July 13th, 2024 – What To Do During A Work Drought

Sometimes we must face the consequences of working as a contractor: work drought. Working for yourself means you are susceptible to the unfortunate truth that work will not always be steady, or abundant. You may go through periods where you’re making less money, receiving fewer depositions, and feeling like you’re struggling to break even. This can be a difficult period to get through, and it can make you feel helpless.

I don’t have the solution to all of your problems. I cannot give you information that will guarantee you’ll continue to get work during the work drought and the dry seasons. This is less of a ‘What you need to do’ and more of a ‘What you can do’ post. I want to share with you some of the things I did to ensure I remained busy, current, and most importantly, optimistic during the droughts.

When are typical dry seasons or droughts?

This can vary depending on a lot of factors, like your area and your clientele. In my own experience, summertime (July specifically) tends to be when the work drought hits. I did some research and asked some colleagues of mine and found that this is a pretty typical answer. Other scopists deal with work droughts around July as well. This tends to pick up closer to September, will remain busy through Christmas, and then slows again in January. Steady work continues again, for me, from February through June. I live in Canada, and my clientele are currently all Canadian and American professionals.

As I said, your experience may be different depending on where your clientele works, and where you live, among other factors.

What Should I Do?

Keep advertising

No matter how little the amount of work gets, that doesn’t mean the chances of you finding something are zero. There are still court cases happening all year round, which means there are still transcripts and depositions that need to be edited and produced. Always push forward with your advertising. Keep posting on the social media groups that you’re looking to help. Make sure your name is registered with people like the NCRA so you’re on a readily available list for reporters. Whatever you have done to advertise yourself and your services, make sure to keep it steady and consistent during the dry seasons as you would have during the busy seasons. Don’t overwhelm people, don’t be pushy, and take ‘no’ when it comes. But don’t let people forget you.

Keep up your cold calls

During a work drought, you’ll notice you have to get back down to the basics. What you have to do is treat these times as if you’re starting out all over again. Come at this experience with the same vigor and veracity you did in the beginning when no one knew your name and you had no clients. Call agencies, talk to managers, talk to reporters, and make sure they know you have services available if there is a reporter in need. There very well may still be someone who has a lot of depositions and is looking for a little extra help, and you want your name to be one they can find easily.

Engage in your social media

I have my own qualms with social media but I have been humbled by how well social media has worked as an advertising and networking tool. Make sure to continue to regularly post your content in order to gain a following. Keep people interested in your work, your potential, and your abilities. Engage with people who are looking at your posts, liking your content, and boosting your page. Go like their content, connect with them, and show support for others in this space. Being active on social media is invaluable, as that is where people spend their downtime. Reporters or other professionals looking to hire your services will be seeing content related to their searches.  They’ll come across your content when they’re scrolling during their breaks or trying to relax during their downtime. I can’t tell you how many times I received a message saying, “I saw you on my search page!” If they’re looking for people like you, it will be a good sign that you’re active and positively (and professionally) engaging with your audience.

Build up your credibility and reputation

Similar to what I said above, what you need to do is treat any drought as if you’re right back at the beginning. Approach this time in your working career with the same ambition you did in the beginning before you had a single client. Show your dedication. The things you did in the beginning to build your credibility and reputation, such as blog posts, social media content, commenting on the help pages, perusing the forums, etc, make sure to keep those things up.

I’m going to use my blog as an example in this specific situation.

Running the blog was something I started to make sure I was keeping busy, showcasing my knowledge and research skills, and helping others in the same position I had been in. I have kept this blog going throughout all of my seasons: dry and abundant. Maintaining the blog showcases skills like time management, deadline adherence, and commitment. It also shows that I’m still present and active in this field. It also kept my name appearing on Google searches and social media pages.

Besides the professional advantages, it has been a source of happiness and comfort. I enjoy writing, researching, and creating these blog posts. It is a beautiful reprieve from the hectic times, a calming task I get to take on that still advances my career. During the dry seasons, even when things looked dark, it was nice to have the opportunity to connect with my community through these blogs. I felt like I was still working towards my goal and doing what I could to maintain positivity and optimism.

Take on proofing or transcription work

I have never and will never shy away from talking about the fact that especially in the beginning, you may need to take on more than one income stream to make things work. That is exactly what I had to do and what I did during dry seasons also. I did proofreading work, and transcription, and even ventured outside my field for supplementary income when the time arose.

Proofreading and transcription were jobs I am eternally grateful for. These sister professions are excellent ways to earn some money while staying current in this field. They’re not exactly scopistry, (I explain the differences in a previous blog post,) but they have overlapping skill sets.

Stay Positive

You’re down, not out. It’s not my place to tell you how to feel or how things are going to work out for you, so I’m not going to do that. I will remind you of the facts of the situation and you can do with that what you will.

Work is always out there. Whether you are chosen this time, next time, or in a while, there is work that needs to be completed and you are capable of doing it.

Not everyone is a client, and ‘No’ is a full sentence. Some people don’t need or want a scopist and they are welcome to live their lives like that. Putting your time, effort, and energy in convincing someone they need you is a waste. Go where you’re wanted.

Giving up before you’ve done everything you can and before you feel good about the effort you’ve put into it will lead to regret later.

In Conclusion

I hope you found this information helpful!  If you liked this post, want to see more, or want to share your own experiences and tips, make sure to leave a comment down below. If you want to see more, check out the last post below or the previous posts on the blog. And if you’re interested in learning more scopist, proofreading, or transcription information, make sure to check back for a new post on the Next Step Scopist blog!

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