Video Interviews

Good morning everyone and good morning also to those who were following us on a delayed basis, we are here with Dr. Jessica La Fauci and today we are going to talk about freelancing.
The first question is, “Please describe your current profession to us.”
“So I am a freelance proof-reader, so I work in the publishing field. Currently mainly I work in the field of puzzles, so I proofread weekly and monthly puzzle magazines, and at the same time I am also a lecturer in a master’s program, a master’s program also in publishing (Iulm’s master book), where I teach what I do, which is proofreading but also how to lay out a back cover of a book.”
“How many years have you been in these professions?”
“So, as a freelancer for 5 years, instead if I have to calculate all the way it’s 10 years.”
“Have you always been in these professions or have you had other professions as well?”
“So, obviously when I was young I did various things, in short, those classic things that you do when you’re very young, a little bit to get some experience, a little bit also to get some money, but let’s say that since I entered the working world, in different forms, however I’ve always worked in publishing, so I first did an experience in editing, then I became self-employed, but always in this field, in short, always dealing with text.”
“In the context of your work, how much does the use of the Internet detect?”
“Very much, very very important … fundamental.”
“What Internet-related tools do you exploit the most?”
“So, definitely e-mail, because my communications (also with the entities I work with) all happen via e-mail, then mostly online dictionaries (because working on text I have to check a lot of things and I have to check a lot of information as well), then search engines, and I would say these three things mainly.”
“Still within the scope of your work, how important is the use of hardware?”
“Again, it’s very important.”
“And what hardware tools do you use the most?”
“Definitely my laptop because not a day goes by without me using it, both for research and also just for organization, and also I use the printer because I am required to work on paper, so I have to print and then also scan, so it is important that the printer also acts as a scanner.”
“And finally, what software tools do you use most instead?”
“Then as software definitely reading and text editing programs, so what can be Word, Open Office and Acrobat reader. It’s very important for me to be able to comment on pdfs so not just read them, and in teaching especially in the last couple of years, of course it’s also been crucial to use software such as Teams or even for Meet meetings.”
“Now instead let’s change the subject, let’s talk about soft skills and which soft skills do you think are most relevant for a freelancer?”
“Then in first place I would definitely put organization, that is, the ability to organize because having to manage oneself is very important to know how to precisely organize one’s time and also just the way one works. Always equally important I would consider precision and punctuality, because often those who work as freelancers have deliveries to meet (of course, there can be the unexpected but it has to be precisely unforeseen). So being precise on time is a skill that is definitely very welcome, I would also say communication skills, so also being able to communicate your work because you don’t always happen to work with people who know what your job is (in fact sometimes they don’t), so it’s important to know how to explain, how to communicate, team work because even if you often work alone however you have to deal with other realities and it’s important therefore to be able to work also in a group and I would say, therefore, also adaptability, being able to adapt a little bit also to the needs of others but also to your own needs.”
“Well, then how many skills instead acquired during your studies have turned out to be immediately spendable in the job market?”
“Alas I have to say very few. As far as my job is concerned I would say that definitely my studies were useful in terms of the general culture base they gave me because everything else I learned a lot in the field, it didn’t come to me from previous studies.”
“So let’s say at the level of strategic market skills had been lacking in education?”
“Yes, yes, absolutely.”
“So you didn’t even have enough information about freelancing, you had to learn everything yourself?”
“The university did not give me this kind of expertise. Certainly I went to a particular university, because I did classical literature, so certainly not focused on the world of work, but in my opinion it is a big gap. So I yes, I found myself in the working world without a big baggage from that point of view and I learned a little bit in the field.”
“Now, however, let’s change the subject and talk about legislation: do you think that the current legislation at the national and European level is adequately clear, comprehensive and protective for the self-employed?”
“No, not entirely especially as far as protection is concerned, in my opinion there is so much to be done, so many things should be better elaborated and the self-employed does not feel very protected.”
“On the other hand, in your opinion, can a path of getting acquainted with one’s soft skills be useful to a young person entering freelancing?”
“Yes, absolutely, again I would say fundamental, because to know one’s abilities (one’s soft skills precisely as they are defined) and, therefore, to know oneself means then also to know well how and where to put oneself to work, how to propose oneself, so I consider it really very important.”
“Instead you know Entrecomp, do you know what it is about?”
“Honestly, no.”
“And, instead, what are the most positive aspects of self-employment?”
“So, self-employment is definitely very nice in terms of time management which, however, has to be really well managed because, of course, you can work according to what your needs are within certain limits, of course. It is also nice as far as precisely managing your own work is concerned, which you can do in the way you see fit, and it is also nice because there is the possibility of variation that perhaps an employee does not have: you can work with so many different realities.”
“Instead, what are the negative aspects?”
“So, as I was telling you before definitely the lack of protection, because just think in short about mutuals or maternity and paternity which are very sensitive topics for freelancers (not only for freelance, but for freelancers probably a bit more). And also another thing, I don’t know whether to call it a negative aspect, however that can be tricky is to disconnect from work mentally, because since you carry your work with you all the time, it’s very difficult to determine the moment when you stop working.”
“Perfect, instead, what suggestions would you give to people considering freelancing?”
“I would give these suggestions: first of all find yourself a good accountant, which is a very important figure, then the advice I would especially give (given also the period), is to be very aware of your work, without arrogance, without bullying, but in short awareness is important, to know what you are worth and what your work is worth and, therefore, try not to submit also to some bullying that is sometimes acted by those who maybe give the work and, therefore, also then be careful not to overdo it because, especially in the first periods of freelancing, you tend to do everything, which is right, also a little bit for the experience, but be careful not to find yourself then overloaded because then it is very difficult at that point to draw breath. “
Well we have come to the last question which is this, “would you be willing to participate in a conference to be held in presence in Milan in November 2022 where you would replicate the contents of this interview and also meet with some students who are interested in freelancing?”
“Of course, with great pleasure.”
“Well, then the interview is concluded, I thank Dr. Jessica La Fauci so and I greet those who are watching us instead in deferred.”

Good morning, everyone, and also good morning to those of you who are following us on a delayed basis. Today we are here with Professor Oliveri and we want to talk about freelancing.

“As a first question, please describe your current profession.”

“Meanwhile, good afternoon everyone, thank you Lorenzo for the invitation. My current profession is a mix of several activities, as befits I would say many freelancers: I am an interpreter, a translator, a project manager and a teacher at high schools for language mediators.”

“And how many years have you been in this profession?”

“I would say there are different starting points for all the professions I am in today, but I started with the interpreting and translating business in 2014 right after I graduated from college, then over time the rest came but I would say I recently started the teaching business as well in 2018.”

“In the context of your work, how relevant is the use of the Internet.”

“It’s very relevant, I think it’s a fundamental tool for freelancers, because a lot then of the professional opportunities also come from one’s network, so the use of all that is the world of the Internet and also social media, social media platforms is fundamental.”

“What Internet-related tools do you use the most?”

“I would say all search engines, search channels, I use professional social platforms a lot (meaning LinkedIn mainly). For the business of course, however, of translation, the Internet basically is also an indispensable tool to be able to access professional translation tools, so I would say I use it all round.”

“Instead, how much does the use of hardware detect in your work?”

“Hardware in the strict sense I would say necessary the pc: all the professions, the activities that I deal with on a professional level are activities that you can also do largely remotely and as the last few years have taught us even more than we imagined and, therefore, even the activities that before it was necessary, indispensable to do in presence like I don’t know simultaneous (simultaneous interpreting), now has its digital counterpart, so the only real hardware that I can think of is just the pc in fact.”

“Instead some software that you use the most?”

“Translation memory, Cat tools for computer-assisted translation certainly, Minimals, software useful for subtitling activity for the translation of audio video products…these are essentially it.”

“Okay, now let’s change the subject and talk about soft skills: which soft skills do you think are most relevant for a freelancer?”

“So first of all, I think soft skills are critical for entry, but also for staying within the global job market. It is no longer enough to be a good little soldier in quotes then to do your own to some extent, but it is also important to be able to put yourself forward to the public, especially when you are working as a freelancer. So, I especially think that public speaking is really important, not only understood as just the ability to be able to speak to a very large audience, but also understood as the ability, the skill in some sense to relate to the other person, so also related to empathy, kind of like knowing how to do it to some extent?”

“What were the skills you acquired during your studies that turned out to be immediately employable?”

“I attended, academically, a high school for language mediators interpreters and translators, which in itself is an extremely professionalizing course, so most of the subjects that engage the study time of the student taking the course are subjects, workshops here, very little theoretical and very very very practical and, therefore, certainly, all that was the learning of consecutive, simultaneous, dialogic techniques and the introduction to translation, the translation of structured and specialized texts certainly with all the skills that come from a course like language mediation for interpreters and translators are skills that are immediately spendable on the job market. It’s clear that they have to go hand in hand with also personal skills, so language skills, also the responsibility and maturity to approach the job market in the best possible way.”

“And, on the other hand, when you went into freelance practice, did you have sufficient information about the practical aspects, tax, earnings, client management, etc.?”

“As far as client management is concerned, yes, thanks to a module that had been proposed by my then lecturer in the master’s degree course on work ethics, which is something that I certainly try, in my own small way, to re-propose as much as possible even to my students approaching graduation, but I think that, from the fiscal point of view, there is somehow not enough education about it, that is, they are not contents provided in the education path of the student approaching graduation and approaching the labour market, so surely here more would be needed.”

“Instead, now, let’s change the subject again and talk about regulations: in your opinion, is the current legislation at the national and even European level adequately clear, comprehensive and protective for the self-employed?”

“In talking about the European level there would be differences to be made in that regard, at the national level it doesn’t turn out to be particularly protective, there are no particular protections with respect to what is the regime of the self-employed…in my own small way I feel that no, I don’t find it complete and I find that the gap with what is then working as an employee is very very wide, if not considerable.”

“And so let’s go back to soft skills for a moment: based on what you said earlier, so a pathway of getting to know what one’s soft skills are can be useful for a young person entering freelance work, right?”

“Yes it is, but more than knowledge taking, I would say identifying what are the skills needed, learning and constantly developing one’s skills.”

“Let’s change the subject again, do you know what Entrecomp is?”

“No, I don’t know what it is.”

“What are the most positive aspects, however, of self-employment?”

“Definitely the great ability to make decisions, the wide possibility of organizing one’s time and therefore all that is also the freedom of being able to choose in some way the clients with whom to relate, for whom and with whom to work, also the dynamism is a very interesting aspect, because freelancing allows you to never occupy yourself, unless you want to of the same activity for an excessively prolonged time, so let’s say there is also the possibility to grow very much in a transversal way precisely, dealing also with more aspects maybe of the same work activity, however also dressing different shoes depending on the cases and so you certainly never get bored, you learn a lot. “

“Instead, what are the negative aspects?”

“The negative aspects…well, definitely the negative aspect is the impossibility or at any rate the very reduced possibility of predicting the flow of work and keeping it stable, because a lot depends on one’s very personal ability and also opportunities for network development, so of having to somehow find clients all things considered as well.”

“And, so, to recap, what suggestions would you give to people who want to start out as freelancers?”

“I would definitely suggest not to give up, not to let the first difficulties get you down because there are and it’s normal that there are, to stay very up-to-date on what your professional activity or activities are, to invest a lot in yourself, in continuing education but also to keep up-to-date on what the demands of the job market are, so just stay on the ball as they say, in such a way that you always turn out, for a potential client, to be the right resource at the right time.”

There is the last question, “Would you be willing to participate in a conference to be held in attendance in Milan in November this year where you would replicate the content of this interview and also meet with some students who are interested in going into freelance practice?”

“Yes I would be available, I would gladly do that.”

“Perfect, then thank you and have a good afternoon.”

“Thank you, likewise.”

Good morning and welcome to Alberto Querci, whom we thank for making himself available for this interview as part of the Difree project. Let’s get straight to the heart of our questions and ask Alberto Querci to describe his current profession.

“My current profession is that of financial advisor, I have been doing it for just under 10 years.”

“And tell us a bit about your professional history. Have you always carried out this activity or have you changed paths?”

“My life up to a ripe old age was as an employee, then urged by my desire for change, my desire for autonomy (even if in the bank I must say that I had all the autonomy that a person could have, albeit as an employee), but then urged, as I said, by external management companies, by colleagues who made this change, I began to approach the freelance profession little by little, always in the financial field, of course.”

“Very interesting, but tell us, in the context of your profession, how important is the use of the Internet?”

“The use of the Internet is very relevant and will be increasingly relevant in the future as well, although the aspect of relational contact in person still remains very very important in my opinion. We always talk about the fact that the clientele of financial consultancy generally concerns people who are not very young (there are also very young people), but they are generally of an average age that is not young, so the relational aspect of historical knowledge is very very important.”

“That’s very interesting, we’d also like to know which skills you acquired during your studies proved immediately spendable on the labour market.”

“Let’s say that an important initial effect in the bank in professional growth, then slowly however experience and deepening in the working world had its effect, then the big change leaving the bank and then entering the world of freelancing, this is the personal application of every day in everyone’s life.”

“In your opinion, is there anything in your course of study that you then found was missing in terms of skills that could be useful to you in the world of work, should you make a suggestion to teachers or students of skills that can also be acquired collaterally to the course of study…what would you suggest?”

“I would say that the deepening of economic-financial subjects or related subjects is very very relevant and in some respects this fact is still left a little bit in the background, however deepening really very well these economic-financial aspects.”

“Thank you, that is an important tip for our students. When you took up freelancing, did you have sufficient information about it, such as practical tax aspects, expected earnings, client management, and if so how did you obtain this information?”

“So, let’s premise that the transition from employee to pressure-free was gradual. The whirlwind acceleration was a fact of talks I had with the new management of the bank and at that point there, having already had several contacts with management companies, I felt it was time for a change. Personally, it was the company’s quickest transition because it was done in just a few days, so I had some information, now in retrospect, which was not entirely sufficient, also because I did not go in depth: I had decided to change and so I was interested in undertaking this freelance work obviously with all the bumpers I had contacted with the incoming company.”

“Very well, thank you very much. Do you feel that the current legislation, especially national legislation, on freelancing is adequately clear, comprehensive and protective for self-employed workers?”

“Remarkable progress has been made in recent years and especially in the last five years I would say. There is still room for improvement, but compared to several years ago there has been improvement.”

“What are the most positive and most negative aspects of self-employment? You can give us some examples if you want.”

“So, I can say that the most qualifying aspect for me was precisely being independent, therefore a free profession that can be exercised at any time, the interpersonal relationship with the client that can be managed totally and in absolute freedom, and this is not a secondary aspect, because in any case if you are in a reality you have to cope a little bit also with what are the company needs, while with the free profession (at least in the city where I work) it is absolutely left to the consultant the freedom to choose every single investment or any other form that the consultant foresees as useful for his client. Certainly, the aspect that can create (and also created to me initially) is a bit ‘the unknown’ of the whole freelance profession (what will it be like, will I make it, the times…). I can say that times to say it is the exact moment this to make the change I do not find it a correct thought; I find that it is right that a person believes that that moment is for him (for how he is, for how he has grown) the moment to make the change, because then there will always be something that will say it is not now, it is not further on… it is the person who decides that at that moment he feels ready to put himself to the test, therefore, to be alone in the market and choose and work and eventually coordinate with others in total freedom. “

“Thank you, one last question: what suggestions would you give to a young freelancer or a young person who is considering going freelance?”

“I would say that the first aspect can be in-depth professional study, so the subjects that most interest the choice that the student has to make, in finance or in other areas, apply himself, then choosing is very important, also a company that can support him in the first years so as to have a gradual growth path where he also feels supported in the inevitable moments of small défaillance, small discouragement, small discouragement, because there will be, but then to grow again… it’s like a wave that there may be the moment of the unpleasant but then it starts again and then you fly and you go.”

“Thank you Alberti Querci for your time, first of all, which we know is something very precious for freelancers, for giving us a glimpse of the work you do, especially for these suggestions that I am sure will be very useful for the students of the Difree project. See you next time.”

“Thank you.”