Skip to main content
Blog > Survey Results

HR Lancers Advice to Weather the Storm

HR Lancers Advice to Weather the Storm

HR lancers recently conducted its first member survey to crowdsource advice on how to make it through these challenging economic times.

More than half of those surveyed (56.4%) say they have lost over 75% of their business. Only 15.4% say they have been unaffected.

To help lancers who need more work these responses may prove helpful. We asked;

What tips do you have to weather the storm caused by the virus outbreak?

-Bump Up Your content marketing. Try creating paid ebooks using gumroad.com or perhaps a course on teachable.com to make extra money.

-Keep learning. While you have time take courses to expand your expertise. Prepare yourself to be better and to be able to market yourself as an expert!

-A couple of thoughts. First and foremost, stay positive this will come across in your conversations with both clients and candidates.

-Second, talk to people. Let clients know you are still here and will be there when needs arise and talk to candidates - as many as you can. Now more than ever they need to hear from positive upbeat recruiters. This will pay dividends when companies start hiring again.

-Stay busy! Keep a routine/schedule going. Include movement/exercise/meditation in that schedule. Take time to research. Learn a new or strengthen a current skill to establish credibility as an SME. Think about how we can bounce back better than before. Offer pro bono advice to keep building client base in this time.

-Adapt your services to meet the needs of your current and future clients.

-Look for partnerships and collaborations with other freelancers. Some are seeing an uptick requests and may not be able to accommodate every request.

-Keep an eye on hiring needs. Keep close contact with those who are aligned with businesses in the best circumstances to weather the storm. Stay positive minded.

-Find a way to reinvent yourself or the service you offer. Those who are agile enough to find a solution to fill a new need are those who will be able to weather the storm.

-Stay connected to existing and prospective clients....be interested in how they are weathering the storm.....

-Stay positive. Keep moving forward. Be a role model in your industry by setting a silver lining belief system rather than giving in to fear. Use this time to plant business development seeds!

-Being more flexible on offerings/ pricing. And just be patient

-Mental health is very important during this time of social distancing. I think that as HR professionals we are naturally people driven so this is very different for us.

-Not sure there is much you can do, but stay positive. We will all come out of this eventually and hiring will continue. I believe networking and maintaining relationships right now is most important.

-I'm working as much as possible to not think

-Hold onto your sanity/ perspective, keep a cool head, dont beat yourself up over conditions that are out of your control.

-Continue to look for opportunities. Think about the industries that you are relying on in your personal life. Those industries are experiencing a great deal of growth right now and might be looking for recruiting help.

-Keep busy. Set yourself goals every day which will help you focus on the future.

-Talk and listen to your customers, keep doing business development.

-Reach out to your network to promote that you're available and ready to take on work

-I've come up with a list of creative and business ideas I've wanted to explore but didn't have time to pursue, and I'm chipping away at those ideas.

-Take any courses online that are free to gain more experience and use your transferable skills to find work in other areas temporarily until your field of work starts to hire again.

-I've never been a freelancer. I recently was furloughed and joined your group in hopes to obtain a freelancing job. My "job" has been looking for another job. My tip to HR Freelancers would be to advertise your services to help those that were just laid off and not in the HR field - with their resumes and how to search for a job.

-The challenge continues to be the same as it was before: What needs to my clients have that I can help to fill? The challenge has been helping them to sort through their own feelings and emotions in a rapidly changing business environment and get them to focus on a proactive way forward.

-Warm the pipeline, find the best talent you couldn't get before and build relationships, and talk to your leaders proactively about their team to find out the makers and shakers on each team, who you can live without and who you can build up from skills perspective.

-P & P's to include contingencies and insurances in case of such issues in the future.

-Continue to remain diligent in seeking out freelance opportunities no matter what.

-Be flexible

-Stay close to your clients; learn how Covid 19 changes are causing pain and aim to add value

-Be open minded for any side work if you are laid off, be available for any interviews or conversations if you are laid off, apply for benefits right away, conserve spending to necessities only during this time, and maintain some physical activity outside if you can, a brisk walk or run, playing ball with your kids if you have them at home, anything to keep you active. DO NOT sit in front of the TV and only watch the news, talk shows, or any doom and gloom. The mental game is more important in this situation. If you have some unexpected time on your hands take advantage of the free resources that many vendors are providing to upskill, develop new skills and knowledge to better help you perform or set you apart from other applicants or HR Lancers.

-Remain flexible on what projects you'll take on.

-Look at alternative income streams

-Continue being positive and figure out how you can change and revaluate your initiatives. Remember everyone is going through this and may take months to recover.

-Using crowdsourcing sites to keep you afloat. Looking into healthcare recruitment as they are hiring en masse during this pandemic

-Update and enhance skills through online courses

-As a freelance recruiter, I have had an easier time seeking out essential business that need recruiting help due to an increased demand. Consider SOME pro-bono work to network and build rapport with your local community.