How do you find the right freelancer?

[ca3e1b8c]

When we posted a job as a client, there are lots of proposals we receive from freelancers who want the job. But how can we find the right freelancer? Can you share some tip how you choose the best freelancer?

[474fe4d7]

Hi John!

1st of all you have to see who understands your requirements he/she will explain your project in proposal, what she/he can do for you after then you have to see their attachments or portfolio (previous work) related to your project.

[4d481267]

hello john

You have to understand if he can do your job or not

[leon_lk]

Hi John,

better you first categorize the right area of your requirement.

then rather than looking for a proposal better, you search suitable freelancer for your work.

if you have a low budget better you go for a new freelancer (but your project should not be time critical)

if you want quality work then look at the freelancer's past client feedback

hope this help for you

[esduncan]

Hi Leon

I am a Freelancer and have loads of experience but only one client here on UpWork who does not give feedback. So relying on past client feedback during your selection process could exclude you from finding a really great freelancer. 

From a Freelancer point of view, my suggestion is to include relevant questions in the job description and look for the answers in the job proposal - this way you can focus on those proposals that are actually relevant.

Thanks!

[clarissajaneen]

If you have lots of expereince outside of Upwork, you can use the testimonials to get your non-upwork clients to leave reviews for you that upwork clients can see on your profile. Have you also tried asking your client to leave you a review after the project is completed? Sometimes clients just don't think about it.

[leon_lk]

Hi Erica,

your point is valid but in this space, you have to have good patience.
me, it took about 8 months to get my first job. and after about 3 months from that due to less business, Upwork suspended my account due to a low hire rate. then after an appeal, they onboarded me again.
we should know what customers want in our expert area and we need to pitch accordingly

even a great freelancer, must get the first impression from customers with a creative-short profile.

because the first is the last 🙂

[ananchenkobineks]

Hi Erica,

I kinda agree and don't agree at the same time. On the one hand, you are right that not always the feedback represents the real picture of what the freelancer or an agency are about, whereas on the other hand, it's one of the key elements you should rely on as a client.

My top for a client would be as follows:

1. Look at the proposal and make sure that the freelancer properly reviewed your job description and asked the right questions.
2. Look at the examples the freelancer shared. If you asked for a specific example which could be as relevant/similar to your requirements as possible, and he/she provided that, then it's a good sign.
   
   However, it's not always the case that you should be considering only the ones with relevant example. The world is huge and there are hundreds of thousands of different variations of similar functionalities of things that are more complex than a specific feature you're looking to implement. That means that the freelancers might have worked on something cool that is more complex or somewhat similar to your job in the past which means that he'd likely be able to help you accomplish your goal as well. 
3. Look at the profile and check historically how happy the clients used to be whilst working with that specific person. And as a general tip/more of a personal preference, I'd also check agency profile and the other profiles of the agency to better understand how generally people tend to feed back about the work with agency and its members.

What do you all think? 

[22000542]

How can I start my work

[22000542]

How can I start my online business through this upwork

[prestonhunter]

re: "How can I start my online business through this upwork"

re: "How can I start my work"

Read and follow all of the directions here:

https://community.upwork.com/t5/New-To-Upwork-101/The-advantages-of-freelancing/ta-p/1084668

[7ec08400]

Basic trick is that the guy you hire should know about the job. Secondly, to make sure that he reads the job description completely is to put in information that is required to be answered when they submit a proposal. This way you can atleast know that the guy has attention to detail and understands the assignment completely. 

[f55ce740]

This is very essential as many freelancers do not read thoroughly.

I am a freelancer and work as a Virtual Assistant/ Customer Support. I need a good client to work with on a long time basis.

[geng-resel]

Hey Ngozi! 

Understand the job posting well and the some research for the unfamiliar requirements they are searching and send your spectacular raw letter. 

[rajdeep13c]

If looking for right freelancer, first check his profile, total work experiene, plan, stetergy and communication.

[prestonhunter]

John Keit:

I have hired over 180 freelancers on Upwork.

I spend essentially zero time doing interviews.

I mainly look at portfolios.

Then I hire multiple freelancers and ask them to do the same task.

[spxpert]

Preston,  

Agree with you,  UpWork is a space where everyone is working because they are motivated.  Upwork profile gives you a lot of information (total hours,  successfull jobs etc.) 

* If you have less budget and simple project,  go for relatively new freelancer who looks promising (linked in,  certifications).

* If you are looking for long term association with complex project,  better to hire someone who has history of doing great work (first Upwork History,  LinkedIn, Certifications).

Having said that,  shortlist your top 3 and invest sometime in the quick interview (remember everyone looks smart unless they speak).

Hope this helps 🙂

[prestonhunter]

You CAN NOT find the right freelancer by hiring only one freelancer.

The only reliable way to find the right freelancer is to hire multiple freelancers, evaluate their work, and continue working only with the one (or ones) who do the best work and provide you with the most value.

If you have a small job, you don't need to find the best freelancer for the job. 

But the longer you plan to work with a freelancer, the more important it becomes, from a cost savings perspective, to hire multiple freelancers in order to find the best for the ongoing position.

[feed_my_eyes]

---

Preston H wrote:

You CAN NOT find the right freelancsr by hiring only one freelancer.

---

Of course you can hire just one freelancer and have them be the right one - clients do it all the time. If your theory was correct, no client who only hired one freelancer would ever be happy, and that's clearly not true. Hiring multiple freelancers is a waste of time and money unless you're paying a low hourly rate and have lots of spare time to monitor all of them.

[prestonhunter]

re: "Of course you can hire just one freelancer and have them be the right one - clients do it all the time. If your theory was correct, no client who only hired one freelancer would ever be happy, and that's clearly not true. Hiring multiple freelancers is a waste of time and money unless you're paying a low hourly rate and have lots of spare time to monitor all of them."

You are talking about finding "a right freelancer", rather than finding "the right freelancer."

For MOST JOBS, it is not necessary to find "the" right freelancer.

For most jobs, clients simply need to find a freelancer who is suitable for the project.

By definition, if you only hire one freelancer, who can't know if that freelancer was the best candidate from among the freelancers who were available.

But so what?
If this is a relatively small task, it is not necessary to hire multiple freelancers. All that is needed is to get the job done.

As the size or importance of the task increases, or the length of time that you plan to work with the freelancer increases, it becomes increasingly more important for a client to hire multiple freelancers in order to compare them and choose the best.

I read the Clients section in the Community Forum regularly. One of the number one MOST FREQUENTLY SEEN MISTAKES made by clients is their failure to hire multiple freelancers for large projects.

So many times, more than I can count, do we read about clients who have spent $5000 or $10,000 or $20,000 on a website or app development project, yet feel thst they have little or nothing to show for it. Or they say that the freelancer they hired is incompetent and can't finish the job. Or they say that the time is now double or triple the amount of time they expected to finish the project.

Why?

Because they only hired one freelancer.

This is an important concept:

You can't find "the right freelancer" by hiring only one freelancer.

If any one of dozens of freelancers will suffice, then don't worry about finding "the right freelancer."

If a lot of money is on the line, then hire multiple freelancers.

[feed_my_eyes]

---

Preston H wrote:

So many times, more than I can count, do we read about clients who have spent $5000 or $10,000 or $20,000 on a website or app development project, yet feel thst they have little or nothing to show for it. Or they say that the freelancer they hired is incompetent and can't finish the job. Or they say that the time is now double or triple the amount of time they expected to finish the project.

Why?

Because they only hired one freelancer.

---

This doesn't happen because they chose one freelancer, but because they hired someone and let them rack up hours without paying any attention to their work. If they'd hired multiple freelancers and paid no attention to what they were doing, they'd be even worse off.

[prestonhunter]

re: "If they'd hired multiple freelancers and paid no attention to what they were doing, they'd be even worse off."

That is very true, and a good point.

But also: It is impossible to compare a freelancer's work on your project if you only hire one freelancer.

A client named "Parley" hired a freelancer to create a web aplication for him.

The freelancer completed 4 modules, at a cost of $500.

Was this freelancer providing Parley a good value or not?

Is it possible for Parley to save money?

How can we know?

Another client, named "Zayna" hired 3 freelancers to work on the web application.

Freelancer A completed 4 modules, at a cost of $200.

Freelancer B completed 4 modules at a cost of $500.

Freelancer C completed 4 modules at a cost of $1500.

All of their work was of equal quality

So Zayna assigned most of the work to Freelancer A, in order to save money. She assigned some tasks to Freelancer B. She closed the contract on Freelancer C.

What if Zayna had chosen ONLY Freelancer C? The result would have been high-quality work. But the end result would have cost much more than it would have cost if she primarily assigned work to Freelancer A.

For a small project, IT DOESN'T MATTER.

For a small project (only one module), the difference between Freelancer A and Freelancer C is not so significant that Zayna would have worried about it.

But Zayna's project entails 50 different modules. So, if you do the math, you can see how the savings were SIGNIFICANT because she hired multiple freelancers.

[prestonhunter]

re: "This doesn't happen because they chose one freelancer"

HIring only one freelancer on a large development project is simply a mistake.

The potential excess cost and delays are not the only factors.

It is simply bad project management to have only one developer familiar with a large, significant project.

What if you ONLY hired Janet, and then she was sick in the hospital for a week? Whether it is during initial development, or during maintenance of the live system, the project is better off having multiple familiar with the backend of the software system.

Having multiple freelancers working on the development of the project also helps ensure that it is archived properly, properly modular, and architected in a way that makes sense for long-term development and maintenance.

Every time I read about the heartache-inducing disappointing experiences described by Upwork clients who spent a lot of money without achieving results, I wish they not hired a single developer.

We read about clients who go many months without seeing satisfactory results, spending thousands of dollars, because they don't know better. They think that's how a development project must be. But it doesn't have to be that way.

[marc_compte]

---

Preston H wrote:

You are talking about finding "a right freelancer", rather than finding "the right freelancer."

---

And so are you.

---

Preston H wrote:

This is an important concept: You can't find "the right freelancer" by hiring only one freelancer.

---

By "can't" I assume you mean you can't guarantee that you'll get the right freelancer by hiring only one, because the factual possibility is always there.

Then, in similar terms, you can't find "the right freelancer" by hiring only multiple freelancers, either. The only way you can make sure you get the right candidate is to hire them all. And in that case it would still be the right freelancer among the ones available and short-listed, not necessarily the right freelancer in absolute terms.

And even if you had access to all freelancers in the world and the money to test them, the definition of "the right freelancer" has a lot to do with who is judging and its perspective, which sometimes may not necessarily be leading to pick the right freelancer for the project from someone else's perspective.

You can't find the right freelancer, period. By hiring more freelancers you can test them and choose, increasing your chances of finding a good one (the best one among the ones you tested, according to your judgement). In the end, we all have to settle for something.

---

Preston H wrote:

So many times, more than I can count, do we read about clients who have spent $5000 or $10,000 or $20,000 on a website or app development project, yet feel thst they have little or nothing to show for it.

---

Indeed, but most of the times the reason for that is not because they didn't hire 10 developers. Most of the times, those complaints come from clients who a) did not have a repo b) shared their in-house credentials c) did not check the work until after a whole month d) ...

If the project management were the same and they paid the same attention to those 10 than the one they paid to the first developer, they would still have the same problem, but they would have spent $100.000 or more.

If you hire one freelancer and do a proper management, you will keep track of the progress regularly, and even more at the beginning. If the freelancer does not deliver, the manager will cancel the contract and hire a new one. If you do that diligently you will not find yourself having spent $20.000 and having nothing to show for.

Hiring more freelancers at once has advantages in some cases, I agree, but it is not the solution to all problems and the least of the issues in a huge number of cases.

[piggington]

If you want to miss out on hiring top rated talent, then I guess you can hire multiple freelancers for the same task, but the top rated freelancers won't waste their time. You hire me based on my credentials and experience and only me or I walk away from the project. The good ones are in a position to not have to play those silly games.

[the3dguru]

Conversely, I'd be fine with that. As long as I get paid for my time, why should I mind if the client wants to test out other contractors? I'm not afraid of a little competition and they might find somebody cheaper than me who will do that job just as well. Well done to them in that case. As long as they don't waste of lot of money on somebody who can't do it and expect me to compensate for that somehow.

However, I think a lot of it depends what area of the site you are working in. The problem with that approach for my side of Upwork is that many client's can't find one person who can complete the project, never mind several of them.

[prestonhunter]

re: "If you want to miss out on hiring top rated talent, then I guess you can hire multiple freelancers for the same task, but the top rated freelancers won't waste their time. You hire me based on my credentials and experience and only me or I walk away from the project. The good ones are in a position to not have to play those silly games."

David:
I can't hire "you and only you" for three key reasons:

a) As a client, my projects are often far too big and complex for you to handle by yourself. More than one freelancer is needed for these projects.

b) You could get sick. Or you could take a vacation. Or you could adopt puppies and take a year off to raise them. I can't rely on only a single individual to work on my important project. I need more than one person who is familiar with our system.

c) I don't know you. I can't predict how you will work out on my project just by reading your profile. So I'm going to hire you, and pay you. And I'm going to hire other freelancers, and pay them. And if you're really all that, then you'll probably be my "go-to" person. But if your work doesn't provide value to my project compared to the other freelancers I hire, then the other freelancers will be the ones who my project manager will assign to do most of the work.

There's nothing wrong with hiring multiple freelances to work on the same task. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith were hired to do the same task. Should only ONE of them have been hired?

[ajmal_developer]

Hi John,

Here are my personal tips to find a good freelancer.

1. Keep in mind your requirements such as budget, time and scope of the job.

2. Read the proposals of the freelancers and their budget for the job.

3. If you think this freelancer could be a good option go to his profile and check his/her profile with details such as client feedback, Work history, and most important his services.

4. If his/her services are niche specific, It could be a plus point.

bonus tip.

If you think his time frame, budget and skills are under your requirements for your job, hire him on a trial basis.

[dc1992ba]

A clear definition of how the freelancer is going to solve my problem in the proposal. 

A clear profile and work history

[the3dguru]

That first one is not always possible. The job description may not be complete enough to give a solution. It might be a long explanation full of technical detail and the client may not understand it anway.

An alternative would be the freelancer asking relevant questions, or explaining what information they would need to know. As long as they show some understanding of that area of development.

[kalpacino]

Hi John, 

I have seen that a combination of factors helps an advertiser to get the right freelancer. If there are already Upwork ratings, that is a very good point to start with. The reviews of the other advertisers matter a lot in terms of the freelancer's skillsets, efficiency, attitude, creativity, availability, punctuality, and so on. To some extent, the hourly rate can play a pivotal role. Make sure that the rate justifies the job requirement. Sometimes, advertisers choose the rate as the criterion, instead of quality and are disappointed.  

Observe how much effort the freelancer has invested in crafting a proposal for you. Have they merely forwarded a couple of lines or a standard response? For example, if you are looking for a programmer with Python skills, see if the freelancer has taken the effort to highlight his or her experience in the field. Or are they covering up by writing about the (other) skills they possess in C, Java, Mainframe, etc.Or are they evasive? The more personalized the proposal is, the better the chances of the candidate doing a great job!

Do not ask for free work. Only the desperate cases will do anything for free, imagining this will give them an advantage over the "competition." Nothing puts off a serious freelancer more than the need to do something free to qualify for the job. It is a great idea to respect the skills and time of the contractors, and asses them. When I was setting out as a freelancer, I was duped by unscrupulous advertisers who promise heaven and the earth and get some free jobs done, and disappear!

Make your payment terms clear. I have never understood why some advertisers post their jobs but never clear their payment terms. The freelancer expects to be paid. So mention the rate that you can pay, either hourly or as a lump sum. But do not keep it blank. For all you know, you may lose some of the best resources here!

Finally, ask for samples related to the nature of work you are interested in assigning. There is nothing like previous work to decide the authenticity of freelancers. 

Good luck and good hiring!
Kalyan Iyer

[sammargraphics]

By checking previous work and portfolio

[5801e82d]

How about we new freelancers who are yet to land our first work

[58c0c5ee]

This is a tough one. But I think the best way would be to look at the credentials  but don't ultimately base your decision on this as many freelancers with a relatively small portfolio could actually suprise you. You need to engage in discussions with potential hires as this will help you see their level of committment and how knowledgable they are in the skills they have

[feed_my_eyes]

Most of the proposals that you'll receive will be an automatic "no" because of clearly unsuitable freelancers who will spam you. Many of them won't even have the skill that you've requested, or they haven't read the job description (even the ones - especially the ones - who start their proposal with the sentence, "I have read your job description"). You can decline these and create a short list in order to make your decision more manageable. From there, see which ones address your needs in their proposal and who actually seem to understand what you're requesting. (Of course, the success of this also depends upon your ability to write a detailed yet concise job post - if you only write something like, "I need a web developer", then nobody will be able to address your needs or give you an accurate estimate.)

From there, think about your needs and goals. If you have a rapidly approaching deadline, you're not going to have time to go back and forth correcting mistakes from a less experienced freelancer, so choose somebody who has years of relevant work experience. If budget is the most important thing and you've got time to spare, you could go with somebody who looks promising but has less experience. Also check profiles for education, work experience, reviews and portfolios. Obviously, there are new freelancers who won't have reviews yet, but they should at least look like they've invested some time in filling out the other sections of their profiles; many freelancers have clearly only spent about 5 minutes slapping a profile together, which is a sign of their lack of professionalism, IMO. 

Once you have a shortlist of 2-3 people, you can then message them to ask further questions, and/or request a brief Zoom call to see whether you and the freelancer communicate well. Unfortunately, it's become increasingly necessary to request video calls with new freelancers, since many people are misrepresenting themselves, their language abilities and their location; it will give you added reassurance if the person in the video is the same person that's in the profile photo.

[084ef8f0]

A new freelancer with his/ her portfolio, job experience and expert in his/ her field can also be the best suitable candidate, but no one hires new freelancer without upwork job history even for free. 

[usama_pak]

MR John Keit C hope you are in good spirits 

you can Decide By Reading First Two lines of proposal . Given points should Be Adressed 

* Your Job description is read by The freelancer 

* if any part of solution is given in the proposal - 

* if he have any attachments of his recent work 

thats Where 50 percent of non proposal eliminated . Hope it will Help 

[iqramarium]

Requesting a paid test sample from a freelancer is a great way to see if they're a good fit for your needs before committing to working with them on future projects.

[cd92e8d7]

Hi John, 

I know a lot of people have said go through their portfolio, the work they've done, etc. There are a lot of freelancers who are entry level with no much experience but are extremely enthusiastic about their work and would strive to deliver quality and prompt work if only someone would take a chance on them.

[geng-resel]

Try to build a lobg term partnership with your existing or past clients.