In this information age when more companies and startups and businessmen and women are on the lookout for collaborations with experts and capable professionals, you are more likely to receive a job offer from a friendly online connection, asking you to deploy your skills and work for a project that will eventually yield enough profit to set you up for life.

This happens a lot, especially on professional social media networks like LinkedIn. For instance, someone who is a writer could get an offer from someone who says s/he is building a brand and wants a creative writer to work on that project. It could also be an individual who has just launched an NGO and wants someone to perform administrative and writing duties, just until the business finds its feet and gets sponsors and funders.

Sometimes, the individual who is making the offer, may not come up with any plan to pay the one who is being approached. All of a sudden, they find themselves doing the work for free, no contract is drawn, no terms agreed upon. Just creating and doing and executing work for their "boss".

Stop right there!!!

The above scenario should never happen! Do not allow it to happen to you. If you are a capable professional who understands his/her job and you are approached by anyone to do some kind of work for them, always protect your interests.

1. Ask for a contract, which both parties will sign. Do not allow distance to be an obstacle. Fax has taken care of that.

2. Always ask to be paid. It could be a large sum or a stipend. Just ensure the person making the offer, is paying you something on a regular basis for all the work you are doing.

3. Always insist on clear terms when it comes to your duties, period of work, delivery and meeting stipulations. This is very important and will prevent any of the parties from overstepping their boundaries.

4. You must also be aware of when the contract comes to an end, so, you do not work for free.

The reason why you should never work for free is that no sane professional will take you or your contributions seriously. They will always assume they are doing you a favor and will never appreciate what you bring to the table. A lot of professionals have made the same mistakes, learn from their errors and avoid the same work situation.


Post first appeared here; https://lingoafrica.com/should-you-work-for-free/

Good afternoon

Good morning

There is now a platform created to support and grow agricultural and food related brands. It is called The Chicken Farm. It is a site that connects buyers and sellers of chicken products. Products including: Poultry, Fast Food, Equipment, Manure, Feed etc can all be sold and bought on the site as long as they relate to chicken. Register with: www.thechickenfarm.com.ng/register/TCU20GOL4. It's all free.
It's for those in Nigeria.