Free Agency for College Grads: Is it right for you?

Another graduation season is behind us, and if you're like many college grads, if you haven't already secured a job, you're on the hunt!  As you consider which path to take as you begin your career, don't forget about an alternate work style, free agency, that might prove to be just as opportunistic, if not more liberating, than tradition full-time employment. 

Almost a third of all U.S. workers now work as free agents rather than in a traditional employment arrangement. Who are these free agents, and why are they working this way? The answers might surprise you.

In today's healthy job market, Kelly Services says 31% of U.S workers remain free agents, compared to 44% in 2011. Today's workers choose free agency for the independence, and entrepreneurship. And thanks to online job platform that provide project based work (think UpWork, HourlyNerd, Hire My Mom...), It's easier than ever for free agents to connect with employers who want to outsource some of their project. 

Today’s free agents are also driven by confidence. Why? Kelly says free agents today are more educated than their counterparts in conventional employment arrangements. A greater percentage have technical and/or professional skill sets. They have a desire for independence and want to choose which companies they work with, which assignments they accept, and how and where they use their skills.
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Clearly, in the U.S., free agency is here to stay. If it's something you have not considered as you begin your career, give yourself time to think about this alternate work style. After all, it's not so bad to be working as a web designer for a Boston-based pharmaceutical firm, while living on the beaches of Key West! :) 

To learn more about the trends in Free Agency, and how independent workers are changing the employment landscape, download Kelly's Free Agent Research. 

Source: Kellyocg.com