Remote working is on the rise, but it can also be tricky to use. Luckily, we’ve developed this jargon lexicon for the freelancers, contractors and solopreneurs working away from a desk to understand each other’s jargon.
Everyone is looking for that happy medium of both work/life balance and, at the same time, we’re trying to work more hours than our colleagues. We’re always on call and we feel like we’re not good at saying no.
Here’s our jargon dictionary. You’ll know exactly what we mean.
1. Ramp
To move from one job to another, your work can be on a roller-coaster track, with the lows and highs requiring you to take a break from the project to “recharge the batteries”.
These “low jobs” can be taken on whenever your company has spare capacity but are at the same time paid when the project is ready to move on to the next stage.
2. Opportunity
When you have a new project and clients, a possible angle to the job could be the opportunity to do more in-depth research. That could lead to the kind of insider knowledge that can really boost your reputation.
It might be well-documented that the American film industry operates on the idea of the “opportunity”. The casting director once told me, “No one calls me because they have a job; I’ve got a job. No one calls me because I’m available, I’m always available. People call me when they have an opening or a job or an opportunity to do a job. The big difference is that I don’t have a job every day.”
3. Idea
An idea is something that could be a viable opportunity to do more in-depth research. The theory is that it’s a value added proposition, which could lead to you getting more work.
4. Bridging the gap
If the project is so important that it requires you to travel, that’s a bridging the gap.
5. AJAX
Hypertext Application Programming Interface (the weird-sounding opposite of HTML). Think about what makes every new online casino you try out come “alive!” It’s AJAX, which is an extended application of JavaScript. It’s a technical one, this, isn’t it?!!
6. Tentpole
A good example of an “opportunity” is an opportunity for high-quality research. It might involve an in-depth research project that requires you to take a trip overseas. The chance to do that is the tentpole.
7. Integration
An “opportunity” might also require you to integrate a few other bits of the project in one step. You might be paid to complete the integration on the project and use the result to boost your credentials.
8. ROI
Return on investment, or the expected profit to be made from completing the project, on completion.
9. Scale
Now this is a word that you might hear when discussing pricing with clients. I think we might use it to describe the size of an office or the success we might have had recently.
10. Style
Let’s make sure we understand what this means. A stylist is someone who will dress you and their style is the thing they will bring to the party. The person who will style you is known as a stylist. A stylist is what the host at a wedding provides for their bride and groom.