News at The Pond

My Indy 500

Composing his 500^th freelance invoice to The Pond made Writer and Creative Director Mario McMillan look back on his time with us.

There’s something about milestones that makes reflection unavoidable. In my case, filling out invoice PND0500 sparked just such a moment. Really? Five hundred freelance invoices through The Pond Recruitment? Sheesh… As David Byrne once said, how did I get here (and so much work)?

Well, it started back in the GFC, as the economy began to free-fall and the sound of wallets snapping shut reverberated across Agency-land. I’d been a freelance contractor for a few years and had meant to register for representation with The Pond before, I was just so busy I never got around to it.

Since joining, times when I haven’t been on some kind of Pond assignment have been few and far between. From regular clients to random one-offs, Leighton, Will and the past Pond agents have poured a huge stream of work my way, for which I remain hugely grateful.

Being represented by The Pond has suited me well because they’ve always understood how I like to operate. Much of what I love about being a freelance contractor is being independent. I think it helps preserve an ‘Indy’ mindset, bringing fresh, effective thinking to a brief. Often, I’ve cracked problems in quick order that have seemed intractable to the team in charge.

Only rarely have I done the ‘going into the agency’ thing, acting like a replacement member of staff for over 40 hours. Some people crave that kind of booking, including extended assignments. But, to me, it’s more like being an employee. Just without the holiday pay.

I prefer to immerse myself in a new project, especially in a new sector, solve the problems and move on to an entirely fresh challenge. And I’ve been lucky enough to have The Pond team sending them my way 500 times. Cheers to that.