Working As A Global Freelance Software Developer
By: Cagatay Yazici
Tags: Software Development, Freelancing, Communication, Career Advice, Self Improvement

It’s even stunning as a slogan, isn’t it? Experiencing a business life that has no geographical borders… Traveling frequently… Working on developing software programs that would let you engage with a different culture of a different country… Earning more…

When you realize that it is actually ‘working as a freelance software developer’ that paves the way for a way of life like that, the questions of ‘how to do that?’ and ‘what to do?’ start to arise. But really how? How can you work like that and also have many clients all around the world?

If you want to be a top-rated developer on some global platforms and enjoy your life, there are some key hints and tips for you to consider. We can go over things related to ‘what you should do before getting the job’, ‘what you should do when working on it’, and ‘what you should do after completing the task’ and make a shortlist accordingly.

There are some certain things that you should do while contacting your client. That’s to say, there are wording and a way of communication at the right time. There could be some points on which you might need some extra information or you should make some explanations. This, communication with your client, affects the success of the work and your rating.

Undoubtedly, working systematically and being trustworthy is one of the most important inputs as well as coding capabilities but these are already what the others on those platforms count upon. What makes the difference is that you should form that interaction with the proper quality.

Whether it’s the part that you get briefs or it’s the phase that you talk about what you have done so far at some points, there are some tips that you can benefit from, apart from your technical knowledge.

Keeping in mind that the person you communicate with may not be working in your sector, so he/she might not be quite familiar with the jargon you use. Realizing that, as a developer, you might have some communication tendencies that could cause some problems for the people that don’t have a developer background. It means that you can either go very much into detail and let the other party distract or, you might never ask enough questions, give enough explanations. Both of these would kill your job. Software developers like to take facts into consideration better than they do feelings. That’s why they don’t communicate paying attention to the reactions of the other party. Sometimes they look arrogant, indifferent, or didactic when communicating. For example, they say: ‘You can’t do this that way.’ Or, ‘I’ve never seen anything like that before.’ They don’t look to sort something out by trying to figure out how to do that. They just have a ‘No, you can’t that’ perspective of view. They consider the other party as someone that has the potential of mixing things up. They’ve got an intention of underestimating the other party as they have some other jobs that need less technical knowledge. There could be some problems about keeping up with schedules and programs in that software developers are generally picky and a perfectionist who always look forward to adding something to what they do in order to have the best possible outcome. They might consider taking the time and doing something slowly as a part of the job, actually. In general, usually, they don’t have urgency in their codes, in a nutshell.

All these things end up as an obstacle, for a software developer, in getting anywhere near to a possible agreement by coming up with alternative opinions when negotiation with people. For instance, when the other party comes up with a $ 5000 offer, developers only respond with a simple ‘No, that’s not okay.’ They don’t really have a constructive approach as they don’t try to do what should be done within the bounds of possibility.

When there’s a setback about a particular work, the developer does not inform the other party on the right time with the right words. There occur problems when the developer does not take the expectations and feelings into consideration.

In conclusion, communication skills play a massive part in software developers’ lives and this kind of situations might be too hard to cope with. Therefore, it is wise to develop a communication repertoire that makes the other parties feel comfortable, understood and easily cooperative so that you can get and satisfy clients.