#1 Assess your need to find the right freelancer
Whether you need to find a freelancer to cope with an overload of work or to cover skills that are otherwise lacking in your company, you need to know how to go about it. To be sure to find the right person, compile a brief of the upcoming assignment. But before that, you need to understand what to expect of a freelancer.
A freelancer is someone who works for themselves. With this type of worker, there is no subordinate relationship, which means no employment contract between the freelancer and their client. Having said that, the parties are free to enter into a verbal or written contract for the purpose of the assignment.
The freelancer acts as the customer’s collaborator for the length of the defined assignment. They work independently from the company. The freelancer can charge by time spent or as a flat-rate.
To find the right freelancer for the job, as the future customer you need to set out the objectives and terms of the upcoming assignment. A detailed brief helps to identify the skills required to carry it out. You need to target and attract the right person. It’s up to the customer, whether a company or an individual, to convince the provider to get on board. Not the other way around.
Freelancers are usually experts in their field of work. The rate they offer is relative to their experience. So, it follows that they will be more expensive than a novice. The more experienced the freelancer, the higher their average daily rate (ADR). The budget you want to/can allocate to the job is up to you. You have to weigh up the time saved, quality of the results and efficiency with the financial investment.
Good to know: You are fully entitled to negotiate the freelancer’s rates. The aim is to find a profitable common ground for both parties.
#2 Write a clear and precise brief
To convince the freelancer to accept the job, it is important to write an attractive offer. This will be your showcase. It must contain enough detail to inform the freelancer and make them want to work for you. A good job offer should include:
- The scope of the assignment.
- The company’s values. Do not underestimate the importance of the company brand, even when it comes to finding a freelancer.
- What the job entails.
- The profile you are looking for.
- The preferred start date.
- The exact or approximate start and end dates.
- The planned pace of work.
- The work location (on site or remote).
- Your expectations.
- The budget allocated to the assignment. This is a good incentive in boom sectors.
Our advice: Do not hesitate to adapt the brief to your audience to make the job as attractive as possible, and to be sure to find the right freelancer. You can afford to be more creative in writing the brief to find a UX freelance designer, for example. Conversely, to find a freelance accountant or lawyer, you might want to follow a more conventional format. You can also offer the freelancer in-house training to help them fulfill the task.
#3 Broaden your search range to find a freelancer
There are several channels you can try to find your freelancer. Try these:
- Personal or professional social networks.
- Freelancing platforms, such as LittleBig Connection.
- Job vacancies on your company career website.
The more detailed and competitive your brief, the more people it will attract.
#4 Go for the right freelancer profile
To be sure to find the right freelancer, talk to the service provider about your common expectations, as well as your ways of working.
Just as an employee conducts a job interview with a recruiter, you can set up an interview with a freelancer before taking them on.
There are several questions you can ask to avoid mismatching the job to the service provider. You might want to ask:
- Have you ever done a similar assignment?
- Do you have any professional references for us to see?
- Do you have other projects going on at the same time?
- What is your average daily rate (ADR)?
- What does your rate cover?
You can find a good freelancer but you need to do your groundwork to properly target the upcoming assignment. Follow our 4 tips to find that gem to support you in all your business.
