As your business grows it often becomes far too much for a single person to manage. If you’re not quite at the point of hiring a full time employee, but still need a little help, freelancers are a great intermediate option. Short term contractors and freelancers are a great way to fill specific needs and cover gaps in your skillset.
Hiring is always tricky though, and bringing freelancers onto your team is no exception. While no one single article can cover all the intricacies, it’s my hope that it can still provide a useful framework for hiring your first freelancer.
Where To Hire
Before you start, it’s a good idea to figure out where you’re going to focus your hiring search. Personally, I’ve had great success on Upwork and have made numerous hires through there. There are dozens of other freelance websites of varying qualities and specialties, so explore a bit and find a few that have people in the industry you’re looking for. You can also tap into your professional network to see if anyone you already know has the skills you’re looking for.
Define What You Need
The first step is to figure out what you’re hiring for and what types of skills the freelancer should have. You’ll want to clearly define what type of work you need done, and this will help you find and interview freelancers.
This is often the easiest part as you’ll likely have a good idea of where your skills fall short. For example, I’m not a great designer, so the first thing I hired for was someone that had design chops. This let me fill a gap in my skill set that was important but something I was unskilled at.
Other good options are important but boring tasks. The key is that you should have a clear idea of what you need done, and what type of skills the ideal freelancer would have.
Don’t Expect a Superhero
Building off the above, when you define your needs it’s best to keep them fairly focused. A mistake I often see people make is trying to hire a “jack of all trades” and getting mediocre results because of it.
I find it better to be very specific with what you’re looking for and hiring for that. For example if you’re hiring a designer to build social media posts don’t expect them to be an expert in print design as well. There’s often some cross over in disciplines, but you shouldn’t expect it without confirming.
Also, don’t expect people to be cross functional unless you’ve discussed it beforehand. Someone managing your social media posts might not be skilled enough to handle the design for them.
Have a Budget In Mind
It’s always best to start with your end budget in mind and how much you’re willing to spend. There’s often a wide range of pricing for the same task, so make sure you do a little bit of research to figure out what’s an acceptable price range.
Keep in mind that you often do get what you pay for. A freelancer's rate doesn’t necessarily equate to quality, but a rate far below the average can often be a sign of inexperience. This isn’t always the case, but be wary of things that are too good to be true.
Make Your Job Posting Specific
With the above in mind you’ll be ready to start crafting your job post. A good job post includes the specific tasks you identified above and lists the specific duties of the job.
You should also be asking for examples of previous work that can help show off the freelancer’s skills. Any good freelancer is going to have a portfolio of work that they should be happy to show you.
It’s also a good idea to ask for specific examples of what you’re looking for. Going off the designer example, you might be hiring one specifically to design social media posts. If this is the case, call this out in the posting and ask for examples that show their skill in that field.
This is also a good way to filter out freelancers that have applied but didn’t really read the posting. If they send over a bunch of website designs they might not be a good fit.
How To Vet Freelancers
Vetting your freelancers is a tricky prospect and there’s no one way to do it. Depending on the disciple and your skills you may be able to come up with some questions that can help, but that’s not always the case.
I find the best way is to simply have a conversation with them and to review their past work. I think talking to them is important as it can show you how easy it will be to work with them and their passion for their craft. Reviewing their past work is self explanatory and they should hopefully tailor their examples to your project’s specifics.
Lastly, trust your gut and don’t feel like you have to hire someone. It can take some time, but it’s well worth waiting for the right person who not only has the skills you’re looking for, but fits well with you and your team.
Create Key Metrics and Define What Success Looks Like
A key point to any employee relationship, freelancers included, is having key metrics on what defines success. You should have a clear idea of what your new hire’s goals are, and what they need to do to achieve them.
You should also clearly communicate them to the freelancer so they can understand what you’re looking for. Not having a clearly defined set of goals makes it difficult for them to know what you’re looking for and, importantly, what they can do to help you grow your business.
Start Small
Once you’ve made a hire I find it always best to start small. Don’t overload them with a month of work at once, but start with a few small items to make sure they’re the right fit and can handle the work.
This is a great way to test your new hire, and gives you insights into what working with them is like. It also reduces the risk on your end since if someone ends up being not a good fit you don’t have too much time or money invested into them.
Depending on the type of work you can also use this as an opportunity to hire a few freelancers and figure out which ones you want to work with. This can be a bit more costly, but can be an excellent way to see a person’s skills in action.
Keep Communication Open
As your new hire works you want to make sure that you communicate frequently. Having open communication is key to making sure that things progress on schedule and any blockers are dealt with.
This isn’t groundbreaking, and is the same for anyone you’re working with. I see too many times though people hire freelancers, give them a job, and then disappear. Then, when the freelancer doesn’t get their questions answered they come back with less than stellar results. Make sure you’re communicating, and don’t be afraid to check in if you haven’t had any updates in a while.
Ask Them About Process
Lastly, I wanted to briefly touch on setting up repeatable processes that can make working much more predictable and manageable. I’m sure you have your own ideas about how to manage work, and depending on how long you’ve been working they may already be good.
It doesn’t hurt though to get input from your freelancer. They’re presumably experts in their field, and likely have some good ideas on how to manage a successful project.
Personally, I’ve learned and improved a lot by talking to those that I've hired and asking for feedback. They’ve often had really good ideas that I didn’t think of that really help to streamline and organize our work. Remember, you’re hiring them because they have skills that you don’t, so let them show that and give them agency over their work.