Be aggressive. There are thousands of projects out there as evidenced by job-auction Web site elance.com, which reported approximately 239,000 project postings in 2008. But the competition for those gigs is tough. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 2.5 million full-time jobs have evaporated in the past year. A high percentage of those people are competing with you for available projects. So get out there and be aggressive in your search.

As Pink writes in the closing chapter of Free Agent Nation, “Today – in good times and bad, at the peak of the boom or the trough of the bust – the dice are loaded in favor of the individual.” Talented independent contract trainers that are willing to aggressively differentiate themselves, establish and expand their connections and go after opportunities will still find great projects and make good money regardless of what the economy around them is doing.

About TrainingFolks
Through its offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and Toronto, Canada, TrainingFolks assists some of the world’s most successful organizations in implementing change and building a higher performing workforce. Founded in 1997, TrainingFolks provides clients with contract trainers for initiatives of any size and instructional designers for projects and short term assignments. TrainingFolks’ custom management training and leadership development services have been recognized by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) for their learning and performance practices. TrainingFolks’ e-learning development services include e-learning conversion, custom e-learning solutions and enhancing the interactivity of existing e-learning content.