Stepping into the great
unknown and making the leap into a new career path can be a scary thing. For
many, the idea of working for someone who you may never meet, see their face or
even hear their voice can be pretty unsettling. How do you possibly find a good
job, avoid the scams, prove that you’re the best pick for the position and land
the role? While there is no science, I’ve put together a list of tips that will
definitely give you an edge!
1. Do your research. When you find a role, whether you are an
independent freelancer advertising your skills through your own website and
social media or if you choose to utilize a platform like Upwork to connect you
with clients, it is important to know who you’re attempting to work for. I
typically won’t pursue any position that does not list who the client is. If
the client is listed, I will do a search for their company on Google, check
their Better Business Bureau rating and do a scan of their social media
profiles to get an idea of the public’s opinion of them. In addition to helping
you avoid falling victim to a scam, this gives you insight into the company
that can help you modify your resume, proposal and interview answers to be more
applicable to the position.
2. Customize your resume and cover letter/proposal. After you have
done your research and briefly familiarized yourself with the company that you
are applying to work for, you need to focus on making the best impression
possible with your first interaction. Customize your resume to reflect any
duties you have had that are the most relevant to the role you’re applying for.
If you’re applying for a position as a sales person and you have past
experience as a bartender, don’t let your resume talk about taking inventory
and complying with LCB laws or mixing a mean margarita. Focus on the sales
aspect of your bartending gig. You may have been great at upselling (someone
orders a beer and you persuade them to order a basket of wings with it). If you
were a rockstar with customer service, mention that. Find the skills you used
in your past roles that are transferrable to the position you’re applying for.
Your cover letter needs to provide the client with an overall glimpse into your
experience, qualifications, professionalism, personality and proof that you understand
the job description and would be the best fit for it. Try to tie everything
together by pulling key terms or phrases from the job description and finding
where they apply in your resume, then highlight them in your cover letter. Many
companies narrow their applicant pool by screening resumes and cover letters
for key words, if you can make sure these are in your resume and cover letter,
you have a much better chance of being considered in the process. Finally, make
sure you do not have typos and grammatical errors in your resume and cover
letter. You are applying for a professional position, make a professional first
impression. If you are not a great writer, find someone willing to proof read
for you. It may seem like a minute detail, especially if the job you are
applying for does not include writing, but making a professional impression
will transfer across every type of role.
3. Be realistic. One of the beauties and one of the major downfalls of
working online is that the internet is worldwide. It is amazing that I can work
for a company in Paris as I sit in my office in Pennsylvania. The opportunities
and “places” the internet can offer to remote workers are incredible. However,
you have to take into account that if you can see a job post, so can someone
from a country with much cheaper labor. There are some clients that will hire
the cheapest rate, regardless of experience or quality of work. If that is the
case, the job is probably not for you. If you are looking to make a career out
of freelancing, you need to be selective.
Find quality jobs that will pay you a realistic salary for your cost of
living, skill set and experience and apply only for those roles. Wasting your
time on a gig writing a 10,000 word paper for $5 is not going to provide you
with the pay or satisfaction you need. On the flip side, if you have never been
exposed to web programming, don’t apply for a web programmers job simply
because it offers $60/hour. Working online is just like working on-site. You
need to have the skills to do the role, and it needs to be a mutually
beneficial relationship in order to be successful. Do not overpromise, but do
not undersell yourself.
4. Be
mindful of your reputation. The internet allows anyone to see just about
anything that is posted. To give yourself the best chances of a successful
career online, be mindful of your online reputation and the image of yourself
that you are putting forth. If a company is confident enough in their online
abilities to hire a remote worker, they are probably savvy enough to dig up
some information about you and find your social media pages. I am not saying
you can’t have a personal life or state your personal beliefs or opinions
publicly; I’m just saying that posting images of yourself posing like an adult
film star or slandering your last employer publicly and covering their Facebook
page with a bunch of profanity and hate messages is not going to give potential
clients a very positive view of you as a person.
5. Set the scene for your interview. This does not work for everyone,
but I have found that it makes a huge difference for me. Every time I have an
interview, I treat it as though it will be a video. I ensure that my appearance
is professional. I do my hair and make-up, put on nice clothes and yes, I even
wear dress pants. If the interview actually is a video call, I test the
background and the position of the computer prior to the call. I make sure that
the lighting is good, the background is simple and organized and I check to
make sure that the position of the screen is appropriate for the client to see
me and for me to see them. I always ensure that I am doing the interview in a
place that is quiet and allows me to have a notebook, water and writing
utensils close by. Professionalism is easily detected in your interactions in
an interview. Just like a person can detect if someone if smiling and happy
when they talk, a recruiter can tell if you are feeling professional and
confident during your interview.
Beginning a career as a
freelancer can be difficult, but by following these tips, you can avoid some of
the pitfalls many make as they start their journey.
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