A Freelancer’s Perspective
CreativesAtWork has been working with freelancers for years now, and we feel like we have a good sense of the issues freelancers face as they work with clients large and small. While most of our freelancers love the projects they do, inevitably there are challenges that arise – some of which are based specifically on the skillset in question. However, there are a few themes we’ve noticed our freelance team, no matter what their specialty, bring up consistently.
Since we are freelancers’ advocate, it is our job to ensure that both sides of the project relationship are happy. And this week we thought, what better way to help foster better understanding than to elevate the voices of those involved? So we sat down with one of our long-term freelancers, Paul Teh, a Graphic Designer, to ask him a few questions that might illuminate the freelancing experience for those looking to hire others like him.
CreativesAtWork: What do you like about freelance work?
PT: In my opinion, freelance work is enjoyable only when the many variables in the freelancing career are properly balanced. This takes skill that is learned over time and I am still learning to master it ever since I decided to go full time freelancing almost 2 years ago. I enjoy the flexible schedule, fresh and sometimes unexpected design challenges and meeting new and interesting people.
CreativesAtWork: What is challenging about freelance work?
PT: Freelancers are self-employed individuals who are responsible to define their own work patterns. Since freelancers are their own boss, they do not have employment benefits and no-paid leave unless they work for it, which can sometimes be challenging.
CreativesAtWork: What do you think people’s impressions are of freelancers? Are those impressions accurate?
There are many skills that a freelancer needs to exhibit to meet the expectations of the hirer. When one or more of these expectations are not met, it can leave a bad impression, and jeopardize the freelancer’s chances of getting hired again. So it’s important for the hirer, when they are dissatisfied, to be accurate in their claims, taking into account the experience, communication skills and time management skills of the stakeholders who directed the freelancer.
There are some impressions of freelancers I’ve noticed as I pursue this path, which I do not believe are generally accurate:
1. That we are Irresponsible
When the work delivered does not meet the expectations of the hirer or even worse, not delivered at all, all freelancers get labelled irresponsible. But really when this happens, it’s usually due to lack of communication from the hirer, rather than laziness.
2. That we are always available
Perhaps because there is a ‘free’ in the word freelancer, sometimes people think we spend our days playing around: occaisonally working, but mostly enjoying free time. Personally, I don’t think there are many freelancers who have much spare time: a freelancer like that won’t be able to sustain freelancing for long.
3. That we are Cheap
Freelancers set their own fees so the cost of hiring a freelancer can vary widely. Some freelancers will underquote, whether because they think it will help them win a job, or because they are intimidated by big corporations. And of course there are many websites out there that will sell freelancers’ time for exceptionally cheap, often contracting the work from out of country.
While a freelancer should definitely be an affordable option for a hirer, the reality is you get what you pay for, and quality work needs to be compensated appropriately. If cheap is all you want, you can definitely find it, but I would recommend looking deeper and ensuring you are getting the quality of work you really need.
We are glad that Paul offered us these insights to help all of us make our company/ freelancer relationships even better! Thanks Paul!
Recently, we also had our first ever sharing session designed for one looking to tap into the freelancing market. During the event, several issues or concerns one might face when using a freelance professional was covered too. Find out more at our post event coverage HERE. The full article can be found HERE.
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