It is a general mindset that once someone got his diploma, starting a career by being hired by a company is the best scenario—working from 8 to 5, wearing formal attire, and attaining a higher position as the years go by—to earn big. While this is actually not wrong because there’s a good opportunity working onsite, there are other ways to get hired and be part of the industry even if you don’t have a diploma.
Nowadays, small and large companies across the world are significantly using the advantage of hiring freelancers to operate their businesses. Even if you don’t have a college degree, diploma, or work experience, there’s always a chance for you to be hired by them as a freelancer. More and more people today are seeing the beauty and the many benefits of working as a freelancer compared to the traditional employee who goes to the office to work. One of the top reasons is the independence it can offer you to work in flexible hours and to work wherever you are that can significantly give you less pressure but high work productivity to finish tasks assigned to you.
As enticing as it sounds, the question remains for many when it comes to diving into the topic of freelancing. How does it work? Is it a real professional career? How can you start becoming a freelancer?
In this blog, we will share with you the guide about freelancing for you to understand it more.
How Does Freelancing Work?
In a more direct explanation, a freelancing job is where you are working for yourself instead of for a company. When you are hired by someone or by a company, you are in a contractual job that doesn’t limit you to be bound to one work only (depending on the contract) which can open opportunities for you to find other jobs. This ultimately makes you in control of your time and work-pace and can identify yourself as self-employed.
Freelancers are responsible for sorting all of their work compared to regular employees. This means that you can work flexible hours, but must track your time working on projects, meet the deadlines accordingly, bill your clients for the work, and pay your own taxes (business and employment). In general, a freelancer is considered a ‘contractor’ rather than an ‘employee’ when hired by a company.
Is Freelancing A Career?
Although nowadays, freelancing is common across the world, there are still people who wonder if it is a real profession and if there’s a career in it. Well, the direct answer is definitely a ‘Yes!’
Wherever you go, freelancing is considered a profession like being an employee. The only difference is that a freelancer is not technically on the traditional payroll of a company because, as mentioned earlier, he or she is the one responsible for keeping track of time spent when working on projects and billing the client or the company for the work. Thus, instead of working on a regular basis for one employer, a freelancer has the option to get multiple jobs from different clients or companies at the same time but make sure that the work doesn’t overlap or compromise the confidentiality of each project/work.
How To Become A Freelancer?
There’s actually no school or a degree to become a professional freelancer and start your career as one. On the other hand, there are training and certifications being offered by some organizations for you to have ample knowledge and gain experience in this profession. Although it is technically not required as you can start your career in freelancing without experience, there’s no harm in opening yourself to it as it may lead you to other opportunities.
The market for freelancing is becoming in demand day by day, and if you want to be a competitive candidate to be hired as the right freelancer for the job, here are some tips you might want to check:
Ask Yourself If Freelancing Is For You
While anyone can be a freelancer, it doesn’t mean it is exactly the career path or profession for you. Identify your purpose and your passion for you to know what type of freelancing you want to do. There are a variety of niches to choose from such as graphic design, web design, search engine optimization, content marketing, content writing, etc. In short, the key is to choose whichever of these can ignite your passion.
If you’re someone who is currently in a full-time job and thinking of transitioning to freelancing, don’t quit your job immediately. Just like when applying to a traditional job position, being hired as a freelancer doesn’t happen with a click. If you can. Try testing the water first like getting hired by one client with minimal task and let time pass for you to see if it is the career you want to continue on pursuing.
Figure Out Your Pricing
Freelancers are paid by the hour or per project. In short, you set the price of how much you want to earn. But remember that, there’s always a standard about it. Don’t offer your service at a very low amount or others will take advantage of it, but, at the same time, don’t set your price too high especially if you’re just a beginner. Even though you want to earn big, you still have to be reasonable.
You can join groups or forums where you can read or ask questions to guide you in determining how much you want to be paid as a freelancer.
Build Your Profile And Portfolio According To Your Niche
In the freelance market, you don’t have to prepare your CV in a traditional way just like what you submit when applying to a traditional job. Prepare your CV according to what your niche is—making it attractive, but not too much—to highlight your skills.
Build your portfolio. Anyone can say that they are a graphic designer, but unless you have proof of your previous works, prospective clients are unlikely to believe you. So, what if you are just a beginner? What you can do to have something to put in your portfolio is to do sample works or do pro bono work. This can give you the experience and proof that you know what you are doing, and show it to your potential client.
Find Clients or Works
The best way to find a client or work in the freelance market is to look on legit freelancing websites. Sure, there is a lot that can be found online, but you must remember that there’s a high rate of dud opportunities out there. You have to be mindful of which job openings or clients looking for freelancers to submit your applications.
It is a best practice for you to join legit freelancing job sites or groups to avoid scammers. Read thoroughly the job descriptions, check the salary offer, and see the legitimacy of the work and the client. Over time, when you gain enough experience and have proven your skills in the freelance market, job opportunities will be the one knocking on your door.
The Bottom Line
In most cases, the start of something new (like becoming a freelancer) can be challenging. There are hit and miss opportunities which is part of the learning experience. What you need to do to become a successful freelancer is to have a clear mindset, and attitude, and further enhance your skill set so that you will grow gradually. If you have this, you can naturally build a network that can do wonders to open more and better opportunities to strengthen the career path and profession that you have chosen.