How to Work With Gen Z, The Future Bosses of Freelancers
Gen Z clients are quickly growing up. The oldest Gen Z individual turns 26 this year, and many of them will be moving into management roles or starting their own businesses in years to come. In fact, in an age where everyone is looking to become their own boss or perform some sort of side hustle, it is likely that you, as a freelancer, will be working for a Gen Z client sooner than you realise — if you aren’t working with one already.
Just as with any business, understanding your client’s communication styles and preferences is critical to building long term relationships that form the foundation of a successful business. As a business owner who interacts with up-and-coming talents from the new generation on a daily basis, I may know a thing or two about how freelancers can tap into business opportunities among this fast growing demographic. So here are my tips on how you can navigate Gen Z’s communication preferences, hustle culture, and social media habits.
Catering to Gen Z’s preference for rapid communication
Getting in touch with Gen Z clients may require a different approach compared to their Boomer, Gen X, or even Millennial counterparts. As people who cherish boundaries and work-life balance, Gen Z clients may not be as willing to respond to queries or questions after working hours, or even give out their personal phone numbers.
Rather, freelancers may find that Gen Z clients are only responsive during specific hours of the day, on channels dedicated for work purposes. Furthermore, as digital natives who have grown up communicating and collaborating online, Gen Z are far more likely to appreciate snappy summaries and consolidated feedback compared to drawn out meetings that never end. That said, how, when, and where to communicate with Gen Z clients will vary significantly between individuals. But one thing’s for sure. On digital channels, over communicating is usually the safer way to go.
This is important because as creative freelancers, our job isn’t to simply read a brief and deliver a draft — AI is becoming more and more capable of doing that every single day. Rather, creating value through feedback is what will secure high-value projects in the long run. This means highlighting sections of your draft to explain how it drives business revenue, drafting emails to explain why certain creative decisions have been made, and so on.
And if recent surveys are anything to go by, Gen Z clients will most certainly appreciate — and purchase from — businesses that offer transparency and authenticity over ones that are perceived to be making a quick buck. In practice, this means prioritising long term results over short term profits, by providing clients with the best recommendations rather than selling them all your services just because you can.
Catering to Gen Z hustle culture
As much as Gen Z is often touted to be the generation that pushes back against hard work, painting the entire generation with the same brush is not only unfair, but also untrue in my experience. In fact, they may be more hardworking than they let on to be. Studies show that 1 in 2 Gen Z workers have already dabbled in freelance work in some capacity. So if you’re working with a Gen Z client, chances are that they’ve got some sort of business running on the side and more about the tricks of the trade than you realise.
The fact that Gen Z clients are digital natives who are more familiar with freelancing may be a double-edged sword. For one, fellow freelancers will likely make administrative processes much smoother as they understand things such as pricing, terms and conditions, and payment cycles. On the flipside, Gen Z clients may end up demanding a lot more out of their freelancers simply because they’re used to things moving quickly, or because they believe they know what’s possible under a freelancer’s schedule.
As with any other client, striking the right balance is key. As much as we encourage freelancers to lay out expectations in the beginning, reality is that new expectations often crop up mid-project. A good way to counterbalance this would be providing regular updates to minimise the risk of miscommunications and the need for reworking towards the end of the project.
While it’s important for freelancers to not only understand client expectations, it’s equally important to set your own boundaries on where and how you would like to be contacted. Of course, this is easier said than done when you have to cater to the preferences of several clients. Even so, isolating all your work conversations to a single email account or phone can help segment your work life and keep burnout at bay.
Understand that Gen Z has eyes everywhere
Instagram and TikTok profiles may literally make or break your chances of being hired by Gen Z clients, who may prefer working with creatives who understand the current social media landscape so that they can drive the best results. Of course, we’re just using these as the most typical examples, but even channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter can be relevant to Gen Z clients depending on who you’re talking to and which industry you’re operating in.
The point is, if you don’t already have an active social media presence, you may wish to consider building a following on one soon. Getting started is definitely difficult, but if you have the tools necessary to build a following, social media is one platform that can make hunting for clients much easier. They will be the ones looking for you, not the other way around.
In fact, you may not even have to build up a massive following before social media brings in dividends. Demonstrating your ability to communicate concisely, write catchy captions, and film in different dimensions for various channels are all critical skills that can be easily showcased via social media. When done right, these channels can give your overall portfolio a significant boost. The fact that social media content is so easy to share doesn’t hurt, either.
Principles of work ethic still apply
At the end of the day, working with Gen Z still requires freelancers to provide value and quality service. In our world of change, sometimes being a nice person is what makes us stand out the most. It’s really about building those relationships, just with a different coat of paint. The methods may have changed, but the core principle of relationship building and management will always be the same.
Follow me on LinkedIn for more insights on how you can build your side hustle streams into a full-time business, or check out our website for resources on how you can get started.
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