It’s not hyperbole when I say that soon enough, “remote work” will just be called “work.” There is an estimate out there that 70% of the US workforce will be remote in some capacity by 2025. Sure, some jobs can never go remote. However, mission-based organizations can still transition to remote Catholic work. In fact, it can (and should) be looked at as an opportunity for Catholic organizations and not a cause for concern.

The transition to remote work can definitely be a tough one. You will expect an initial drop in productivity, and communication will take some fine-tuning. That being said, there are still plenty of opportunities for growth in Catholic organizations that embrace remote work.

Why Would I Even Want To?

At the risk of engaging in stereotypes, Catholic organizations can often be guilty of opting for generalists instead of specialists. Maybe you have a parish secretary who’s effectively doing two or three jobs. You’ve got a youth minister taking on extra responsibilities outside of his purview. Sound familiar? Sure, maybe it’s not your organization, but it’s not that much of a stretch of the imagination.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? No, please don’t follow that advice at the mission level. You don’t need to overhaul your entire staff, but bringing in a remote worker or freelancer will breathe new life into your workplace at a minimum.

Where Do I Start with Remote Catholic Work?

Great, so remote workers are the answer. How do I even go about that, though? If you don’t have an HR manager versed in the value of remote work or freelancer, there are some primary areas you can test the waters.

Business Development

A consultant or remote worker can take a lot of the stress off of your pastor, parish financial counsel, or any financial workers your organization employs. Bringing in a specialist here of all places is key. No, you don’t want to be the organization that brings in a full consulting team for an overhaul that accomplishes nothing. You know what I’m talking about. If you go smaller scale on this, you can avoid the massive waste of money that can be.

Web Design

Web design is one of the simplest places you can go to start remote Catholic work. Whether you hire a remote web guru or go freelance is up to you, but there’s no reason you need to have them in-house. I’ve worked with organizations in the past that have been partially remote. With the technology at our disposal, our web developer was in a different time zone but had no issues keeping up with our needs.

Production

Does your organization have a podcast? Does your parish livestream Mass or record it? Quality is key if you do anything that requires audio or video production. Ever listened to a poorly produced podcast? It’s torture. It makes you not want to listen, no matter how good the content is. Having a remote worker, even just part-time, to do audio and video production is vital. This and web design are the area most suited to a freelancer instead of a full or part-time remote worker.

If you’re just getting into live streaming Mass or other consistent events, having a consultant come in and show you all the basics will go a long way.

Social Media and Content

Like it or not, a social media presence is an important part of evangelization in the modern world. If you have an abysmal (or no) social media presence, it makes you less likely to entice people to show up and makes you nearly impossible to find.

The world is teeming with recent grads with marketing degrees capable of handling all social media and content needs. Having a remote worker, even on a part-time basis, to curate your social media presence is a bigger deal than most Catholic organizations are willing to admit. Unless you have a really talented generalist, this is a job best left to the specialists.

How Does Remote Catholic Work Benefit the Mission?

Much like a priest ideally administers the sacraments and guides his flock, you want everyone doing as much of their job as possible and as little of other jobs. Yes, sometimes you have to work outside of your field. Priests manage parish budgets. Secretaries run social media accounts. Business managers do seemingly everything else.

Your mission is only enhanced when you put people in the best place for success. Adopting a more specialized approach to remote hiring will open your possibilities up significantly. You don’t need to hire someone in the same area, much less time zone, necessarily. If they can keep up with your needs and grasp your mission, that’s all you need. You want to use all the tools at your disposal, and remote hiring is a major one.

How to Effectively Transition to Remote Catholic Work

Start Small

You don’t have to change everything overnight. You may never be fully remote as a Catholic organization. That’s perfectly fine. Hire a part-time web designer. Contract a freelancer to write blog posts for your site. Rome wasn’t built in a day (nor was Byzantium for our Eastern Rite friends). Take a small step to start and adjust from there.

Communicate

There’s a fine line between good communication and micromanaging. One of the benefits of a remote team is that you don’t get micromanaged (ideally). Trust your team to get the job done. You may want to err on the side of overcommunication to start but dial back as things get settled.

Trust the Process

If this is good for your ministry, things will fall into place. They may not be pretty nor easy, but they will work. As with all things in Catholic workplaces, start and end with prayer. Throwing it in the middle is probably helpful too.

What if We Just Can’t Go Remote?

That’s fair. Not all ministries are set up for remote work. Have you considered hybrid work? Maybe you can get away with two or three days a week in the office and the remainder at home. Hybrid work can boost employee morale while not losing any effectiveness.

If nothing else, outsourcing some projects to a freelancer will give you a specialist’s talent without having to add a new member to the team.

Okay, But Where Do I Find These Remote Catholic Workers?

Glad you asked! Well, our Catholic Freelancers list is a great place to start. Beyond that, sites like CatholicJobs, ZipRecruiter, and other popular hiring sites are perfect places to look. You can also use those sites in conjunction with gig work sites like Upwork or Fiverr.

Remote work can be a scary transition, especially for a 2,000-year-old institution that isn’t always quick to change. However, if you start small and find little ways to implement remote Catholic work, you can test the waters before committing to any major changes.

About the Author:

Joe Coleman is a freelance writer, editor, and audio production consultant. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Loyola Marymount University (and actually uses it from time to time). A former fellow at KNOM Catholic Radio in Western Alaska, he got his start as an on-air host, producer, and news writer. Currently, you can find him in Southern California writing about national parks, outdoor gear, and the role of Catholics in the business world.

Search here for Catholic job postings, or Catholic Professionals you can hire.

The post For Your Organization: How To Transfer To Remote Catholic Work appeared first on Catholic Professionals.

Express your Appreciation

This is the easiest way to thank a freelance, and is unfortunately the one most companies limit themselves to.

Let’s be real. Most Catholic freelancers are never going to afford mega-mansions because of their freelancing fees. We don’t do it for the money; we do it because we love what we do and the flexibility that freelancing affords us.

So throwing in some gratitude for a job well done every once in a while is very appreciated!

I can’t tell you how lovely it is to receive affirmation from a client in this way. It seems to always come when I’m having a bad day, and it reminds me that the work I’m doing is valuable.

Physical cards or small gifts are certainly nice of course. But even a quick email expressing your satisfaction or an online review singing his or her praises will go a long way. Sometimes, these gestures are the best way to thank a freelancer. They are nice sentiments and can help them grow their business!

Value their Opinion and Expertise

My co-workers and I always have a good laugh when we send a design project for approval and the receiver responds, “I’m not sure about x, y, and z…what do you think?”

Um…what I think is what I sent you originally. I wouldn’t send you something I didn’t think was good!

In all seriousness, I would wager that one of the biggest pet peeves of Catholic freelancers is when our experience or opinion is undermined. We completely recognize that you are the client, and at the end of the day, we’ll do whatever you’d like.

But the best way to show your Catholic freelancer that you value him or her is by simply listening to and respecting his or her expertise. In fact, 70% of full-time freelancers have participated in training for their field within the last six months, whereas only 49% of the regular workforce has. Your freelancer has likely had extensive training in this topic, and while your input is needed and valued, don’t be afraid to trust their judgment as well. You hired them to help you, so let them do their work.

Respond to Emails Promptly

I get it. We’re all busy. Our inboxes are never ending. And when it comes to someone who is paying you versus someone you’re paying … I understand why the freelancer is often the last person to be responded to.

However, freelancers can’t do the work you hired them to do without your input!

Of course, responding to emails in a timely manner is just basic business etiquette. But even more so, taking a long time before responding to email is disrespectful of the freelancer’s time, and your own.

By not responding to your freelancer promptly, you’re actually wasting time and money. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been on the clock rehashing what I need from a client in order to proceed with a project. A month or two later, we go over the parameters again. The project never gets done, and the client keeps paying me to simply go over what I need again.

Additionally, the longer you wait to respond, often the longer it takes for the freelancer to get paid. He or she may decide to look elsewhere for clients who will respond and pay more rapidly. They may give up hope that you will ever respond, leading you to lose out on Catholic talent!

Show your Catholic freelancer you respect him or her by responding within a day or two, and you’ll have one very happy (and efficient!) person working for you.

Pray for Them!

Here’s an easy one that often gets overlooked.

I do my best to remember to pray for my clients and their missions. Praying for your Catholic freelancers, and letting them know that you do, helps them to feel like they are part of the team. And prayers certainly express appreciation as well!

Thank a Freelancer by Asking for Advice

Have you ever asked the guy you were hiring for advice? Maybe this is one way to thank a freelancer you haven’t considered.

Honestly, in my experience, it’s the rare client who comes to me, presents me with a problem, and asks for my advice on how I would fix it. As a Catholic marketer, however, this is where I can really shine and provide the best service.

What normally happens, however, is that I have prospective clients approach me saying they need help with social media or SEO. However, when looking over their offerings, I realize they actually need something quite different than what they’ve requested. They actually need a website upgrade, content development, or something else before social media or SEO will ever be effective.

The next time you hire a Catholic freelancer, go general rather than specific. Hiring someone to design a poster for you when you don’t have a branding guide isn’t going to go well. Starting with social media when you aren’t producing any regular content won’t produce the results you’re hoping for. By letting your freelancer look over some of your assets, you may find a need you didn’t even know existed.

In Summary:

As Catholics, we value people and the work that they do. Appreciation is a huge part of showing each other respect in the workplace. The more we promote truly caring about each other in the workplace, the easier it will be to make the world a better place – one project at at a time.

About the Author:

Emily Ricci is the president of Gloriam Marketing, and works as a marketing content and social media specialist at a Catholic college and previously worked at a church for over 7 years. Her past church titles and responsibilities have included working as a Parish Office secretary, sacristan, Weekend Coordinator (ministry supervisor and event coordinator), youth minister, bulletin writer, coordinator of the baptism program, and Faith Formation teacher and assistant. After years in church work, Emily recognized the need for solid Catholic marketing and promotion, but realized that there were no marketing firms in the area that specialized in faith-based marketing.

Search here for Catholic job postings, or Catholic Professionals you can hire.

The post 4 Catholic Ways to Thank a Freelancer (and 1 You Haven’t Considered) appeared first on Catholic Professionals.

Now the only thing left to do is, well, find work.

*Crickets chirping*

And you hear yourself ask: “Where can I find a good job as a Catholic freelancer? Did God just give me this calling and then abandon me?”

I won’t lie to you: finding work as a Catholic freelancer can be more difficult than being a secular freelancer. When I first started out, it took me several months to find where all this freelancer work was hiding. But the opportunities are definitely out there. You just need to know where to look!

Build a Catholic freelancer portfolio with your parish

Chances are, the skills you hope to profit from as a Catholic freelancer can be put to use at your parish. Here’s a thought: volunteer your time in exchange for the pastor’s review of your skills and photos and testimonials for your portfolio. You’ll have real life examples to point to, and it’s easy to get involved and be trusted even without prior work experience, simply because it’s your parish. After that, you’ll have your parish to point to as a concrete example of your skills.

Keep in mind, your priests won’t be at your parish forever. If you do a good enough job, they’ll remember you and possibly hire you for real at their next parish. It’s worth it to put in the time now as an investment for the future!

Another alternative could be visiting your local Catholic store or Catholic Charities and offer to volunteer in exchange for building your portfolio.

Join a Facebook group for Catholic freelancers

Trust me. Social media isn’t just for posting pictures of dogs and babies anymore (although please don’t stop doing that, lol). Facebook job groups are a land mine for finding job opportunities as a Catholic freelancer.

For one thing, it’s a great place to grow your skills. All of the professional Facebook groups I am in are focused on a particular area I work in: social media, marketing, writing, etc. The days of keeping secrets from your competitors are over. Freelancers and small business owners have realized that the only way to survive is by helping each other out. You’ll find Facebook groups are a fantastic opportunity for free professional development.

At the same time, many small business owners especially turn to these Facebook groups to find freelancers to help carry their load. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen posts that begin with “HELP! Can anyone build a website or edit my book or fill in the blank for me?” This is a great opportunity for you to jump in and offer to help. (Even better, some professional-based Facebook groups will even have specific job threads where you can find open positions.)

But remember an important rule to follow: Don’t just be there to find gigs or self promote your business. Meaningfully contribute to the conversations and offer some pro bono advice here and there. It will increase the goodwill towards you among the members, and they’ll remember your help when it comes time for hiring.

Start a Catholic freelancer blog

But wait, I can hear you say it: “Isn’t having a blog just unpaid work?”

Yes and no. While you can’t pay yourself for your own posts, they can help you establish your professional credibility, thereby helping people to discover your freelancing services and trust you with their needs.

For example, if you are an IT freelancer, write a blog post about the number one mistake people make when creating a new password or setting up a website. If you are a copywriting freelancer, write a post about finding the best subject lines for emails or developing branding language for your company. Spend some time curating great keywords and subheads for SEO purposes and then wait for the internet to find you! In short, make sure you are answering their needs.

At the end of every blog post, make sure you always include a way to contact you for additional help and include references to the services you offer.

Connect with people on LinkedIn, especially other Catholic freelancers

All of them. Everyone you can find.

LinkedIn is an untapped resource for Catholic professionals, in my opinion. Just type in local Catholic organizations like your diocese or Catholic organizations and start connecting away with the professionals who work there. People who you don’t know in person are much more likely to accept your connection requests on LinkedIn than on other, more personal platforms. A great tip is to include a personal note about why you want to connect! Often, the simple fact that you share the same faith will open doors for you.

You’ll not only learn from some of the best people in your industry, but you also open up a way of subtly communicating to these potential clients. Pose questions, comment on their posts, and share your blog posts and professional opinions on your own page to establish your credibility.

Additionally, you could try the Catholic version of LinkedIn, called OSV Inspire. It’s a new up and coming social media hub for Catholic professionals.

Create a profile on CatholicProfessionals.net and search open jobs! 

Obviously, this is our favorite. 🙂 But seriously, connecting with Catholic professionals has never been easier thanks to our platform. Make sure you sign up for a freelancer profile today and start finding work!

About the Author:

Emily Ricci is the president of Gloriam Marketing, and works as a marketing content and social media specialist at a Catholic college and previously worked at a church for over 7 years. Her past church titles and responsibilities have included working as a Parish Office secretary, sacristan, Weekend Coordinator (ministry supervisor and event coordinator), youth minister, bulletin writer, coordinator of the baptism program, and Faith Formation teacher and assistant. After years in church work, Emily recognized the need for solid Catholic marketing and promotion, but realized that there were no marketing firms in the area that specialized in faith-based marketing.

Search here for Catholic job postings, or Catholic Professionals you can hire.

The post How to Find Work as a Catholic Freelancer appeared first on Catholic Professionals.