How to select a talent for task ?

[6239d3cd]

Hi there , can anybody suggest me how to pick a talent for any task from lot's of proposal ? how you confirm that selected freelancer can fullfil your desire and satisfaction ??

[prestonhunter]

re: "how you confirm that selected freelancer can fullfil your desire and satisfaction ??"

I do not work for Upwork. I speak for nobody other than myself. These are my opinions:

As a client, I have hired over 180 freelancers on Upwork. Most have been great!

Some mediocre. Some terrible.

I can assure you that THERE US NO WAY TO KNOW FOR CERTAIN BEFORE HIRING THEM how a freelancer will work out for your project.

The most important thing is not to hire the right freelancers. The most important thing is to fire the wrong freelancers.

I hire multiple freelancers. I evaluate their work. I continue working with the ones who provide me with the most value. I fire the rest.

If you hire a freelancer and you don't like his work, or don't like him, it doesn't mean you are wrong. Don't waste time and money with a freelancer who is not right for the project. But there's no way to know until you hire them.

If you only hire one freelancer, you CAN NOT COMPARE him to other freelancers.

I personally spend no time "interviewing" freelancers. I hire based on their portfolio and profile page. And I evaluate their work after they have been hired.

[williamtcooper]

Mazharul,

JOB POST: Create a VERY exacting job post for the specific project you want completed. The more clearly and well written the job post, the easier it is for freelancers to determine whether it's an appropriate job to submit to. A well written job post will attract more exacting applicants that are eager to help. Keep the post to 100 words or less. The best freelancers are busy, and English isn't the first language of everyone on this site. Create a positive, friendly, and professional atmosphere right from the start.

LOCATING TALENT: There are two major ways to locate professional freelancing talent on Upwork. Your first step is to place the job post and freelancers that closely match the post will Apply for the job. Making the job available to all freelancers will - make the job available to all freelancers. Therefore, a wider range and typical more freelancers will apply. The second option is to use the Invite Only feature. Use Upwork's Talent search feature and on the top right of the screen type your keyword. Next, on the left side of the screen narrow down the exact qualities you are seeking such as category, location, consultations, job success, amount earned, etc. and then use the Invite Only feature to invite exact freelancers that you have handpicked to apply to your job post.

EVALUATING FREELANCERS: Now that you have eager freelancers that have applied to your job post, review their cover letters. If a freelancer has an acceptable cover letter, then take the time to view their Upwork Profile for the Summary, Earnings, Education, Jobs completed, Reviews and Portfolio. PLEASE ALWAYS review their profile before sending a rapid fire set of additional questions to the freelancers when the information is contained on their Upwork Profile. It's hard to believe, but many clients barely read the cover letter and don't view the freelancer Profile and begin asking questions such as “can you do what I asked” or “have you worked in my industry”. Professional freelancers know the fundamental information that clients need answered and will contain that within the combination of the cover letter and their Upwork Profile. After reviewing a freelancer's profile, then it's the perfect time to ask specific questions.

HIRING AND MANAGING: Once you have selected a few freelancers, it’s time to start the interview process. Select a few of the best candidates and interview them and also expect for the professional freelancers to be interviewing you at the same time. Stay on Upwork’s site during the interview process using either messaging or a short Upwork Zoom call. Another option is to Book a Consultation for either 30 or 60 minutes with a freelancer. Typically, but not always, the more experienced freelancers start their process off this way. In my case, it’s the only way I will start a client relationship so both of us come prepared for solutions at the Consultation; these are not chat sessions, but instead consults.

[sajal36]

It is important to select and hire the right profile for the job. From my experience, I will suggest the following - 

1. Screen the proposal and profile submitted for the job and shortlist the one which meets your job criteria

2. In case you shortlisted more than 3-4 profiles, in that case it is better to have a group call with candidates in groups 

3. Have the introduction on the project to the candidates in the call. You can explain the job specification, expecation etc. 

4. Ask the candidate to give you a 2-3 minutes brief about themselves with their experience on similar jobs and skills

5. You can take the note of the suitable candidate that you might want fit for the job

6.  In case required, you can have one-to-one call with the candidate you find suitable and selected for the job

I believe you will be able to save time and screen more profile with less time and effort. However initial shortlisting is key & if required you must hire the hiring manager to help on the same.

[prestonhunter]

Sajal, I think these are excellent tips.

But clients should keep in mind that it is impossible to compare a freelancer's work if you only hire one freelancer.

If you have a large project and an unlimited budget, don't worry about saving money. But if you have a limited budget, then you will need to hire multiple freelancers in order to compare their relative costs and continue working only with the freelancers who provide the most value.

[prestonhunter]

One of the biggest mistakes Upwork clients make is trying to select one freelancer for a project, assuming that it is possible to select "the right one" through some sort of interview or pre-hire selection process.

Then that hire is a disaster.

And they keep waiting and waiting and waiting for that hire to get work done or do a better job. When really the problem is simply that they didn't hire multiple freelancers.

[sajal36]

Resource loading depends based on the project estimates. Sometimes Clients want longer duration with less resources other time they look for shorter duration with more resources.

It is important to draw out the critical path for the project timeline and do resource loading, based on which the decision on number of resources can be taken.

[prestonhunter]

For a short task, it is often unnecessary to hire multiple people.

This task will take about 10 hours.

If you hire Peter, and his rate is $10/hour, and he gets the job done in 6 hours, then that is a total cost of $60.

If you hire Janet, and her rate is $100/hour, and she gets the job done in 10 hours, then the total cost is $1000.

The difference between hiring Peter and Janet is only $940.

So for most businesses, it does not really matter if you hire Janet or Peter.

But if the project is a large one, that will take a couple months of work, then it WILL make a difference if you hire Peter or Janet. For the larger project, it is important to hire multiple freelancers, perhaps six to start out with, and then continue working with the ones who provide you with the best balance of savings and quality.

[f1ecd428]

I'm not a client but everyone should do a Google image search on designer's portfolios to make sure they are showing authentic work .

[shariful_siraji]

1.  Create some questions related to your work, Those could be skill-based. Let them answer.

2. Give a problem that he will need to solve while sending a proposal.

3. Take time on selecting the best one. 

4. Trust previous client feedbacks. 

[williamtcooper]

Mazharul,

JOB POST: Create a VERY exacting job post for the specific project you want completed. The more clearly and well written the job post, the easier it is for freelancers to determine whether it's an appropriate job to submit to. A well written job post will attract more exacting applicants that are eager to help. Keep the post to 100 words or less. The best freelancers are busy, and English isn't the first language of everyone on this site. Create a positive, friendly, and professional atmosphere right from the start.

LOCATING TALENT: There are two major ways to locate professional freelancing talent on Upwork. Your first step is to place the job post and freelancers that closely match the post will Apply for the job. Making the job available to all freelancers will - make the job available to all freelancers. Therefore, a wider range and typical more freelancers will apply. The second option is to use the Invite Only feature. Use Upwork's Talent search feature and on the top right of the screen type your keyword. Next, on the left side of the screen narrow down the exact qualities you are seeking such as category, location, consultations, job success, amount earned, etc. and then use the Invite Only feature to invite exact freelancers that you have handpicked to apply to your job post.

EVALUATING FREELANCERS: Now that you have eager freelancers that have applied to your job post, review their cover letters. If a freelancer has an acceptable cover letter, then take the time to view their Upwork Profile for the Summary, Earnings, Education, Jobs completed, Reviews and Portfolio. PLEASE ALWAYS review their profile before sending a rapid fire set of additional questions to the freelancers when the information is contained on their Upwork Profile. It's hard to believe, but many clients barely read the cover letter and don't view the freelancer Profile and begin asking questions such as “can you do what I asked” or “have you worked in my industry”. Professional freelancers know the fundamental information that clients need answered and will contain that within the combination of the cover letter and their Upwork Profile. After reviewing a freelancer's profile, then it's the perfect time to ask specific questions.

HIRING AND MANAGING: Once you have selected a few freelancers, it’s time to start the interview process. Select a few of the best candidates and interview them and also expect for the professional freelancers to be interviewing you at the same time. Stay on Upwork’s site during the interview process using either messaging or a short Upwork Zoom call. Another option is to Book a Consultation for either 30 or 60 minutes with a freelancer. Typically, but not always, the more experienced freelancers start their process off this way. In my case, it’s the only way I will start a client relationship so both of us come prepared for solutions at the Consultation; these are not chat sessions, but instead consults.