How To Find the Right Freelancer for Your New Project
Posted January 28, 2010 in Business
So, you’re thinking about hiring a freelancer to build your website or write your copy or design your new logo, but you don’t know what qualities or skills you should be looking for.
Sorting through job boards, posting ads on Craigslist, or just crying out for help on Twitter does not sound appealing, productive, or promising. Still, your desire to invest in and partner with an individual instead of possibly spending money with a corporation and becoming just another account in a file cabinet drawer is enough motivation to cause you to consider diving into the freelancing fray.
There you sit, on the precipice of the unknown, and you wonder how to start. Well, today is your lucky day! This post is about how you can define your project in ways that will enable you to connect with the right freelancer for the job, along with some important qualities you should be looking for in the person you eventually decide upon.
Clearly Explain Your Project
When you are posting an ad or sending out a request for a proposal, it is helpful to the potential freelancer for you to give as much information as possible about your project. A vague job posting that reads something like “I need a new website built with a few pages and Flash” is only going to attract the same quality of responses.
Before you begin your search, write down a detailed explanation of your project. Start with your “why”.
- Why are you starting this project?
- Why is it important to you?
- Why do you want to hire a freelancer?
Next, write out your short-term and long-term vision and dreams for the project. One of the benefits of finding the right freelancer for the job is that an individual has the very real potential of embracing and partnering with you in your passion for the project. If you can share the elements that excite you in a way that others can clearly understand, there is a better chance of not only finding a qualified person, but one who catches your vision and even contributes to it in ways you never imagined.
Third, be realistic about your budget and include it, if at all possible. No one wins in the haggling game. It usually is just a waste of time for everyone involved. Initially keeping your budget a mystery is a surefire way to lengthen your search time. A good freelancer will have a clear definition of their fees and what they are willing to do for how much, and most will tell you up front. You will save your own time as well as theirs if you make it clear from the beginning how much you are willing to spend. This will weed out those freelancers who do not fit into your budget and attract those who will.
Next, write down any specifics about the project that will help the potential freelancer understand what you are setting out to accomplish. Obviously, you are hiring someone to do a job you cannot do yourself, so you may not know every aspect of what is involved. Do your best to explain the functionality and goals that you want so that qualified individuals will be able to align their own skills with what you want to achieve. For instance, you may not know the coding aspects of an e-commerce website, but you can explain the experience you want your visitors to have when they shop online. The freelance web designer should be able to determine if they are capable of creating the type of website you desire. Rather than give a vague statement about wanting an online store, which will broaden the amount of potentially unqualified responses you will receive, give as many specifics as you can think of.
Now take your written overview and create your ad and/or RFP. Keep in mind that the more clearly you state your needs the more likely you are to find the right freelancer and avoid wasting anyone’s time having to explain it further to someone who cannot complete the job in the first place.
Determine Your Ideal Freelancer’s Qualities
These qualities can be included in your posting, but more importantly you need to have a clear picture of who you are looking for when you start your search. Equipping yourself with this will provide a filter that will help you eliminate unwanted applicants and identify true potential candidates. Some key elements may be:
- Skills necessary to complete the job
- References and/or testimonials from past clients
- Portfolio of previous work
- Years in business in the field
- Successful track record
Some other possibly less obvious qualities should include:
- Strong communication skills–do they respond to your emails and phone calls in a timely manner?
- Personable and personal service–do they treat you like “just another customer” or do they make you feel like they appreciate your business, are excited about your project and want to give you the best possible service and product imaginable?
- Personal Respect–do they treat you with respect when they communicate with you or do they act like you have no idea what you’re doing and you should just let them do their job?
- Professional approach–do they carry themselves and manage their business interactions in a professional manner or do you get the impression that they do this type of work on the side and don’t take it very seriously?
Armed with an understanding of the qualities that are important to you is similar to hiring an employee with a job description in hand. However, one of the key benefits of hiring the right freelancer can be the personal touches your project and its process receives that a standard employee or corporation usually don’t provide. I encourage you to take full advantage of the possibilities!
Partner with Passion
My favorite client experiences have been with those who have an undeniable passion for their project and have endeavored to find a freelancer who will embrace and share that fire with them. In the end, this willingness to approach the hiring process as a “partnership” opens the door to the fullest potential of all of the benefits that hiring the right freelancer can have.
I’m not talking about partnership in the business sense of the term. I’m suggesting that you let go of the concept of freelancer and client, or employer and employee, and instead strive to link arms with someone who not only “gets” what you’re trying to do, but has caught the fire of your vision and wants to contribute to its fulfillment. This is something very few corporations can offer, but it could turn out to be the most beneficial aspect of finding the right person for your project.
If your chosen freelancer is also your partner in passion for your project, they will go above and beyond the call of duty. They will want the very best of all possibilities and will pursue it with vigor. They will offer suggestions and ideas you may not have thought of or understood, and they will become active contributors to making your project all that it can be. I have been in these types of situations and everyone wins. What could be better?
Lock and Load
While not exhaustive, these tips are some of the primary keys that will help you find the right freelancer for your project. As a freelancer, I know they are helpful for me when I am approached by or searching for potential clients. Add them to your arsenal before you start your search, then lock and load. Don’t settle for anything less than your project deserves and you will be more than satisfied with the final results–possibly even ecstatic.
If you are currently or have previously been searching for a freelancer, what are some other thoughts or suggestions you could add? If you are a freelancer, what are key elements that you could share to help those who are hiring make the process easier for everyone? Be sure to enlighten us all in the comments below.
Image by Ante Perkovic
Related posts:
- Why Every Freelancer Should Have a Personal Project
- Find The Perfect Image For Any Project In 5 Steps
- Should You Accept An “Ugly Duckling” Project?
- Ten Signs You Need To Refuse That Project
- 5 Steps to Winning Any Client Project
About the author: Brian is a freelance web & graphic designer with over 15 years' experience. His business bkmacdaddy designs specializes in completely custom WordPress, Joomla, Magento & CSS/XHTML websites as well as logo design, brand identity, social media management and more. Brian is a father of 3 and madly in love with his wife of many years.
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27 Comments
Alan
January 28th, 2010 at 8:51 amAnother great post.
One thing i always find with clients, is they feel that your there to do everything for them.
They have hired you, your the web designer, you do it type of attitude. Like what do i know about pressure washers? lol.
I think some people are ataken back by how much they have to do fir the website to be done well and right.
Branko Zecevic
January 28th, 2010 at 9:10 amThank you on this post!
We can conclude how important is to find the right freelancer for any project you want to hire freelancer! Success of the project largely depends of choosing the right freelancer!
New York Web Design
January 28th, 2010 at 12:02 pmI owe you big time. Its Lots of Vital Information…
Thanks..
Solomon
January 28th, 2010 at 12:12 pmWell, I’m on both sides of the fence. I vouch for clients for copywriting assignments; and seek art directors and visualisers to get some design work done for my clients to get a brochure, an ad, or a leaflet …besides writing the copy.
when some clients want me to write copy for his website or a brochure… I look at how excited is he about his own project. I look at his enthusiasm, and that would be quite palpable while he gives the brief about it. I look into his eyes to see the sparkle each time he utters the name of his product or service.
And, while seeking art direction or visualisation … I look at the person if he is excited about the work or not. I always want people to respond with enthusiasm about projects – because they (work) give us an opportunity to do good work and earn invaluable satisfaction, besides earning some money.
I don’t really appreciate people who look skeptic at each opportunity – if they would pay on time or not; or how much etc etc. I know the pay is what ultimately pushes us forward but that shouldn’t be our first reaction. Rather it should be: what is the project; how is it beneficial to the readers or customers; at what scale is it being done etc etc., are the questions one should be asking.
A very useful post indeed, and appreciate the ‘big picture’ of the ‘perfect freelancer’ every client would jump to employ!
Jesaka Long
January 28th, 2010 at 1:01 pmYou did a great job of stepping into the shoes of a client, Brian. It was a good refresher for me to think about what a prospective copywriting client is (or isn’t) planning before picking up the phone, searching online or posting an ad. Occasionally I work with small companies that are hiring a freelance writer for the first time — I’m going to share this post with them. Thank you!
7D Interactive Website Development
January 28th, 2010 at 3:08 pmGreat article. It’s important for all aspects of hiring someone, freelance or a company. You always should do some research to find out what you’re getting.
Refr3sh Development
January 28th, 2010 at 3:35 pmI find myself continually replying to clients who want to get some freelance PHP work done, asking them to explain in more detail. Unfortunately the worst offenders, seem to be other freelancers.
No joke, had one freelancer send me an email, where the body of it simply contained “Edit e-commerce system? Thanks”
Just...B
January 28th, 2010 at 5:26 pmGreat post with pertinent info. Each time I hear or read the vague words of “I Need a Website” with no elaboration, details, budget, I all but cringe. When a potential client called a few weeks ago asking about a website and I began to very nicely ask some basic questions so I could better asses his needs, the guy appeared rather put off. I know designers are at times supposed to be mind readers – but I really needed just a bit more info to go on….. oh well…. it’s still a learning process for me and on-going.
Matt Morris
January 29th, 2010 at 10:18 amFinding customer specific requirements has long been a challenge. In fact, a survey of current automotive suppliers found that a significant number did not know where to go for the latest applicable customer specific requirements. For registrars and end users, this represents a serious problem. How can rules be followed and enforced if they are not readily available?
It is with these challenges in mind customerspecifics.com was created. Here you will find a community to access, share, and discuss customer specific requirements.
Please understand that the content of this site will take some time to develop as we work hand in hand with each of you to build a comprehensive database of the thousands of available customer specific requirements. We ask that you join us in our cause as we attempt to build something great for the common benefit of the quality community.
Matt Morris
February 1st, 2010 at 10:39 amIt is safe to say that nearly everything about managing customer specific requirements is a hassle. If you’re an auditor, how do you know what customer specific requirements exist so that you can audit against them? If you’re the customer, how do you distribute them efficiently? If you’re a supplier, how do you get them? How do you know if you have the latest version?
Customerspecifics.com was founded as a way of improving the management of customer specific requirements for registrars and quality personnel. The idea started when a member was surprised to find that his revision of a customer specific requirement had become obsolete just days before his audit, resulting in a finding.
Really?
This person wasn’t notified of the release of a new revision. If suppliers are required to notify their customers of changes to processes, shouldn’t customers return the favor and notify their suppliers of changes to requirements? If something is important enough to be a requirement for a supplier, it’s just good business practice to make sure that your suppliers are aware of these requirements.
These are the issues that customerspecifics.com is attempting to solve. We thank each of our users for your valuable document submissions and welcome any and all feedback. We look forward to hearing from you!
D. Matthew Morris
TJ
February 6th, 2010 at 7:15 pmThat’s good and interesting article and also very informative
Keep up good works
Cheers
Ecommerce
February 10th, 2010 at 8:51 amSorting through job boards, posting ads on Craigslist, or just crying out for help on Twitter does not sound appealing, productive, or promising.
PageWrite
February 20th, 2010 at 4:53 pmThis is a great post to read from a freelancer’s perspective, it helps me to think about what a client is expecting from me.
Freelance PHP Programmer
July 24th, 2010 at 3:57 amThis will be a great help to the people to find best freelance developers and will be able to understand them.
Ray
August 24th, 2010 at 10:29 pmI like to use http://www.digitalfreelancing.com/ to find the right freelancer for the work i need.
newburgh real estate
March 12th, 2011 at 11:50 amIt is a hard and cumbersome operation to filter a swarm of freelancers around the web and get the best as per your requirement for the project. Simply sitting on your desk and drafting a wish list won’t serve any purpose. It requires knowledge and experience, and just guidance to pick the right one. There are a number of service facilitators in this regard to fall back upon.
meet single man
March 15th, 2011 at 2:20 pmI’ve found the lesson very practical and interesting. It is true finding the right freelancer for your projects is not an easy job. A lot of spade work need to be done to pick the best for best results. In view of the large number of freelancers vying for a single job with unimaginable low price tags for their bids, the job of finding them is more difficult. I think this lesson can see one through the situation.
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