Once your business starts booming and you feel like you need a twin to help you out, it's time to hire. But if you're not in a place where you can hire full-time employees or even a virtual assistant yet, then you'll probably just need to hire freelancers for quick tasks.
Whether you need someone to help you upgrade your website or create a graphic for your social media, you will need to know a few things before you venture into actually hiring a freelancer.
I've hired hundreds of outsourced employees at this point, and have been a freelancer myself for a few years. And below are less than five things I watch out for when hiring:
1. How they structure their application letter
I'll say it: I HATE it when applicants mass sends their application letter.
I've received application letters where it was mass sent to people and I was BCC'd or worse, I could see the emails of all the people they tried to apply to.
The worst examples are just ones where they simply sent their CV or resume with no application letter at all.
So one of the first things I look out for when hiring is their application letter.
Is it custom for my company? Did they do research on who we are? Are they responding to a question I asked on the job ad? Did they tell me more about who they are rather than just give me a two-sentence introduction?
I understand that there are a lot of companies that they might be applying to at the same time as they're applying for me, but a little more effort shows how they could be when we're actually working together.
2. How fast they reply
Checking their emails, especially when they're applying for a job, should be a reflex.
How fast or slow they reply to inquiries will show me how eager they are for the job, and the fact that if I do hire them, they will respond right away, especially for edits.
It definitely doesn't have to be a “reply ASAP”, but a “I'm replying because I want this.”
3. Social Media Accounts
The best reference for a job applicant? What they post on social media.
If they're someone who constantly complains or posts inappropriate content, then I don't even want to move forward with the job application.
And if they're applying for a job that has something to do with social media, such as branding or creating videos, and they have none of those in their profile, it's another red flag. They need to have proof that they can do what they say you have to pay them to do.
4. Social Proof
Do they have actual references who can talk about how they worked in their previous job? Have they kept a record of testimonials for their work? Can they also show proof of what they worked on in the past?
When you're hiring online, chances are you can easily talk to your applicants' references or see their previous work. It is important to watch out for these two and try to find actual stories of how they worked with a previous employer in the past. It will give you a preview of how it would be like working with them.
These four are only the top things that I look out for when hiring freelancers. There are definitely other ways for you to find out if the applicant is honest or not, such as giving them a test or having a dry run with a smaller project.
I made a course on Udemy where I teach how to hire the perfect Virtual Assistant or a freelancer for your business that you can check out here.
Have you hired freelancers yourself? If so, what are the things you look out for?