Here is a list I had to put together for freelancers wondering why they’re never hired!
Overcharge
To my advantage I’m not completely oblivious to the functional website world and that is why I know when someone’s bid is too high for the services I’m asking.
If you know you’re charging way too much for something that will probably take you a few hours to do, please be fair to your client.
Do not overcharge! If you’ve gotten away with it once you should feel guilty! Never assume that simply because someone is requesting a particular service they’re completely blind as to how long the job will take to be done and how much work you actually have to put it into it. Don’t ask yourself why you didn’t get hired.
The Know It All
It happens quite often frankly. A freelancer applies to a job with an overly done description of why they should be hired. It’s good to know you’re a professional, but that simply means one thing to most: “How much is this professional going to cost me?” Although the theory goes that if you’re a complete 10+ year’s award designing professional web master then the client should hire you right off the bat because they will obtain an excellent appealing web design for their site. Unfortunately, the general public doesn’t see this all the time. They read professional and they see money walking from their bank account accompanied by more money. Indeed a client shouldn’t go with the cheapest price, but a client also shouldn’t depend on paying too much simply because you’re a ‘professional’! There is a fine line between showing off and simply letting your client know “Hey! Look at my work and it will speak for itself. I know what I’m doing.”
Too Cheap
I know I said not to overcharge, but it is also important not to undercharge. If a client sees your extremely low price they will either A) Scream with excitement and hire you or B) Wonder how bad your work is. As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for” and that fits perfectly for this situation. Clients should check the quality of the person’s work before hiring. If you know what you’re doing you should charge fairly. If your price is $20 for a full custom WordPress theme that is in all honesty not a good thing.
Where is your Portfolio?
I completely hate when this happens. If you do not have a portfolio you shouldn’t apply to a job ad! Never, ever, apply to a job without an updated active portfolio to go along with it. Your portfolio speaks for you. Depending on your previous work a client can decide if you’re creative and know enough to work on what they’re looking for. If this is the first time you’re going to work for a client you should create things for your personal self to put on your portfolio. Either way you should have something in hand. I dislike freelancers who apply to one of my ads; sound fairly good with an acceptable price tag, but never mention or show their previous work. In other words, please don’t say, “I read your description and I’m confident I can do this job for you. I will charge you $500 and it will be done in 2 weeks. Please respond to get started.” The first thing I wonder is perhaps they have their portfolio on their freelance profile, I go see and what do I find? Nothing! *Deny bidder* How do I know if he can deliver what I’m looking for?
Excuse me, what language are you speaking?
I don’t want to come across as racist with this. I sincerely don’t have anything against non-English speakers, but it will help a lot more if you know enough English to communicate affectedly. I took a risk once and will never do it again. If you’re a freelancer on an English speaking site, please make sure you understand the job ad and requirements. Clients expect to work with someone with good work experience, knowledge, and who will communicate with them about the project as it is being worked on. Unfortunately, if English is not your first language as the freelancer you may understand something completely different than what the client is trying to tell you. I hire someone like this before. I tell them what I want and they seem to understand since they kept assuring me they will deliver the project as I requested. The project takes weeks to be done and within those weeks I get no preview or notice of what is going on. I contact the freelancer and all I get as responses are, “Thank you. Project is good.” Ok, let me see? Once it was done, I receive it and it’s not the worst thing, but certainly not what I was looking for. *Refund please.*
Overall Deal
If you wondered why you never get hired or rarely get hired perhaps you should look into how you are coming across to your target. It may not be that you’re a bad designer or developer; it may be something entirely different. There is a lot of competition out there and you should be proud of what you can bring to a table. Consider opening your own website. It will help keeping track of your achievements. Be yourself; show yourself!
No comments:
Post a Comment