7 Tips to find a freelancer that will fit your firm best!

1- Outline your tasks and expectations

Forewarned is forearmed. Do you want to make sure that your project ends up in the hands of someone with excellent skills and the ability to make it a success? Cover your bases and provide a clear job description and its corresponding expectations. It may sound cliché, but the clearer the wine, the better it is drunk. If both you and the freelancer in question know precisely what the challenge is all about, there is a good chance that your collaboration will run smoothly and that you feel like working together again in the future!

2- Take your time in your introductory meeting

If you want to know who you’re going into business with, conduct a thorough intake. That way, you know who you’re dealing with, and you can discover whether you click on a more personal level too. Hiring a freelancer is not that different from hiring someone on your payroll: remember that you only want to work with someone you’d take on permanently. Freelancers, on their side, consider this just as important. They hope for mutual understanding and a great partnership as well as you. Where there’s trust, special results and solutions can grow, and they aren’t even necessarily all work-related.

3- Ask for references and dare to check them

When you hire a permanent employee, you do the exact same so why wouldn’t you with a freelancer? By checking references you’re making sure that you’re taking on someone with the right mindset and abilities for your need. Let an independent party confirm how their collaboration with this consultant has been for them. Something to think about!

4- Be open and truthful

If you want to establish that working together is nice for everyone, don’t hesitate to give freelancers honest and frequent feedback. That’s how they can adjust their course and grow. By communicating in such an open way, you’re not only increasing the chances of a successful cooperation, but you also give the freelancer the opportunity to get to know you better. Don’t forget that they don’t know your company culture yet and need time to integrate. Keep all lines open and update freelancers on the values that live in your organisation; it helps them to consider those in their work and end results.

5- It takes one to know one

Want to be absolutely certain that you’re hauling someone in that you can trust? Use your network. People that are active in the same domain as you, undoubtedly have some experience hiring a freelancer. They can help you and connect you with people they know and trust by now. Another possibility is to consult a specialised agency that recruits freelancers for you as they often have a whole portfolio of profiles that have proven their worth and could fit you perfectly.

6- Use a test case

Not leaving anything up to fate? Start your freelancer on a small, inhouse project. This will give you an estimate of what future endeavours would be like with them. Of course, such a project is hardly comparable to ‘the real deal’ or to long-term partnerships but it could be an ideal way to find out what this person is capable of and how they tend to approach things.

7- Cheap isn’t always better

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. It’s an old saying, but it’s just as true as ever. Don’t be affronted by pricing: it may seem high at times, but you shouldn’t forget that a regular employee has quite a bit more extra-legal advantages that a freelancer simply doesn’t. Don’t choose the cheapest profile; relevant expertise and experience are more important criteria to decide on. Obviously, we’re not saying you must pick the most expensive one out there. As per usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Need help finding the right freelancer for your project? At addon we love to match the right freelancer to your challenge. That way, you can rest easy while enjoying a professional partnership that results in success!