The gig economy has revolutionised the workplace, opening up contracting opportunities for workers to find the right role with the right level of flexibility for them. As well as enabling companies' access to the best talent in the marketplace for critical project-based work. What started out as niche contracting positions for limited timeframes has opened up to all manner of positions and industries.

But before handing in your notice and envisioning yourself working in your PJs or remotely on a beach, we recommend you take into consideration the 5 points below to prepare yourself for the life of a contractor:

Showcase your talent

Make sure your portfolio of work or CV is up to date and displays some of your killer projects to showcase you are capable of delivering on the contract positions you will be pitching for, as well as illustrating you are the best person for the task.

Pitch, pitch pitch

To ensure a strong pipeline of work we recommend making some good recruitment contacts (like Salt ;)), recruiters can be a contractor's best friend providing them with a regular flow of opportunities, taking the hard work out of the job search process. The more you build the relationship with your recruitment contacts, the more they will know what type of roles to keep an eye out for you, put you forward for and can negotiate the best rate on your behalf.

We also recommend practising and getting comfortable with job interviews as you will be doing them more regularly.

Show me the money

Do some research and work out what your day and hourly rate would be factoring in holiday and sick days. Check out whatismydayrate.com for some guidance. You will also need to be comfortable in negotiating your rates with clients and stay organised in completing your timesheets.

Another helpful thing to consider is having a financial buffer for when you first start out.

Know the rules of the game

There are different laws and regulations if you set yourself up as a contractor so make sure you are fully aware of what these mean to you and keep up to date with the latest changes. For example, IR35 tax legislation as a contractor is something you have to be aware of and how it could potentially affect you.

Like a boss

Ready to take the plunge into the wonderful world of contracting? One of the first steps you need to do is set up your own company as you will now be self-employed. We recommend you check out your government's website for advice on the steps you need to go through to do this.

Like the sound of being your own boss? Check out the range of contracting positions at Salt here.