For Employers: 7 Tips For Working With Freelancers

As a freelancer, I have had the privilege of working with many employers from around the world. It’s always exciting to get a new project and help it come to life the way the employer wants. There are always new and different challenges with each job that stretch me and many times I end up learning new skills or better ways of doing what I already know.

However, there are times when a working relationship with an employer is stressful. Most of the time it comes down to communication, but in this posting I want to list the 7 things every employer can do to have a great working relationship with their freelancer.

1. COMMUNICATION

As I stated earlier, this is the most important factor. Freelancers work strange hours, maybe because the workload is heavy, maybe because some freelancers moonlight and have a day job, or maybe it’s because they chose freelancing to spend more time with their family during the day and they work at night. Whatever the reason, when a freelancer sends and e-mail or communicates in other ways, it’s because they’re doing what they can to make your project meet your needs. Granted, freelancers need to embrace this tip as well, but if there is healthy communication throughout the process you will save time and money, and most importantly your project will come out like you want.

2. TIMELY MATERIALS

Most jobs require materials from you. These can be a variety of things from data, to graphics, to code, to raw video, or any number of things. Your freelancer needs the materials you will be providing in a timely manner. There are several resources you can use to transfer data from e-mail, to dropbox, to basecamp, or any number of ways. In the end, though, don’t delay in getting resources to your freelancer so they can do their job.

3. QUALITY OF MATERIALS

As a freelance video editor, most of the time I get my materials from the employer. I can’t tell you how many times I have received poor quality materials and have been asked to make it perfect. The bottom line is that if you send me crap, there’s not a lot I can do to make it look or smell any better. Make sure that you send the best quality of materials you can. Graphics and videos from the web are already compressed and not the best quality; we need the original source material to make it look as good as possible.

4. PAY ON TIME

This is one of the most frustrating aspects of freelancing. We finish the job, you like it, you sign off on it, but then we have to wait days and sometimes weeks to receive payment. This just isn’t acceptable and is poor business practice. If your freelancer does the job to your specifications and within the time frame allotted, you need to make sure that you pay them in an acceptable time frame. Ideally, within 3 days of the project completion, otherwise you will receive poor feedback and recommendations from your freelancer and that will make it difficult for you to hire other freelancers in the future.

5. PROJECT TIME FRAME

It never fails with almost every job that an employer asks me how long it will take to complete their project. It is understandable that you have a budget and time frame as well, but as an employer you need to realize that every job is unique. Some of the factors that play into a completion time frame for any freelancer include: the complexity of the project, the quality of materials you send, and the workload of the freelancer. That third factor is out of your control (and you don’t have to hire the freelancer if you think their too busy), but the first two are totally in your control. We will do our best to quote a reasonable time frame based on our previous projects similar to yours, but be willing to be flexible based upon the three factors listed above.

6. REFERRALS AND REFERENCES

There are many websites where freelancers can find new jobs, but a lot of freelance work comes from word of mouth. As an employer, you sit in a powerful position to help us get new jobs. If you are satisfied with the work completed and you felt that the freelancer is someone your friends and colleagues could benefit from, please helps us by spreading the word about us. Know that in the freelance community, we also spread the word of our employers as well and we want to send you business too. Of course, if the freelancer did a poor job, this rule is out the window.

7. CLEAR FEEDBACK

When doing jobs, we want your feedback throughout the process, not just at the end and not just a blanket, “good job.” Your feedback allows us to improve your product and it also allows us to improve our skills. If we did something really well, tell us why you thought it was done really well. If we didn’t meet your expectations, tell us why we didn’t meet your expectations. Most freelancers are mature enough to accept the feedback without being offended; heck, we are self employed and that alone is a small sign of our maturity.

As freelancers, we want to do the best job we can. We take pride in our work and from an egotistical side we want to see our work at work in the marketplace. By working closely with your freelancer, you are setting your business and project up for a win, and at the end of the day we know you want to win. As a wise person once said, “Help us help you.”

How to Get Hired as a Freelancer

I have been doing freelance work for quite a while now.  It started off as a side job and then grew into my full time job. I remember back around the turn of the 21st century, I would see freelancers working at coffee shops and in parks.  I never thought I could do that because, well, frankly, I didn’t think I had enough tats to piercings.

The world of freelancing has changed dramatically since then, and now it is becoming the fastest growing job sector in the world.  Studies show that many companies who lay off employees are turning around and filling those jobs with freelancers.  In addition to that, studies also show that many people who get laid off are turning to freelancing and finding a steady income using their skills.

These days, you can freelance doing just about anything you can imagine.  From creative work, to administrative work, to financial, IT, and so many other skill sets, there is no shortage of opportunities out there.  One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the freelance market is a global market which means that while there are plenty of jobs, there is also plenty of talent.

There are many ways to get freelancing jobs these days and I will post more later on different things I’m learning in freelancing.  Today, though, I want to talk about how to get hired as a freelancer.  As I said, there are plenty of jobs, but also plenty of talent.  The key I have learned is to set yourself apart (as with any job opportunity).

I primarily use oDesk to get my work, and you can check it out and even sign up for free by clicking here.  Through my work on oDesk, here is what i’ve learned, and these principles transfer however you get your jobs.

1. If you want the big jobs, you have to be willing to accept the small jobs…AND, your first job will almost always be small. Keep your expectations low in the beginning and let them rise as you get more jobs under your belt. I started my hourly rate low and now I’m able to charge much more…which leads to my second tip…
2. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS pay attention to the employer’s budget. If they post a budget of $40, bid $40 and nothing more. If you think the job is worth more than the employer’s budget, then don’t bid on it; go to the next one. Now, sometimes an employer will mention in their job description that they are open to bids higher than their budget, and when that happens feel free to bid what you think it’s worth.
3. Also, on the budget thing, pay attention to what other people are bidding and try to stay in that ballpark. If the average bid is $40, don’t bid $5 thinking that will help you get the job. Most of the time, an employer wants to know that you have the skills to do the job more than they want to see the lowest bid come through. Which leads to my next tip…
4. Portfolio, portfolio, portfolio. I’m a video editor, so my portfolio is going to look different from a database administrator’s portfolio. However, you must prove to the employer you can do their job and just saying, “I’m really good with a lot of experience” isn’t going to cut it. Show them your past work. If you haven’t put together a portfolio, don’t waste your time bidding on jobs because your chances will always be low.
5. On your first few jobs you complete, provided you do a good job, ask the employer to give you feedback. Just like eBay, your oDesk feedback profile is important. Don’t be afraid to tell your first few employers that you’re new and you need them to help you with your feedback profile…they know you’re new and the fact that they were willing to hire you is a sign that they have a caring enough heart to help you with feedback. Now, if you do a bad job, don’t ask for feedback.
6. Finally, speaking of bidding on jobs, that is the only way you will get hired in the beginning. Eventually, employers will invite you to interview for jobs when your oDesk profile gets experience, but in the beginning, you have to go after the jobs. oDesk gives you 25 applications per week…use them all! I usually bid on 3-5 jobs per day, everyday, and I may get 3-4 jobs per week. but, I’ve gone a few days without bidding and my workload dries up quickly. If you’re bidding constantly and still not getting jobs, go over my other tips above, and hang in there because your first job WILL come and after that it will become consistent.

I hope these tips help you if you’re thinking about freelancing.  And remember, freelancing doesn’t have to be a full time job…it can be something you do on the side to give you a little extra cash for that special something you’re saving up for.  Feel free to ask if you have any other questions.