Freelancers; who’s hot & who’s not?

Getting the right freelancer is very important. A mistake many businesses make is to hire a freelancer based solely on their skill set. A professional freelancer has many attributes that make them reliable and good, and these need to be considered carefully.

How to spot who’s hot:

• An experienced freelancer will ooze an appropriate level of confidence, thereby putting you and your team at ease

• They’ll be more adaptable, able to pick up new systems and processes quickly

• A freelancer who appears to have worked at reputable companies comes with a stamp of approval. Good companies don’t employ bad people on a freelance or permanent basis

• A freelancer who has made the effort to present their CV and portfolio (where applicable) well and in a way that makes your job easy

• A freelancer who approaches you in a targeted and relevant fashion, and even gone as far as tailoring their portfolio to the brands and sectors you work in, is astute and understands the industry you’re in

• A freelancer, who works pro-actively to generate their business, asks for feedback and testimonials will genuinely have a strong work ethic

• Sorry to put the ball in your court, but it goes without saying that a freelancer’s work is only as good as the brief they have been given, so try to give a clear brief

Who’s not?

• A freelancer who is ‘cold’ to your company’s culture, objectives, systems and history will always be at a disadvantage to freelancers you have built a relationship with

• A freelancer who is new on the scene is not necessarily weak, but go careful. Ask for references, check out their career history and go further to brief them properly

• A freelancer with a badly designed CV/portfolio can be forgiven if their skill set is one that doesn’t align itself with being ultra organised. If you want a highly creative/ideas driven freelancer, perhaps you could forgive the weak presentation - If, however, the freelancer is meant to be a top notch ‘do-er’, questions should be asked

At Beyond The Book, we seek out and build relationships with professional freelancers, who are good, reliable and experienced. This, coupled with our strong client servicing skills, enables us to extract the right amount of information to get the match right. You can call us anytime for an informal chat on 01789 451510.​