Posted December 15, 2011 in How-To^[1]

You’re thinking about hiring a freelancer. That’s why you’re reading this post.

You may be a freelancer yourself (because freelancers do hire other freelancers^[2]). You may be a small business owner, or you might be the representative of a large corporation.

If you’ve never hired a freelancer before, the process might be a little bit confusing. There’s a ton information out there–some of it conflicting. How can wade through it all and find the best freelancer?

This post will take you through what I believe is the best freelancer hiring process, step-by-step. At the end, I’m inviting our readers (actual freelancers) to add their own advice. The result should be an invaluable resource on hiring freelancers.

Why Cheap Isn’t Always Best

Your first impulse may be to rush out and get the cheapest freelancer you can manage to find, but I’m here to say–don’t give in to this impulse.

Have you ever bought something you thought was a bargain, only to have it break a few days after you got it home? Well, that’s often what happens when a client hires a “bargain” freelancer.

Sure, there are a few rare freelancer deals out there–but most bargain basement freelancers use a similar model. To get enough to earn a living at those low rates, many count on getting as many “clients” as possible and putting minimal effort into each “project.” The web is filled with horror stories about cheap freelancers who didn’t do a good job.

Be aware that if you’re looking for a huge bargain, you’re also taking a huge risk.

Networking–Your First Stop in the Hiring Process

Instead, the best way to start your hunt for the right freelancer is through networking. You can tap into your offline and online networks to find qualified freelancers. Simply ask those in your network if they know of or can recommend a freelancer with the specialty that you are looking for. You may be surprised at how many responses you get.

As a reminder, here is a list of people you can check with in your hunt for a good freelancer:

• Family members
• Friends
• Professional colleagues
• Acquaintances (neighbors and others you are on a speaking basis with)
• Social media contacts (Facebook friends, Twitter followers, etc.)
• Members of your club or organization

Pay particular attention to those who recommend a freelancer that they’ve actually hired themselves. This is a best case scenario, but you will want to ask these folks a few additional questions.

Other Ways to Find Freelancers

If none of your contacts knows of a qualified freelancer (this is becoming increasingly rare), you can still find one. Here are two more venues that you might want to check:

• LinkedIn. LinkedIn specializes as way for professionals to network with each other. The most professional freelancers will have set up a complete profile there. You can search on a freelancing specialty to bring up those who are qualified in a particular area.
• Professional organizations. Most freelancing specialties have a related professional organization. For design there is the AIGA^[3]. For technical writing there is the STC^[4]. For journalism there is the ASJA^[5]. You get the picture. Most societies have a local chapter and offer job banks where you can place an ad for a qualified freelancer.
• Freelancing websites. You can also look at the posts on freelancing websites like Freelance Folder. Many top freelancers share their expertise with the freelancing community.

Once you’ve identified some freelancers you’re interesting in hiring, it’s time to do a little homework.

Doing Your Homework

Once you have some referrals, you’re ready to contact the freelancers, right? Wrong!

First you need to do some homework. Examine the freelancer’s website and/or LinkedIn page. Read over their references. Look at their portfolio work. If they have a blog, read a few posts.

Here are some red flags to watch out for:

• No website
• A poorly designed website
• A blog that hasn’t been updated in over a year
• No contact information on the freelancer’s site
• A website or blog that is full of sloppy work or mistakes
• All the posts on the freelancer’s blog criticize former clients

Doing your homework may seem like a lot of extra work, but it can save you a lot of grief in the end.

Ready to Contact Some Freelancers, Now What?

By now you’ve probably narrowed your original list down to a few freelancers. You’re ready to contact these freelancers and ask for a quote on your work (also known as an RFP or request for proposal).

When putting your information together, be as thorough as you can. No freelancer likes surprises during the project.

Here is some information to include:

• The work you want done
• When you need the project to be completed
• A means of contacting you with questions
• Any special requirements
• The number of revisions you expect (especially if there will be more than one person approving the project)
• Your tentative budget for the project

The more information you provide, the better the freelancer will be able to meet your needs.

The Freelancing Agreement

Chances are that a few of the freelancers you asked for a proposal won’t be available to work on your project. So, you’re probably down to one or two choices at this point.

At this point, I recommend choosing the freelancer that you’re most comfortable working with rather than the freelancer who quotes you the lowest price. Client/freelancer rapport is important and can provide a huge boost to the project.

A professional freelancer will probably ask you to sign an agreement formalizing the terms that they listed in their proposal. Naturally, you should check it over to make sure that it is accurate–but I strongly recommend signing this document. A good agreement will protect both you and the freelancer if something should go wrong later on.

Wrapping It Up

This may seem like a lot of work, but really it can all be done fairly quickly. An extra hour or two at the start of a project can really pay off.

The post would not be complete without me making one last recommendation. Once you’ve found a freelancer whose work you’re happy with, be sure to use them again (and again). Also, remember to refer your friends to them. Repeat business should be the reward for a job well done.

Your Turn

Freelancers, this is our chance to talk to clients before they hire us. What would you add to the process? Share your thoughts in the comments.

About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts^[6]. I'm also on Google+^[7].

References

1. ^{^} View all posts in How-To (freelancefolder.com)
2. ^{^} freelancers do hire other freelancers (freelancefolder.com)
3. ^{^} AIGA (www.aiga.org)
4. ^{^} STC (www.stc.org)
5. ^{^} ASJA (www.asja.org)
6. ^{^} WritingThoughts (www.writingthoughts.com)
7. ^{^} Google+ (plus.google.com)