meet the deadline.
出于这个原因，从事自由职业常常意味着没日没夜地工作。例如，尽管温玉洁每月只会接到两份动漫设计工作，但她经常为了要赶工而三天不睡觉。


“You have to be diligent,” added Zheng. “[That is], unless you are a genius who everybody wants to hire no matter how terribly you tend to procrastinate.”
郑远涛补充道：“你必须要勤奋努力。也就是说，除非你是个天才，即使严重拖延工期，也依然受到雇主的青睐。”