From finance to academia, on radio and TV and even in a Kings Cross sex shop, I’ve had a diverse range of jobs, most largely freelance, casual or contract.

I loved doing new things, learning new skills and meeting new people. I was so busy for so long, with so many contracts overlapping each other, that I often didn’t have much time for anything else. By August 2023, I was burnt out.

For the first time in years, I didn’t have any work lined up. I thought I’d take a month to catch up on lots of things I’d put aside amid the demands of deadlines: decluttering, writing, taking some time to reset.

I thought it might be a good time to refresh my job application skills, zhoosh up my resume and see what was out there.

I registered on all the usual jobs sites and upgraded my LinkedIn account, started updating my resume and website and started sending out applications. I was realistic: I didn’t think every application would be considered, and I knew it was a numbers game.

After about six weeks, in which I’d submitted about a couple of applications a week with no response at all, I started to worry. For many, the silly season starts after the Melbourne Cup, when we all rush towards summer, but for freelancers, it feels like a long winter, where commissions and contracts dry up until after Australia Day.

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I contacted former managers and........

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