Let’s be real: The 40-hour work week is a scam designed for industrial-era factories, not high-leverage experts.

In 2026, the traditional “career ladder” is a burning wreck. Companies are slashing full-time executive roles to save on equity, benefits, and “culture” costs. But they still have problems. Massive ones.

They don’t need another person to sit in 20 hours of meetings a week. They need a Mercenary.

Welcome to the era of Fractional Roles. This is how you stop betting your entire life on one CEO’s mood swings and start charging for the results you actually deliver.

The Math of Freedom: Why 1 < 4

Most people think a £150,000 salary is “stable.” It isn’t. It’s a single point of failure. If your boss wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, your income goes to zero.

The Mercenary Math is different:

• Full-Time CMO: £200k salary + 40+ hours/week + endless office politics.
• Fractional CMO: £5,000 monthly retainer x 4 clients = £240k/year.

You work 10 hours a week for each client. You focus 100% on high-leverage strategy. You skip the “mandatory fun” Zoom calls. If one client fires you, you still have 75% of your income.

Research shows that fractional retainers for CFOs, CMOs, and CTOs in 2026 are hovering between £3,000 and £8,000 per month. By converting yourself from a “fixed cost” to a “variable expense”, you become easier to hire and harder to replace.

The “Modular CV” Hack

The biggest fear of the aspiring mercenary? Looking “job-hoppy.” If you list four different companies all starting in the same month, a traditional recruiter’s brain will melt.

You need a Modular CV.

How to list concurrent roles:

Do not list them as separate, competing jobs. Group them under a single umbrella that defines your “Firm.”

Standard (Bad):

• Company A - CMO (Jan 2025 - Present)
• Company B - CMO (Feb 2025 - Present)

Optimised (Mercenary Style):

• Fractional Marketing Executive | [Your Name] Advisory
• Jan 2025 – Present
• Portfolio Impact: Managing £2M in combined ad spend across 4 high-growth Series A startups.
• Client A (Fintech): Scaled CAC from £40 to £12…
• Client B (SaaS): Architected the GTM strategy for…

This uses the functional title translation strategy. You aren’t “unemployed” or “freelancing”—you are a Portfolio Executive.

Why CEOs Are Desperate to Hire You (The Secret)

Founders are terrified of the “Total Cost of Ownership” (TCO) of a full-time hire. Between recruitment fees (25% of salary), equity dilution, and benefits, a £200k hire actually costs them £300k+.

When you show up as a Fractional Expert, you are pure signal, no noise.

1. Zero Onboarding: You’ve done this 10 times before. You start shipping on Day 1.
2. No Politics: You don’t care about the promotion cycle. You only care about the KPI.
3. Low Risk: They can fire you with 30 days’ notice. That “easy out” makes it 10x easier for them to say “Yes” to a £5k/month retainer.

Where the Mercenaries Live

Stop refreshing LinkedIn Jobs. Fractional roles aren’t “posted”; they are engineered. However, these 2026 platforms are the primary watering holes:

• Right Side Up (RSU): The gold standard for marketing operators.
• Toptal: For top 3% developers and finance experts who want high-pedigree clients.
• Braintrust: The decentralised talent network where you keep 100% of your rate.
• LinkedIn: Your primary authority engine. If your profile doesn’t scream “I solve X problem for Y companies”, you’re invisible.

The Bottom Line

The “Security” of a full-time job is a 20th-century myth. Real security is having a diversified portfolio of clients and a modular CV layout that proves you can deliver results in weeks, not years.

Stop being an employee. Become a mercenary. The 2026 economy doesn’t reward loyalty—it rewards impact.