Diana Schneidman

formerly Diana Cohen Harris

I know firsthand the ups and downs of the work world. After age 40 I landed three corporate jobs, each paying better than the last. I also was terminated from three corporate jobs.

Each time I lost my job, I expanded my freelance writing practice, repairing my soul and earning ever higher rates. The rewards were tremendous. Income, yes, but even more important were the satisfied customers who value me much more highly than the employers who discharged me.

I had an advantage in finding assignments: desperation. Divorced, three children to support and no income in sight. It sure motivated me to overcome my fears by testing new techniques to find work and attempting new types of assignments.

First I met other freelancers. They said networking was responsible for most of their work so I gave it a try. I made small talk with executives in my industry (insurance) over expensive chicken breasts with canned gravy and sparse parsley flakes. This effort generated amazingly little work for so much effort and financial expense.

I needed to try something else. So I started telephoning insurance companies similar to the one I had worked for. (This was more than a decade ago when the Internet was less prominent.) I almost threw up as I made my first call, and it took an hour to wind down from the stress. But I continued to make calls.

In my early days I wasted hours trying to time my calls just perfectly. Before 8 a.m. when executives supposedly answer every call themselves? After 5 when their secretaries go home? And do they go to lunch at noon or 1? (I discovered these are not the right questions. Since everyone is different, it is more important to determine when phoning works for me than to calculate when my prospects will answer.)

Over time I learned what works as I received rewarding assignments at attractive rates. I’ve decided to help others conquer the pain of unemployment, underemployment, or simply not having enough paying work with techniques to land assignments quickly.

I also offer formal qualifications that help me understand where you are and support your journey:

• Knowledge of marketing developed through years in corporate marketing communications and marketing research,
• Successful writing for corporate marketing and for publication since 1992,
• Work experience in all types of environments: corporate and government, family owned and Fortune 50, salaried and temp, in diverse industries,
• Freelance writing and research experience galore,
• Master’s degree in library science (Kent State University) and a B.S. in English and French education (Ohio State University), supplemented with credentials in insurance, financial products and resume writing.

Finding the right freelance and consulting assignments was the answer for me and it could be right for you too. So I wrote a book with everything you need to know to enjoy the many benefits of freelancing and consulting this month! I’ve made it affordable for the people who need it most by offering it to you as a book or ebook on Amazon. Click here for full details, including the table of contents, first chapter and much more free information.