Freelancer: how to find a skilled assistant for a task

A guru freelancer is challenging to find. They are charming and outstanding professionals throughout the interview, but afterward, they vanish, change their charges, fail to comprehend your requests and fail to deliver reports. Yu may spend hours on top freelancing sites but still fail to find a freelance content writer or a freelance developer or a freelancer for data entry tasks.

Changing freelancers every week is not an option, so I came up with a list of ten characteristics of a competent freelancer.

1. Portfolio and references

Check actual freelance work. What did they accomplish, over what time, and how closely does it match your definition of quality? Consider the number of cases as well. In six months, even a beginner will finish 10–20 orders. Ask for more examples if the portfolio only has a few.

Recommendations and feedback are extremely important. Ask the freelancer for the client's contact information, letters of recommendation, or a questionnaire with clear quality-assessment criteria.

2. Response to a vacancy

Rate the cover letter. If it looks like a template, then you are on the general mailing list. A good freelancer, before applying for an order, will study the company and write recommendations. Ideally, they attach a link to the general portfolio, and separately to examples of work from a similar field.

The structure of the letter, literacy, and polite, respectful tone of the letter will show that you meet a freelancer who is attentive to details.

3. Understanding the task

An excellent freelancer will call you for a "problem interview" to learn more about your company, your tastes, and the tasks and objectives of the position. Or the freelancer will request more information in the email that includes directions.

4. Scheduled work

Acquire the project schedule. The freelancer lists the conditions, the scope of work, and any interim approvals in the paper. They give the customer and themselves enough time to do their tasks. Therefore, it is less probable that the freelancer will miss the deadlines or perform with poor quality.

5. Focus on the result

Let's say you want to help a company's customers understand a complex product. To do this, you hire a freelancer and order posts on Facebook. A good freelancer will tell you about the possible results and risks. The freelancer will offer to write a series of blog articles with detailed instructions. They will also prove that this approach is more effective than social media posts.

General freelancer	Competent freelancer
will do exactly what they said	will analyze the effectiveness of the solution
will not offer alternatives	will offer options
focus on the task	focus on the goal

The freelancer must be interested in adjusting the client's expectations and taking responsibility for the final product. On the part of the client, it is important to fix the agreements in written form.

6. Unfixed price

A good specialist will not name the price for services on demand. They will say that the fee depends on the specific task and the amount of work. They will first communicate with you via Skype, understand the task, present solutions, and then announce the price.

It's great if the freelancer breaks the payment into several parts. For example, 20% before the start, 30% after the approval of a draft or half of the work, and the remaining 50% after the final edits and approval.

7. Communication in written form

Smaller issues are easier to talk about on the phone or via messenger. However, a competent freelancer will include all the important agreements in a single document. Or they will group them and submit them in one email. After contact, they provide a "contact report"—a synopsis of the meeting and agreement—and change the terms of the negotiations.

On the one hand, this strategy protects the freelancer personally because the client will not drastically alter their viewpoint or deny their own statements. On the other hand, the client is not required to recall the modifications and agreements that were made.

8. Equipment and approach

If you are hiring a freelancer, trust their methods. A good specialist works in accordance with their professional beliefs. If a copywriter does not write emotional articles and prefers to rely on facts, do not force them to violate these principles. If you want emotion, find another writer.

A competent specialist will always tell you how best to proceed. Which text is preferable, and which program to use. They will definitely listen to your wishes, but they will make their own adjustments and explain them. The inexperienced freelancer will agree with everything you say. In the end, you will get work that you personally like, but there is no guarantee that your audience will like it.

9. Reporting

A skilled freelancer keeps you informed and records the report due dates in the project schedule. Upon completion of work, they will submit a document or explanation letter outlining the effort and outcomes.

10. Offer

The virtual assistant will provide a suggestion for further development. Also, they will inquire about your ideas before concluding the project. As there are not as many strong freelancers as there are good clients, you should accept a virtual offer if you feel comfortable participating.

Both you and the freelancer benefit from a set wage and a set quantity of work. A freelancer plans jobs ahead of time, does not take on a lot of clients, and will not raise fees for you.

Insolvo is one of the best freelancing sites with plenty of professient freelancers in different spheres. Post your task and get the results that you really need.