Freelancing can be challenging, especially for those who are just starting, with no or low reviews what so ever you find it hard getting one single gig. And when you do, you have to sell your services at a low price for a lot of work. I recently got my first gig on Upwork after five months of hunting. Yeah, five months, I don't know what I have been doing wrong, if I was doing something wrong in the first place. Or it's just bad luck.
Anyways for those of you who have been living under a rock. Upwork is a freelancer site, and everyone is talking about it! Some say it's better than freelancer.com, which I agree since there are a lot of people (no offense) spamming in every proposal, and some of which are breaking freelancer.com's guidelines. I found it harder to find a gig on there. Upwork is more strict about their policies, which I'm A-Okay with.
I'm getting out of point, so let's get started with: Freelancing Tips From My First Experience.
Before Placing A Bid.
Before placing a bid on a project, read the title and the project description carefully; read it five times if you have to. This is because you need to know that you are up for the project. Lay it down on your head, and make sure you can build the project as smoothly as you can (obviously, it won't 100%). Now I'm not saying don't take a little challenge, but make sure you are up for it.
I know this is obvious, but some people bid randomly, not knowing they are biding something out of their expertise. Then they get chosen and accept the job. Trust me; people do this. And that is a recipe for disaster.
While biding be as honest as you can be, don't say you know PHP while to don't. The person who placed the job will feel your energy, and that might determine if you got the job or not.
Be Formal.
While placing a bid or talking to the client while building the project, ALWAYS be formal, nice, and polite. Don't talk to them as if they are your BBF; this will make you look disrespectful, and in some cases, they might even fire you from the project.
As the saying goes: What you give, you will receive. Or just get fired and get a one-star review.
Once you get the job, thank them for choosing you. Now, don't thank them too much since this would be unprofessional and make you look desperate (keep that part a secret 🤫). Even once completing the project, ask for feedback to see where you stand.
While in a call, talk loud with a clear voice. If you have your webcam on, make sure you are wearing something formal and clean up the background, don't leave a mess, especially in your workspace, unless you want to drop your coffee on your keyboard while showing the client their project.
Ask Questions and make suggestion.
If the client uploads a website framework you will be building, take a good look at it.
Have a question? Ask it to the client. Instead of trying to figuring it out by yourself and wasting time, ask it to the client; 80% of the time, they are able to help you. No, they won't fire you from the job for actually caring about the project. Your "dumb" questions are relevant to making the project run smoothly and with as few complications as possible. Unless you want to re-do the whole project just because you didn't ask that question/s.
Make suggestion. If you think that image would look better if you float it to the left instead of the right. Subjected to the client, maybe they agree with you, maybe they don't. After all, you are the expert. And if they disagree, close your eyes while working on it 😅 😂.
These two points will tell the client that you care about the project and that you aren't here just for the money, but also for work experience!
Actually Make An Effort.
After getting the job actually make an effort. Don't throw some text there and an image there and call that effort. Make the project look good and professional. Leave your client in ow with the complete project!
While building the project, keep the client informed of what you are doing. Update them every hour so they can see the progress and estimate how long the project is going to take you to complete.
Be Honest
The most important thing I learned is, to be honest. Be as transparent as possible (in a formal way) with the client. Let your client know your strengths. And if you took a job, you can't complete the project, make a deal with the client and go in your separate way. It's important not to waste too much time for you and the client. The client would appreciate it for not wasting his/her time.
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And that wraps it up. Those are my four tips for freelancers. I just started getting freelance jobs, and I have a lot to learn, but for my first client, I realized how important these tips are and thought I would share it with you!
If you have any thoughts and think I left something out, let me know!
Stay save and don't forget your masks 😷.
Top comments (8)
after I think 2 months a client (my first one ) invited me on upwork and we talked for a week and he didn't mind my age (17 since last week) because I showed him my projects and he was kind and it has been 10 weeks since we last talked but he told me that he's gonna talk to me i think today, BUT I will do as you said and i really thanks you for making me know that it's okay to give my opinion or like ask him these "dumb" question so thank you again (wish me luck)
good luck bro
Good luck, you got this!
complaintsboard.com/freelancercom-... don't ever use freelancer.com anymore this website is a scam take a look at this, they closed account without warning beware
yeahhh, i totally stepped away from all freelancing platforms!
This is very useful, thanks.
Thank you for sharing your experience Dejan Camilleri.
Such a good read!