This was one of those weeks that reminds me how quickly circumstances can change for a freelancer.

I was contacted through a recruiter about working on a Powerpoint presentation. The job would have been for three days with a lot of overtime. I was told I’d be working in an environment where people were already stressed and working against a looming deadline. I had actually finished a job not too long ago with very similar goals and environment so I had no problem heading into this one. I was called back and asked if I was SURE I’d be OK in this job and did I understand what I was getting into. I assured my recruiter that I was fine with everything, and I would be able to handle the situation. On Friday I was finally confirmed for the gig and was set to receive all the information I’d need to get to the job.

Ten minutes later I got a call saying that the job was cancelled. The company decided they already had what they needed to finish the job.

Later that afternoon I had an interview for a six-week gig in Malibu. The listing was short asking for a “Mac savvy PA”. They scheduled me for an interview after I’d sent a cover letter and resume. I has asked for elaboration about the job. The response said “We’ll fill you in at the interview”. More interesting still was the address was in Culver City, and a residential address at that. Upon arrival and talking for a few minutes, it turned out the job was actually for a Personal Assistant rather than a Production Artist (with duties like finding out who the indigenous Native Americans of the Malibu property were so that one could be found to bless the ground and the businesses that would eventually occupy it). The interviewer even said she wished I had stopped her from finishing her description of the job so that no more valuable time would be wasted.

Then not an hour later, I get a call to go work for a company I’ve already worked for off-and-on for the past month.

Yes, freelance can really challenge you to keep an even footing and a level head. Some days are more challenging than others.

This is definitely an exciting time for me. The long-running position I worked at for basically all of 2009 has wrapped up. Pretty good for a position I was originally contracted to for three days! I’ve been able to use my time to refresh my connections with job recruiters and update my information with the job boards, as well as educate myself on what the most up-to-date job boards are.

I have also had the opportunity to experience other work environments and expand my experience:

• I’ve spent several weeks at one corporation’s Westwood headquarters converting and updating flyers, postcards, emails, and other print and web media with InDesign and Illustrator. I worked with a web-based content-management system for uploaded and approving proofs with numerous branch offices.
• I worked for several days at an ad agency building a full presentation in Keynote. I built a new template in line with the company’s identity, created and adapted graphics with Photoshop and Illustrator, created animations to illustrate certain concepts, consolidated data from multiple sources, included embedded video, and created a PDF version with additional pages as a ‘leave-behind’ for after the presentation.

As of today, my availability is open and I am making my rounds and ready to experience even more! Here’s to having more to report on my Friday follow-up!