How To Hire A Freelancer On Short Notice

Freelancing has become increasingly popular over the past few years. It’s not just for college students anymore. In fact, many companies prefer hiring freelance workers because they can save money while also providing high-quality work.

Hiring freelancers is a great way to get top talent without breaking the bank. But finding the right person to fill your needs can sometimes be difficult.

That’s why I created this guide to help you find the perfect freelancer for any project and how to negotiate with them. This guide will also teach you everything from choosing the right freelancer to managing your project effectively.

8 Exact Steps To Hire The Right Freelancer On Short Notice

Hiring a freelancer is not as simple as it sounds. There are many reasons why your hiring process may not work out. This includes bad communication, a lack of trust, and poor planning.

Here are 8 steps to follow for choosing the right talent on short notice in the sea of freelancers.

This process will help ensure that you get quality work without wasting your time and money.

1. Set Up Project Goals First

Before you go ahead and hire somebody, set up clear goals for your project first. If you don’t know what you want, you won’t be able to find the right person for the job.

This will ensure that you’re both on the same page.

It’s important to know exactly what you want. Do you want an e-commerce website built? An infographic designed or a blog written?

For example, you want to write a blog post. Before you start writing, ask yourself these questions:

What am I trying to achieve? What audience does my blog serve? How much content do I need?

These questions will help you determine whether you need to hire a writer or not.

What are the deliverables? How much time do you need to complete the task?

Do you want a single-page website or a multi-page site? Will you be using WordPress or another CMS?

Knowing these things will help you narrow down the search results.

2. Choose the Right Freelancer Who Can Deliver

Now that you know what you want, it’s time to find the right person who can deliver the best on time. You don’t want to waste your time working with a bad freelancer.

Choosing the right freelancer is essential. There are three main factors that you should consider when selecting a freelancer.

• First, find a freelancer who has a proven track record. If he/she doesn’t have any clients yet, it means that he/she hasn’t been doing his job properly.
• Second, go for ones whose rates are reasonable. Don’t go for cheap freelancers. They may offer low-quality work.
• Third, find a freelancer whom you can trust. This person should be reliable and trustworthy.

There are plenty of websites online that offer freelance services, like Fiverr, Upwork, Peopleperhour, and a lot more.

Some of them are specialized sites that focus solely on freelancers. Others are generalist sites that allow freelancers to list their services under any category.

These sites usually feature reviews of freelancers based on their past performance.

When you find the right person, ask him/her to send you examples of his/her previous work.

This will give you a better idea of whether he/she is capable of delivering what you need.

3. Ask Questions Before Placing An Order

Before placing an order on any specific proposal, it’s crucial to ask questions to the service provider whenever you feel confused about deliverables or offers. After all, you’re hiring a freelancer to solve problems.

For example, if someone is offering a content writing service, then you may ask:

What exactly must the freelancer produce?

What type of writing will you deliver?

Will it be copywriting, content creation, editing, proofreading, etc.?

In how many days will you deliver this task?

Also, ask questions about the freelancer’s experience level. Are they experienced at working with clients like yours? Do they have previous projects similar to yours?

So, don’t hesitate to ask questions. These questions help ensure that you’re getting the right freelancer for the job.

Hire Someone Who Has Experience

Hiring a freelancer who has experience is beneficial. This will save you money and time.

A freelancer who has worked on similar projects before will understand your requirements better than a beginner.

Check References

Read his portfolio first and look for samples of his work. You can also check references from previous clients. This will help you to identify how well your freelancer works and whether he is worth hiring.

4. Negotiate the Price

After you’ve found the right person, negotiate the price.

Remember, you’re paying for the service, not the person.

Make sure that the freelancer understands the scope of the project, its complexity, and the amount of effort required to complete it.

When hiring a freelancer, there are two ways to approach negotiations:

1. One is to simply ask for the lowest rate possible. This works great when you’re just getting started, but it doesn’t work well once you’ve established yourself as a reliable resource.
2. The second method is to offer a fair rate, but be prepared to walk away if the freelancer won’t accept it. This strategy gives you leverage because you can say “No to the freelancer” and still end up paying less than you would have otherwise.

To begin negotiating, set a fair rate. Don’t go too low, as it’s unethical. Instead, aim for somewhere between 10% and 20% below the average rate for similar services.

Next, let the freelancer know that you’d prefer to pay them at this rate. If they balk, tell them that you’ll consider increasing your rate if they agree to the same terms. Then, wait until they come back with a counteroffer. If they don’t, you should feel free to move on to the next freelancer.

Be honest about your expectations. Don’t promise something that you cannot deliver.

5. Be Flexible

Flexibility is another important aspect of working with freelancers. Because A successful relationship between employer and employee requires flexibility.

As a client, you need to be open to changes. As a freelancer, you need to be prepared to accept change requests.

For example, if you decide to add a new feature to your website, you need to inform your freelancer immediately. Likewise, if you discover that the original plan doesn’t fit your needs, you need to tell your freelancer. He/she will then adjust his/her approach accordingly.

Also, you should be flexible when it comes to deadlines. Be prepared to change your plans if necessary.

For example, if your freelancer says that he/she needs more time to complete a task, then you should give him/her a specific amount of time.

Always remember that your freelancer is human too. Sometimes, he/she may miss deadlines.

However, if you discover that the deadline isn’t realistic, you should inform your freelancer immediately. So make sure that everything is delivered on time.

6. Effective Communication

Communication is key to building a successful relationship between clients and freelancers.

It’s important to clearly define expectations. For instance, you should tell your freelancer what you expect from him/her.

He/she should understand your vision and mission. He/she should provide feedback regularly. And lastly, he/she should deliver on time.

On the other hand, make sure that you respond quickly to messages. If you don’t reply within 24 hours, your freelancer may assume that something went wrong.

This will cause delays in projects.

If both sides keep updated about the progress of the project, it’ll improve your workflow and help to complete the job successfully on time and with greater satisfaction.

So managing communication is critical when you’re working with freelancers.

7. Follow Up Regularly

Get regular feedback from your freelancer or follow up to ensure that everything is going well. This will help you improve your workflow.

Check in every week or two to see how things are progressing. If there are problems, address them promptly.

If you don’t follow up, you may lose control of the situation.

In addition to following up, you can also set reminders on your calendar. This will remind you to contact your freelancer. 

Setting reminders will also prevent you from forgetting to follow up.

8. Pay Them On Time

Payment should be made within 24 hours after the completion of the project.

If you pay late, you may lose credibility and trustworthiness.

If you fail to pay your freelancer, he/she may stop working for you.

Managing Your Project And Freelancers Effectively

You’ve hired your team of freelancers. Now it’s time to manage them efficiently to get their maximum potential. So you can improve the workflow and get optimal results.

An online platform is a great option when you’re working with multiple freelancers. You can easily manage your entire team using an online platform.

Using a task management system would be the best option for this purpose since these are useful tools. They help you organize your workload efficiently.

For example, Trello allows you to create boards where you can assign different tasks to different people.

Conclusion

Freelancers are the largest generation in the workforce right now. They are tech-savvy, flexible, entrepreneurial, and willing to work anywhere.

They are also used to working remotely, and they expect their employers to provide them with the same opportunity.

Hiring a freelancer on a tight deadline is challenging. But if you follow these 8 steps, I’m sure you’ll be able to find the perfect candidate for the job.