How to Hire a Freelancer
Hire a freelancer
Does your growing business need a freelancer? From simple data entry to large-scale projects requiring highly-specialized skills, the right freelancer can help you reach your goals and streamline your business – all without the commitment and cost of hiring a full-time employee.
Here are some tips to help you find great freelance work candidates and make the right hire for your business.
Why hire a freelancer?
Hiring a top freelancer allows you to work with an expert at a reduced cost. The right freelancer can hit the ground running with minimal training and complete both short-term and long-term tasks and projects with maximum flexibility, quick turnaround times, and low overhead.
Contributions of a great freelancer:
- Understand project briefs to produce accurate, high-quality work
- Handle multiple projects through to completion, consistently meeting tight deadlines
- Communicate effectively across multiple channels (email, Skype, online collaboration tools, etc.)
- Provide out-of-the-box, innovative solutions to meet project goals
- Help with time-sensitive projects or unexpected issues outside of normal working hours
Skills to look for in a great freelancer
Freelancers are often top experts in their field, providing specialized work to fill the skills gap at your company. To find a freelancer that matches your company’s needs, look for qualifications and work experience that reflect top freelancing skills, especially in the specific industry you’re hiring for.
Freelancer qualifications:
- Portfolio or samples of work
- Specialized skillset
- Knowledge of online collaboration tools, such as Asana or Trello
- Excellent communication skills
- Project management skills
- Flexibility and self-discipline
Writing a freelancer job description
A thoughtful description is important in finding qualified freelancer candidates. A freelancer job description should include a compelling summary of the role or project, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities, and the required and preferred skills for the position.
Keywords to include in your freelancer job description:
- Digital nomad
- Contract
- Part-time
- Remote
- Independent contractor
- Short-term
Interviewing freelancer candidates
Hire the right freelancer for your business by asking targeted interview questions that will reveal a candidate’s ability to seamlessly transition to different projects, manage demanding workloads and deadlines, and communicate consistently and effectively across a wide variety of channels.
Topics for freelancer interview questions:
- Time management skills
- Past freelancing experience
- How they measure and communicate results
- Personal work process
- Freelance rates, fees, and payment schedules
See our list of interview questions for more examples.
Explore How to Hire by Title
- Accountant
- Actuary
- Administrator
- Aeronautical Engineer
- Agent
- Ambassador
- Animator
- Apprentice
- Architect
- Artist
- Assembler
- Assistant
- Assistant Teacher
- Associate
- Barista
- Bartender
- Biomedical Engineer
- Bookkeeper
- Brewer
- Butcher
- Carpenter
- Chef
- Chiropractor
- Clerk
- Client Representative
- Clinical Psychologist
- Coach
- Concierge
- Content Writer
- Cook
- Copywriter
- Counsellor
- Curator
- Dental Assistant
- Developer
- Driller
- Driver
- Editor
- Electronics Engineer
- Engineer
- Epidemiologist
- Esthetician
- Fabricator
- Facilitator
- Financial Advisor
- Finisher
- Firefighter
- Freelancer
- Geologist
- Graphic Designer
- Greeter
- Hair Stylist
- how-to-hire
- Ice Cream Maker
- Independent Contractor
- Insulator
- Insurance Broker
- Interior Designer
- Intern
- Interviewer
- Manager
- Mover
- Security Guard
- Server
- Truck Driver
- Web Developer
- Welder
- WordPress Developer
*Indeed provides this information as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your career or legal advisor, and none of the information provided herein guarantees a job offer.