All of us dream of getting out of the mundane 9am-5pm office routine and do something of our own. 

While the thought of working as a freelancer seems very exciting, it comes with its own set of challenges and hiccups. Through this article, I have tried to share some tips together with my thoughts and experiences of working as a freelancer over the past couple of years. Hope you will find the information useful.

There are a lot of websites which are used by the freelancers across the globe and at times it becomes very difficult to distinguish between the good and the better ones. Based on my experience, I found the following websites to be better than the rest:

https://www.freelancer.com

https://www.upwork.com/

https://www.guru.com

http://worknhire.com

https://www.peopleperhour.com

These are the points you should definitely keep in mind when you are trying to find work on these freelancing websites:

1. Create a good profile. This is the page an employer would look at when hiring you for the first time. Make it as detailed as possible as good as your RESUME  🙂

2. Don’t forget to mention your core skills

3. Keep searching and bidding on the jobs you find relevant. Don’t get disheartened if you dont find the relevant job. Keep trying and don’t loose hope! 

4. Keep your charges reasonable. Don’t keep it too low neither too high. Both are deterrents for employers.

5. Under promise and over deliver is the key. Give your 100% even if it is a small task. Ratings you get from your employers are the most crucial part of working as a freelancer. Good ratings would always help you get more work.

6. Divide your tasks into multiple steps and fix the pricing for different steps: This will ensure two things: the employer will get the confidence that you are organized and know your job well. At your end, you can be assured that the fees you are supposed to receive are secured. On most of these websites, you can ask the customer needs needs to release the payment as soon as one step is done so you can move onto the next one. If the customer releases it, good move on to the next step else you can put the project on hold.

The following points are word of caution which you should be aware of when working on these freelancing websites:

1. Beware of Fake clients – There are genuine and fake clients on most freelancing websites. As a freelancer you can check the employers’ profile if they have employed other freelancers earlier.  In case the employer is new to the website, you need to rely on your judgement and gut. There are other ways too to distinguish between a genuine and fake client like the budget he is offering for the task is way too high etc.

2. Prefer to communicate on the portal itself: Most of these freelancing websites are equipped with audio, video and messaging tools to enable you to communicate with the employer. Always insist the employer to communicate through the portal. 

3. DO NOT take payments outside the portal:This one is a strict NO-NO and can result in permanent suspension of your account from the portal. All the payments should happen through the portal only.

The above information might be a bit over whelming but if you still have any questions/queries or need any advise, just reach out to us and we will be able to guide you.