Yesterday’s post included the link to a Yahoo! hotjobs article giving tips on finding a job that fits. The first tip was “Who’s the Boss?” Great question not only for job seekers, but also for those of us who have just taken on client projects.
I’ve been on projects that have had a hazy line drawn around the authority or point person. I reported to Jane for weeks only to have Joe override Jane’s authority and take charge, leaving me in total confusion and the project in shambles. So now I ask, and I do so when in teleconference with the project group or in email with them, or whenever there’s a hint that someone else along the way will be involved – who’s the final decision maker? Whom do I run my edits by? Who will be the project’s lead?
That’s not always enough, either. One project nearly died because the project lead failed to mention that the interview subjects were to have editorial oversight. Add two more people to the approval process, which adds much more work, stress, and red tape to my job. Had I known, the fee would’ve been higher – much higher.
Let’s not forget the times the project lead had one idea in her head about what I’d be writing versus what the magazine I was writing for actually expected…. oy.
How do you get to who’s in charge?
I hear ya. I got involved in an awesome project that would have been a great addition to my portfolio and my bank account, only to have it scrapped in the planning stages (so I guess it could have been worse) by my contact’s supervisor. He’d given my contact the green light to proceed with the project, only to decide that their energy would be better spent on something else.
Oh gosh, I had a nightmarish situatation like that with a client that has left me still wondering: “Who WAS the real boss?” The person who hired me put me in touch with one person, then he switched and said that I should no longer report to that person. He wanted me to reort to him. Then he switched again and put me in touch with smeone else. So frustrating – the right hand had no idea what the left hand was doing. It’s a wonder I ever even got paid – LOL
Put a clause in the contract about who the point person is and, if that person is changed, how much it will cost for the transition to a new point person, and an “aggrevation fee.”
Thanks for sharing so much valuable information and insight with your readers.
You have received a special mention in my blog for your contributions to the writing world. The Fearless Blog