3 Things to Look for When Hiring a Freelancer
Before you hire your next freelancer, let’s talk about your job posting. Specifically, the job qualifications.
Because the first two questions most freelancers ask themselves when they’re looking at a job posting are usually:
Do I want the job?
Am I qualified to do the job?
To decide whether they want the job, freelancers will dive into the job responsibilities to see if the tasks are something they are interested in doing.
But answering the second question is going to require some soul searching. Because not only will they be looking through your qualifications to see if they have the right/enough experience for the job, but also reading between the lines to figure if they are the person you're looking for. Which will ultimately determine whether or not they apply.
This is why when you hire a freelancer, the qualifications section of your job posting is so important. A lot of thought needs to go into your qualifications so you don’t detract great candidates from applying or unintentionally attract unqualified freelancers.
But before I dive into what should and should not go into the qualifications section of your job posting, let’s take a moment to define the difference between requirements and qualifications. Because those terms are commonly confused.
Job requirements vs. qualifications. What’s the difference?
Now, unless you’re looking to hire a licensed professional such as an attorney, a doctor or psychologist, you probably don’t have any job requirements.
Job requirements are those specific things that an applicant absolutely must have in order to do the job. For example, when I worked for a Fortune 500 financial services company, specific licenses were required to sell certain insurance and investment products.
Job qualifications, on the other hand, are the knowledge, skills, or experience you prefer a candidate to have. And if you answer these questions, you’ll likely have a good list of preferred qualifications:
What are the characteristics of the person you are looking for?
What kind of background do they have?
How much experience do they need?
The next step is to think about each of the qualifications in terms of quantity. How many years of experience do they need? How extensive does their knowledge of a certain software need to be?
And this is where I caution my clients to think carefully about their answers. Because you could end up going down the path of deeming candidates as overqualified or underqualified — when they may be perfectly suited for the job.
Overqualified? Underqualified? Does it really matter?
Let’s say you put on your social media manager job posting that you “require” 3-5 years experience in social media management.
Take a moment to think about why you’re requiring that.
Now, obviously, you don’t want someone to apply who has never been on social media before. You want someone who knows what they’re doing.
But think about whether your requirements may be unintentionally weeding out really fantastic applicants. Because when you’re hiring freelancers, there are certain words in job postings that can send the message that “you’re underqualified” or “you’re overqualified.” Both of which translate to... Don’t Apply.
For some reason, our society is constantly sending signals that anyone in their 20s isn’t yet qualified for much of anything, while someone over 40 is most likely overqualified. But the thing is… you just can’t make those assumptions. Especially when you’re hiring a freelancer.
If a 20-year-old applies for a position writing software programs, how do you know they don’t have the necessary skills to do the job? Maybe they don’t yet have many years of experience, but they can demonstrate that they’ve mastered coding… if given the chance. Or maybe they already have more experience than someone twice their age.
When a 40-year-old who was previously a director or VP applies for a social media position that requires three years of experience, you can’t automatically rule them out as “overqualified.” Even though you may wonder why they’re now freelancing, chances are there is a story that will fill in the gaps for you… and it will all make perfect sense.
With freelancers, you just never know what brought them down that path. Maybe they’re caring for an ill relative, and they need the flexibility. Maybe they realized they no longer want a high-powered position, and they’re starting a new career in social media.
So when I hire freelancers for my clients, I try to look at each candidate holistically without too much rigidity.
That being said, there are three qualifications I look for when I’m hiring a freelancer.
3 Qualifications to Look for When Hiring Freelancers
When I’m recruiting for a client or hiring freelancers for my own team, I like to take an overall look at an applicant’s background, knowledge, and characteristics to help me decide if they could be a good fit for the position.
Background
The first thing I look at is their background. While I do typically like to see writers have a background in journalism, communication, or English… that doesn’t mean they have to have a degree. I honestly don’t care about education because I would rather have someone with direct experience than a fancy degree. If someone has that educational background, it’s certainly nice, but I won’t rule someone out because they don’t have it.
Knowledge of Software Programs
Next, I typically look for familiarity with certain systems. In the blogging and digital business world, it may be things like Photoshop, Canva, Dropbox, or project management software. This is something I really customize when I hire freelancers for my clients. But I also keep in mind that if a freelancer doesn’t have experience with ALL of the systems, that’s okay. As long as they’ve shown they know some of the systems, they can learn more.
Personal Characteristics
Finally, I am usually looking for a certain type of person, so I’ll look at their characteristics. For example, are they detail-oriented? Or reliable? And when I’m deciding which characteristics to look for, I’m usually seeking qualities that will complement my client. Or myself.
For example, I’m not very detail-oriented, so I definitely need everyone on my team to have that skill set. It’s important that I hire freelancers who are different from me so I can build a strong team.
Once I’ve sorted through applications according to these qualifications, I use one more filter to help zero in even further on the best candidates: a mini work trial or work sample.
How to narrow down candidates with a work sample.
Evaluating a freelancer by their resume or LinkedIn profile alone will not give you the full picture of their abilities. First, some freelancers are really good at applying for positions. And, let’s face it, they can put whatever they want on their LinkedIn.
That’s why when I’m hiring a freelancer, I like to request a work sample before the interview step of the process. It’s a mini work trial that can help you get a clearer picture of the candidate’s abilities than relying solely on experience and qualifications. Plus, when you focus on their abilities instead of years of experience, you can get over the whole underqualified/overqualified question.
What does a typical work sample look like? Let's say you’re hiring a social media manager. You can request they create a week’s worth of social posts, for example. Or write some Pinterest descriptions. This will give you a glimpse at their quality of work, responsiveness, how well they take your direction, and more. And I usually pay a flat rate of around $20 to show I value their time.
5 things I wish I’d known before hiring a freelancer.
If you’re thinking… I guess I have more to learn about hiring freelancers than I thought!… I am here for you.
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