Tag: Bidding

  • Is There Anything More Than Bidding For Jobs on Freelancing Work Platforms?

    Sending out new bids everyday via the freelancing site of your choice is boring and sometimes costly when you either pick the wrong job posts or use generic cover letters. It becomes even worse when you have done everything right but still don’t get any response.

    Summary in Video

    In the year 2019, there was a very popular party goers anthem in Kenya by a Ugandan artist- BigTril-called Parte after Parte. The chorus to the song is very easy to master irrespective of how drunk someone is.

    On top of that, its an easy one to refer to when talking about anything fun.

    Like Parte after Parte, is freelancing- bidding after bidding?

    Most Freelancers who have been in the business for 5 years or more will tell you that bidding as a way of acquiring new clients is no longer exciting to them unless they are invited by the client to bid on a project.

    I am talking of long term freelancers with top rating status and raving 5 star reviews from their past clients.

    Does this mean that they have enough jobs at their hand for them to apply for new work?

    And if they do, why are they interested in getting new clients anyway?

    There is never enough jobs for any Freelancer with a progressive mindset. As you build your portfolio as a freelancer, you tend to look for premium projects that challenges your creativity and innovation.

    Before I delve into this, I will like to unearth the myths surrounding Top rating status and 5 star reviews that one gets after completing any given assignment.

    MYTH NO. 1- When One is Top Rated, They Are Guaranteed to Get New Work

    This is not true. The status only gives you a good standing on the freelancing platform and the chances of being recommended by the freelancing site you are in is high. Also, you don’t have to explain yourself very much when negotiating for a contract.

    MYTH NO. 2: Clients Will Hire You Without Interviewing

    It depends on which freelancing site you work on. Let me talk about Upwork. Clients come to the platform with various requirements and budgets. Before deciding to hire, they have to first discuss and agree with the freelancer on what they need. Sometimes, a top rated freelancer has everything that a client wants but will not be hired. Why? because their rates are high.

    So, does this mean you have to continue to regularly bid until you succeed?

    Yes. But have a different approach.

    Narrow Down Your Skills Using The 80/20 Principle

    More experience means more knowledge on what the market demands. Focus on sending bids to projects that requires the skills you have perfected and pays well. For example in video production, I have learnt overtime that I am good at Screencast Video Production. This is the area I have perfected my skills on. Also, I have invested a lot of income in purchasing software’s that makes it easy for me deliver the best quality of screencast videos.

    Mold Your Patience

    Its easy to give up on freelancing considering that sometimes one can go for a month or so without work. If you know your worth, you must start cultivating your patience. It will take time to convert a high value client. In most occasions, they are not in hurry to hire. They take calculated risks before hiring you.

    There’s more to bidding as your freelancing experience grows. What other ways do you approach bidding to break the monotony of bidding after bidding?

    Please share your feedback on the comments below.

    And if you need help to create and produce professional screencast videos and other kinds of videos, please request a quote here.

    Until next time, bye bye and take care.

    You can follow me on twitter @cheptiony.

  • How to Sift Through Many Applications When Hiring a Freelancer

    When you put out clear requirements for the job you are offering, you will get several applications. So, what makes many freelancers to apply to your job post?

    With more and more experts joining the freelancing business,  the competition is becoming fiercer.

    Before I delve into today’s topic, here are additional things that makes many freelancers to bid on your offer.

    NOTE: Only clients who have been hiring freelancers for a long time can quickly tell an honest freelancer and one who is not.

    Budget

    It’s obvious, freelancers want to be paid well for the service they are rendering.

    If the requirements are clear and your budget is good, many freelancers will apply to your job post.

    Timelines

    If you need the project done quickly and you indicate when you want the project delivered in your job description, any available freelancer will bid. Freelancers see this as an opportunity to make a quick buck.

    Non Disclosure Agreement

    Serious freelancers love to sign an NDA. This is a binding contract and it means that, if anything happens, you are in discretion to decide not to pay the freelancer.

    In this case, you attract serious freelancers. At the end you will have hard time selecting the one to work with.

    There are other many other additional things that will alter the number of applications like Freelancers level of experience, payment method verification and more.

    So how do you sift through many freelancers bidding on your contract? Well it starts with your job posting. That’s where you set the rules.

    Eliminate Freelancers Who Haven’t Followed Your Bidding Instructions

    Not all the freelancers who apply to your job post read the post itself. Instead, they copy and paste generic cover letters.

    There is nowhere in the cover letter that they address your needs. Usually 10-20% of the applicants fall under this category.

    Correctly Answered Questions

    If you had additional questions that you needed freelancers to answer in order to qualify, check on them thoroughly.

    Make sure that they are correctly answered. You will find some who their answers do not match with your requirements thus you should eliminate them from the list.

    Honesty

    Only clients who have been hiring freelancers for a long time can quickly tell a honest freelancer and one who is not.

    Look thoroughly between the lines of their cover letters for honesty.

    Most of the honest guys will for instance not exaggerate timelines or what they can deliver and what they can’t.

    Review their Ratings

    This is only applicable to long term freelancers as new freelancers have no ratings. Reading their reviews will tell you the kind of personality the freelancer is.

    Some may have good cover letters, portfolios, but have poor history regarding to meeting timelines and delivering the actual project. No one likes such experiences.

    Check Their Location if it Was Part of Your Requirement 

    While some freelancing sites will help you on this, not all of them will do. If you were looking for a freelancer within a certain city, you can then look into this and eliminate those who do not fit into the criteria.

    Budget 

    Once you have all the requirements met, see how much each of the remaining freelancers are charging you.

    Focus on the ones who fit within your budget. This way, both of you will be happy working together.

    At this point, you will be remaining with few freelancers, and you can now start shortlisting them.

    Always aim at hiring a freelancer for a long term. You can achieve this by hiring a few of them to do a trial project then narrow in to one who has the best characteristics you are looking for.

    Looking at this in a long-term perspective will give you time to focus on the most important things in your life.

    That is, it from me today.

    How do you sift through the list of freelancers applying to your project? Share it in the comments below.

    If you need help to create and produce professional screen-cast video tutorials for your software or apps, you can request a free quote here.

    Until next time, bye bye and take care.

    Follow me on twitter @cheptiony