How to Find Freelance Work: Tips, Red Flags, and More

If you’ve decided to find freelance work, you may need to summon up a completelydifferent approachcompared to job seekers looking for more traditional positions.

For people who enjoy being in complete control of their careers, or who want a lot of variation in their work days, a freelance career might be the ticket.

The Growth of Freelancing

Every year, Upwork and Freelancers Union release a study thatanalyzes the freelance economy. Their 2019 report found thatmore people are seeing freelancing as a long-term option. It estimates 57 million Americans currently freelance, which is an increase of 4 million people since 2014.

The great news is that 96% of freelancers reported that they’ve seen a changed market within in the last three years: 77% said technology hasmade it easier to find freelance gigsand 71% feel that perceptions of freelancing are more positive.

When it comes to theearnings growth of freelancing, Upwork found that freelancers have a median rate of $20/hour, which is more than the $18.80/hour median rate for the U.S. overall.

And freelancers doing “skilled services” earn a median $28/hour. “This means the median skilled freelancer earns more per hour than 70% of workers in the overall economy,” the report says.

How to Find a Freelance Job

The bottom line is that freelancing is growing. Let’s go over how to find freelance work and the best methods to use.

Networking

Mine yournetworkfrom past jobs and professional contacts. As you cultivate your freelance career, think of yournetwork as a foundationon which you can build your jobs going forward.

Don’t limit yourself when it comes todefining your networkand who’s in it; contacts for future freelance jobs can include anyone from past professional colleagues to family, neighbors, and friends—both real and virtual.

Industry Groups

Making connections with professionals in your targeted industry is a networking method that can provide some leads. A great way to accomplish that is to identify and jointrade and industry associationswhere you can meet like-minded people. Attend conferences and events sponsored by third-party professional groups in your career field as well.

Social Media

Facebook、LinkedIn、Twitter和其他社交读出a channels can offer fantastic opportunities touse social media in your job search. These days, the vast majority of companies use social media to find the best new employees. If that’s where the hiring professionals are hanging out, it makes sense that you should be there too.

Search these social media sites withkeywords related to your desired role, such as “freelance tutoring” or “freelance software developer.” You can also post to your feed what kinds of jobs you’re seeking to help recruiters find you and allow connections to help you.

Job Sites

FlexJobs is, of course, a fantastic place tostart looking for freelance jobs! While there’s many job sites out there, FlexJobs canguarantee you a safe job searchthat’s free from job scams and fishy opportunities, which is often one of the most difficult parts about finding freelance work.

As a freelancer, you’ll spend a lot of your time hunting down jobs and gigs. Using FlexJobs take some of the legwork out of your search, since we track down and verify the legitimacy of jobs from all over the internet and compile them into 50 different career categories for easy searching.

Cold Pitching

Think that cool company down the street could benefit from your expertise? Send them an email! Cold pitching is emailing or messaging potential clients to offer your services. To make it worthwhile, you need tobe selective in whom you contactand be personal in your messaging.

Just like applying to a more standard job, potential clients will be able to tell if you’re just rapid firing emails off to many people. Research companies and reach out to only the ones you really want to work for and feel that your skills can be a good match for. Customize your email so they know you’ve done your due diligence and truly want to help meet their needs.

Your Own Website

No matter what kind of field you’re in, to find freelance work, youneed to show it off. Start with a website to showcase your skills and accomplishments. It doesn’t need to have impressive videos (unless that’s your field) or lots of content.

A simple website that collects what you do for clients is a great place to start. All you need is:

An About You page to talk about who you are, why you do what you do, and what your professional experience is
项目页面highligh(或类似的东西)t what you’ve done for clients
A Testimonials page for clients to rave about the excellent work you’ve done
A Contact page so people can get in touch

Even though most website builders make it super easy for you to get a website going, you may decide that’s not the right choice for you. After all, you still have to make choices and update the content regularly.

LinkedIn already has a big network. By joining groups, connecting with your network, and publishing on their platform, you could reach valuable contacts.

Start with a powerful summary. This is important for two reasons. First, the summary is the first thing people are going to look at when they land on your profile. Take the time to explain why someone should hire you. What’s your experience, and why are you so great at what you do?

Second, LinkedIn uses your summary to help determine what search results you show up in. The more keywords you use in your summary, the more likely you are to show up in a search result.

That said, don’t just throw a bunch of keywords in your summary. Make sure you’reusing the “right” keywords in your industryin an appropriate way. And, the more targeted keywords you use, the more likely you are to find people who are looking for you specifically and not someone in general.

Lastly, you can add media to spice up your profile. There’s nothing like showing clients exactly what you accomplished. So whether that’s a link to a live site you created or a static image you designed for a client, add some samples to prove you’ve got the skills you say you do.

References

Another commonly overlooked way to get clients is to skip asking for references or testimonials. It may be awkward to ask for one. But, since it has become increasingly common for people to rate everything, it may not be as pushy as you think.

Plus, it’s a way for you togather proof that you’re good at what you do. There’s nothing that speaks more highly of you than a satisfied customer.

The Dark Side of Finding Freelance Work

As you’re trying to find a freelance job, and while you’re on the job, you may run into some challenges. These are worth addressing so you know what to look for.

Scams

As mentioned earlier,scams are common在自由和远程工作清单。你需要to be vigilant when you’re looking for work andknow the signs of common job scams.

Overall, be sure you verify the company and/or the hiring manager, don’t fall for jobs that promise a lot of money for little work, and don’t give out your Social Security number or bank information. UsingFlexJobs will keep you safe from job scams.

Contract Issues

Freelancers can sometimes be taken advantage of, or asked to do work outside the scope of the contract. Before you agree to do more work for a client,review what the contract states. Are revisions included, or do you need to up your charges? Make sure additional work requirements are properly included in any future contracts to avoid these kinds of issues.

Payment Issues

InFlexJobs’ freelancer survey去年,24%的受访者说they were owed anywhere from $500 to $5,000 by clients. Difficulty getting clients to pay is unfortunately a common problem for freelancers.

If you haveunpaid freelance invoices,keep sending payment reminders. To prevent payment issues in the future, be sure to have payment terms in writing in the contract. Setting up online payment options to accept credit cards could also help speed up payment.

Too Many Samples

If a potential client is asking you for an original sample, discuss why they want it. It could be that they want to see what you do with their material. For example, if it’s a writing job, can you write in their voice? And, just like a regular job, one original sample is usually OK. Even asking for an edit on the original piece is OK, too (maybe they want to see how you take feedback).

But, when it spirals to three and four (or more) original samples, and more than one revision,you’re probably being scammed. More likely than not, the “client” is trying to get work out of you for free. Whenever someone asks for original work before they hire you, make sure you define the scope of what they are asking for and how it will be used. And, make sure to get this information in writing.

Feast-or-Famine Syndrome

The freelance world is often described asfeast or famine; in other words, you either havetoo much work or not enough. This can lead to long-hour days and weeks, followed by days or weeks of little to no work at all.

你需要to properly balance your time and get accustomed to budgeting and saving your money. And during those days or weeks when work is slow, that’s the time to really focus on your networking and job searching.

Common Fields for Freelance Jobs

In 2018, FlexJobs determined thecareer categories that had the most freelance openings. Here’s thetop five, as well as companies hiring for that type of role.

Computer & IT

Computer andIT jobslend themselves well to finding freelance work, as many companies need someone to work on a project basis. IT analyst, tech support representative, and systems administrator are some common job titles. Many of these roles can also be done remotely.