5 Things To Look For When Hiring a Freelancer
By: Jacob Morgan
Tags: Hiring Tips, Team Building, Future Of Work, Entrepreneurship, Business Development

Now is a time of transition and reinvention for many people around the world. Perhaps one of the biggest shifts happening is a move from full-time employment to entrepreneurship.

Lots of employees have lost their jobs and are now considering if they even want to go back to the workforce.

As more people continue to explore working for themselves there is going to be an increased demand in these people getting help for their businesses. This includes a variety of areas like sales, web design and development, social media, and a host of other areas.

Of course I’ve made some mistakes and had some bad experiences but overall these 5 tips have served me and my wife Blake quite well.

I made a video about this which you can see below. If you want more content like this then make sure to subscribe to the Be Your Own Boss Podcast Youtube Channel where my wife Blake and I teach you how you can be your own boss.

As a disclaimer almost all of the freelancers I have worked with over the years have come from Upwork which is a freelance marketplace, although the criterial below should be applicable to any platform you might be using.

1) 90% and above approval rating — regardless of whatever platform they’re using, there is going to be an approval rating. I am looking for the top 10 percent of the pool. In my experience freelancers below this level tend to have issues with quality of work or communication.

2) Total earnings in their career — looking at how much money they’ve already made in their freelancing career tells us (Blake and me) how serious they are and the amount of experience that they already have. On a site like Upwork you can see much they have earned on the marketplace. I prefer more seasoned freelancers although this isn’t a hard rule since sometimes people can be new.

Blake and I made lots of mistakes during our entrepreneurial journey and learned things the hard way, but you don’t have to. Whether you are considering going off on your own or you already have, this will be a valuable resource for you. Download our PDF on the 7 things you need to master if you want to be a successful entrepreneur.

3) Native English Speaker (or your local language) — depending on the work you’re giving them, more often than not, you’re going to want someone who is proficient in english. This will make communication easier and it avoids things getting lost in translation. This is crucial especially if someone is helping you with any kind of content.

4) Read Reviews — this helps you determine how good they are and how they treated their clients in the past. Sometimes negative reviews can be unjustified so having context around why those reviews exist is important. The same thing is true for positive reviews, I always like to know why someone received great feedback, not just that they received it.

5) Life Stage — Blake and I like somebody who will stay around for a long time so we want people who are stable in their personal and professional life. This might sound like a strange thing to look for but if someone is a digital nomad traveling the world or is perhaps right out of college and is just testing our being a freelancer, then they might not stay around for a while. Of course this depends on if you just need a quick task or a long-term relationship. For me, I’m always looking for someone I can work with for many years to come.

Your criteria might be a bit different depending on what you are looking for, but this is a great place to start!