Leaving a contract early

And why it’s sometimes a good thing

I’ve been freelancing for almost four years now and have noticed an interesting pattern of late in some of my contracts.

I leave them early.

Now at first this might seem like an odd thing to admit but having thought about this I’ve realised that it actually has benefits for both yourself and the client.

It exposes work flow issues

If you were hired to do site design, because the agency or client loves the site work in your folio, then it stands to reason that you would be doing that type of work when starting a contract.

If you are in fact sitting around with nothing to do or, as has happened a few times to me, resourced onto non site design work (like powerpoint presentations), then it stands to reason that someone, somewhere got the work flow and planning wrong and that you are in fact not needed.

It shows that you’re not just about the money

We all like getting paid. As freelancers our day rate matters and I would be lying if I didn’t admit to doing a few jobs here and there that were creatively lacking but financially rewarding. It’s the balance that we strive for in our work. After a few contracts we hope to have made a good amount of money and have some good work to show for it.

If you’re hired to do site design and find yourself working on everything but site design then it’s not exactly a productive use of your time nor skill.

By flagging this it shows that you value the type of work that you do/offer and that you’re not just there to fill a seat and do whatever is given to you to get paid.

It can be educational

If you’re at a senior level but find yourself doing pretty menial, junior level work, then flagging this with your agency or client can have a positive effect in educating them on what work is actually worth.

As an example one of my highest paid jobs when I started out freelancing was changing copy in a static banner, not even animated, over the space of about five days (suffices to say I had a lot of downtime).

I explained to the client (who to be fair were used to above the line work and not digital), that this was something that pretty much anyone with Photoshop and half a brain could do in about five minutes. Thanks for the money. Call me next time you have a more suitable brief (which they did, and it was far more rewarding the next time I went in).

It’s a win win situation

If you feel like your current contract isn’t shaping up as expected then there’s no harm in looking around and seeing what else is out there. Always remain professional and continue to work to the best of your ability however. It’s a small industry and acting unprofessionally, no matter the reasons, will come back to haunt you.

If you find a new contract then you can move on after an appropriate handover and notice period at your current place of employment (which is normally a week in my experience). The agency/client can then continue without you or replace you with someone more suitable.

If you don’t find a new contract then you still have an active contract to fall back on which pays the bills.

Conclusion

Not all contracts are going to be amazing. As I said it’s all about balance. Some will be good, some will be bad. Some pay well, some don’t.

In general it’s important to try and do work that you enjoy and which pays well so if you’re not happy in one of these areas then don‘t worry. There’s no harm in moving on.

Note: This post is about the rare occasions when you’re not being fully utilised. When you signed up for something which turns out to be vastly different then what you expected. When you join a project at the wrong stage and so forth.

Essentially it’s about making sure that you do the right work for the right people and moving on if you’re not.

Likewise as we act professionally it’s important that agencies and clients do the same. If you’re going to hire someone for site/app experience then give them powerpoint for two weeks, don’t be surprised if they leave. If you hire someone for site/app experience and the project requirements change, let them know and work out a mutual notice period rather then waste their time and your money.