Whether you are an established interim manager looking for ideas, or just starting out on an independent career, this article answers the ten questions we are most often asked.

How do I find out about an independent career?

Interim management - what are the advantages?

Interim management - what are the disadvantages?

Am I a suitable candidate for interim management?

Should I consider an independent career after redundancy?

What if I really want a permanent role?

How do I find interim assignments?

How do I win interim assignments?

What daily rate do I charge?

What paperwork do I need to work independently?

1.How do I find out about an independent career? 

Our Candidate Help articles will give you an overview of all the key issues you need to consider before embarking on an independent career. Other good sources of information include professional bodies, both your own and those specifically catering for independent workers, the websites of interim agencies and some specialist sites which offer specific training and advice for prospective interim managers. We provide one of the most honest and comprehensive guides you will find online – it is full of useful practical advice and the sites we refer to are listed in our Useful Links section. Relevant articles are regularly added to our Candidate Help section and if you have any hints and tips to add or comments on the articles published we would like to hear from you.

Our advice has been prepared for interim managers, but is useful to anyone considering  an independent career however you prefer to be described  - an interim manager, interim executive, interim director, management consultant, independent professional, independent contractor, temporary worker, company doctor, part time professional or portfolio career specialist! 

2. Interim management - what are the advantages?

Working independently can make you more marketable and can also help you extend the length of your chosen career. UK employment laws mean that hiring and firing people can be a costly process and, in an ever changing business environment, many companies face challenges which require additional resources that may not be needed in the longer term. As a result, more and more businesses are turning to interim managers to provide short-term help to their businesses.

Whereas businesses hire permanent employees using a whole range of criteria (including, for example, a candidate’s potential for future development and ‘fit’ within the organisation), an interim manager is hired purely on the basis of the skills and experience they have already gained, as they need to make a difference immediately. This is one time where highly experienced, often older workers are at an advantage.

You will probably fulfil a crucial role in an organisation’s management or corporate development.  Interim managers are often used in key areas, for example, to help put an important project back on track, provide expertise in new fields or ensure a change management process runs smoothly. This means that  the work is varied and challenging and you will undoubtedly add to your own experience and build a portfolio of expertise that makes you  even more marketable over time.

You avoid the politics, stresses and pressures of a permanent senior-level position in the corporate world whilst still operating at an executive  level in the client organisation. Many find that this gives them the balance of a challenging working life without some of the disadvantages and this can lead to high levels of job satisfaction. 

You will also have more flexibility and personal freedom to choose when you work. Perhaps you would also like to realise new ambitions or have other personal commitments you would like to enjoy.  Interim work can be the ideal option, although when you are on assignment 120% commitment will be required. 

In general, interim assignments pay well and you may well earn as much as you did when you were working in a permanent position, but for working fewer days a year.  

3. Interim management  - what are the disadvantages? 

You must be able to survive financially during periods without work, which may be for several months each year and in the case of part-time portfolios it may take time to build up a profitable client base. This is not a suitable career for those who need a fixed income every month and cannot live with financial uncertainty. 

You will lose your personal ‘safety net’ as you only get paid for the time you work with no added benefits, so you need to make sure that you have appropriate healthcare, personal insurances and pension provisions in place. 

You must be willing to work in a variety of working locations, a good interim assignment may not be in the ideal location near you so you should be willing to work away at times, or accept that you may not always get the assignments you would like. 

You have become a small business in a competitive market and you need to be good at marketing yourself to win the best assignments. Our site provides plenty of hints and tips on marketing yourself to find work. 

As well as becoming responsible for your own personal safety net, you must also tackle all the administrative tasks that come with running your own company. Again our site provides plenty of advice on how to set up and run your own business. 

Finally, you need be confident that you are likely to achieve your target income in the time you are working. On average you should expect no more than 30 weeks of work per year and regard anything else as a bonus. If you have a portfolio of clients you may find you actually achieve a lower daily rate but are able to work for more weeks per year. 

4. Am I suitable candidate for interim management? 

Many people ask us whether they are a suitable candidate for interim management work and plenty of useful advice can be found on the websites of the larger interim management agencies and other sites. However, in a nutshell, our own experience tells us that you probably won’t be suitable if you are ever likely to ask “Could you tell me exactly what will I be doing when I get here?”

Interim managers come from a wide range of backgrounds but usually share some key characteristics: 

You should be ‘suitably overqualified’.  This is a term often used in interim management circles, as interims need to be experts in their fields for their expertise to be effective immediately. You may well fulfil a more junior role where your experience and competence leads to immediate productivity. 

You will have had a wide range of experience, probably in both small and large companies, with a number of years in a senior, board-level position or specialising in a discipline where you have developed expert knowledge.  You are unlikely to have worked in one role for your whole career. The disciplines required for interim assignments can vary but some disciplines do provide more interim opportunities than others. Details of a recent MORI survey showing the latest market trends for interim opportunities can be found in our Useful Links section. 

You will be flexible, adaptable and equally able to ‘go with the flow’ or to recommend alternative routes for the ‘flow’ to follow.  Often the scope of the assignment will change as you are carrying it out. Indeed it may well be you who recommends the change, you will need to adapt to those changing requirements. The organisation could well be in a state of stress and your role might be right at the centre of the problem, so you need to be able to cope well with stressful situations. 

You will have the ability to work at many levels in an organisation and in different cultures or in different markets.  So you will need to be politically astute and employ good people skills, as you will need to get along with, direct, and influence other people quickly in order to make an impact.  You also have to be able to sell yourself immediately to senior level personnel who need to believe they can forge an instant and productive working relationship with you.   

You will be a hands-on, results-oriented achiever with good project  and time management skills and focused on the goals you have been set. 

5. Should I consider an independent career after redundancy?

Senior executives consider an independent career after redundancy, particularly if finding another permanent role proves elusive. 

In these circumstances our best advice is to deal with any issues relating to your redundancy first. Many people – particularly those of you who have held senior or highly respected positions understandably feel distressed and disorientated by what has happened. This is not the time to contact interim agencies and other work finders who often get calls from newly redundant executives. If you have the option of using an outplacement or counselling service as part of your redundancy package you should take it, as it really is worthwhile.  There are many websites, articles and books that can offer help and advice and if you feel you need extra support then you should consider arranging your own counselling. 

You should also consider whether you have been made redundant because your industry sector is contracting or your specialism is no longer widely in demand. If this is the case you will need to think seriously about whether you will find sufficient work as an interim or whether you should consider other options such as retraining and finding a new career path.  The MORI survey referred to in our Useful Links section provides some general information on the demand for differing specialisms. 

It is a sad fact of life that only around 20% of people being made redundant over the age of 50 will find another permanent role. In these circumstances you can often continue with your existing career or specialism by working independently. You may also wish to explore alternative careers or new business ventures or, as often happens, you may combine these different options. 

Our Useful Links page provides details of some helpful sites for the newly redundant and some providing help and support for the over 50s.  

6. What if I really want a permanent role? 

Although you will find many sites which state that you have to be committed to an interim career before embarking on one, over half of interims surveyed would actually return to a suitable permanent role if given the opportunity. 

You need to commit time and effort to finding interim assignments - it is not an ‘easy alternative’ to finding permanent employment and you will not get a good response if you make it clear that you would prefer a permanent role. However there is really no reason why you shouldn’t take on interim assignments provided you are fully committed to completing them. These days many of us work in different ways at different times during our careers, having periods of both permanent work and self-employment and this is quite acceptable. 

Although few people will say it, the reality is that some interim managers will continue working on an interim basis successfully for several years, and some will be offered a permanent role by a client (and probably one they would not have got at interview!). A number may continue to work in a part-time capacity after their initial assignment and find that they soon build up a portfolio of clients, which can be an excellent long term solution for the independent worker. Finally there are those who use interim positions as a transition between their corporate careers and setting up their own business or venture.  

7. How do I find interim assignments? 

In order to win the interim assignments or work for your portfolio, you must have a clear marketing strategy. Many first time interim managers assume it is just a case of sending off their CV off to various contacts, businesses and agencies and then waiting for someone to contact them – this will not work! The market has changed and there is likely to be fierce competition - although the number of assignments may be increasing, the number of interim candidates is rising too, many of whom are part of a large pool of talented and experienced baby boomers seeking alternative careers. There really is no magic formula for success, but hard work and persistence will pay off in the end.  We have summarised the main ways you can find work here and there are also more detailed Candidate Help articles on our site covering the topics in more depth.  

Networking – the biggest source of potential assignments is your network of existing contacts. In addition to this there are networking events and online networking where you can extend the number of contacts you have. There are also some interim management networks  where members find work for each other and pay a percentage of their fees when an assignment is found – only join a bone fide organisation, we can assure you that the reputable networks will not ask you for a large up front fee or deposit. There are more hints and tips on networking in the Candidate Help section.

Interim Agencies – agencies or service providers as they prefer to be known are an excellent source of assignments. In fact several of them use our database to search for candidates. However, it is very important that you are well prepared before you approach them and you must treat them in the same way as you would a potential client. There are now over 200 agencies specialising in interim assignments so you must carefully research the ones who are most likely to be suitable for you. Again there are more hints and tips about working with agencies in our Candidate Help Section.

Job Adverts – there are only a few other places which specifically advertise interim assignments and even fewer who have quality part time assignments on offer.You will see the ones we have found in our Useful Links section. You will need to research other useful options specifically for you which will depend on your specialism and day rate. However we suggest you try quality newspapers and their websites, journals for your specialism or profession, or those specifically targeted at executives and directors, interim agency websites and websites for other employment agencies.

Direct Marketing – many interim managers are turning to the internet in order to market themselves directly to prospective clients and there are two key elements for success. Firstly you must present a professional product, whether this is your own website or your entry in an online directory or database. An unprofessional website or an incomplete and out of date website entry is a waste of time and will not attract business, you must always ensure that high standards are maintained wherever you have advertised. Secondly you must ensure that you reach your target market and there are a number of ways to improve your chances of doing this. You will find an excellent article on online marketing in the Business Help section of our site. Finally you may consider producing a leaflet or standard letter to send to potential clients, look for business intelligence in your local newspaper, specialist or industry journal – are there businesses out there undertaking a major new development or suffering due to market conditions? If you have relevant services write to them as the the direct approach can be successful more often than you think.

8. How do I win interim assignments?

Once you have found a potential assignment, you need to make sure that you win it! We recognise that it may be several years since you had an interview and you are finding the prospect quite daunting. Also there are some key differences between winning an assignment and finding a permanent role, in particular the client may need someone who can start almost immediately, or they may not be able to present you with a detailed job description and simply have a general outline of the problems they face.  You will find more useful articles in the Candidate Help section, this is an area where opinions can differ so slightly differing views may be expressed in our articles. 

Curriculum Vitae – experienced interim managers often present a project based CV rather than the traditional chronological listing of permanent roles and this is something you should consider, especially once you have undertaken several assignments. 

Personal Information – we recommend that you maintain a file containing all relevant personal information that you will need. In addition to your CV it should contain references for each of your previous assignments and permanent roles, a personal reference and identification documents. If a client wants you to start in a week’s time they need all this information at the interview. 

Interview  – be prepared - you should remind yourself of the basics of being interviewed, the kinds of questions you may be asked and consider the image you want to project. For example, where you are older and more experienced than the interviewee, you need to ensure that this is portrayed as a positive advantage and not a threat to the existing staff. 

Personal Presentation -  don’t underestimate the importance of personal presentation in today’s image conscious world. Studies show that interviewers often make up their minds in the first few minutes of an interview and at that stage they have only really had time to study your appearance. In many cases the workplace has become less formal and more confusing and so perfecting a range of looks can be essential to ongoing success. 

 9. What daily rate do I charge? 

Interim manager surveys quote rates of £400 to £1,000+, with an average of £600 per day, your day rate should reflect your skills and experience, the market rates of similar candidates and the rates quoted in assignment advertisements. When you take on an assignment via an agency they will add between 25% and 40% to your rate to cover their fees so you may achieve a lower rate when working through an intermediary. 

If you are negotiating directly, most clients will be aware of with the salary range for the role they are offering, so we provide a useful table with a day rate and approximate equivalent salary. This highlights the fact that interims are only paid for the time they actually work and that day rates need to be inclusive of all the additional ‘hidden’ costs which are incurred when they employ someone permanently. A full copy of our calculations is provided in the ‘How to Find an Interim’ article in our Business Help section.  

Finally, whilst it is important to negotiate hard, you also have to be realistic. For example the public sector or a large organisation may have set rates they can offer. Smaller companies may not be able to afford your full fees. If you think they are going places offer them an introductory rate, you will get your reward later.  

10.  What paperwork do I need to work independently? 

One of the most daunting prospects for the prospective independent worker is putting in place all the necessary administrative requirements, which are to: 

Set up a company.

Set up a bank account.

Take out professional indemnity and public liability insurance.

Register for VAT if you think you will reach the turnover threshold. 

Set up a company payroll.

Prepare an employment contract between yourself and your company.

Prepare a contract for your company’s services to your clients.   

There is undoubtedly a lot to consider and be in no doubt that getting it wrong can lead to claims against you, additional taxation bills and fines. However it is relatively straightforward to find a small local firm of accountants who  will deal with much of this for you or there are now internet based  businesses which are set up specifically to service the requirements of the independent worker.  In addition, you must keep up to date with legislative and regulatory requirements which may affect you, for example IR35, managed service company legislation and money laundering rules. We would recommend the website of the Professional Contractors Association which provides detailed advice about any changes taking place as well as other useful information and support to all independent workers.       

Copyright 2008 Plato’s People Ltd.

This article is the intellectual property of the author and Plato’s People Ltd and must not be reproduced in full or in part without our express permission. This article represents the personal view and opinion of the author and does not constitute advice, you should seek appropriate professional advice before taking any suggested course of action.