Freelancers - Always be Professional

Hi guys,

As freelancers, we have the luxury of being able to converse with our clients (in our briefs) behind our laptop and in the comfort our home. I believe that it is imperative for us to always be professional as every contact counts.



Cheers!
Alvin

 

Excellent points, Alvin!

Today I was in contact with a freelancer writer who wanted to do some work with me. I made it clear that, before we would start any projects, he would need to electronically sign an NDA. This was stated in my thread and again via PM. He was, however, difficult throughout the entire process. He insisted that we communicate via e-mail, rather than via DP, which was the first inconvenience (but not a major one). I hired him to do one short article as a test run, in order to judge how well he could perform the work. He wrote to me that, since he invested his time in signing a document online, and beginning work on a paid test project, he wanted to be paid up-front and that he wanted to start negotiating long-term work so that it would be worth his time. Beyond that, he immediately described how he wanted to receive payment for the test project, as well as for a series of long-term projects, in the same day -- before I even had a chance to read his work and approve him to move forward.

Then, when I was unable to review his work and respond quickly enough for his tastes, despite being in a completely different timezone and making it clear that it's a busy weekend for me, he wrote, "A little surprised that you haven't had the time to review the short piece of writing yet. Hopefully you'll be able to move things forward later today." Here's a tip: Don't give someone who is hiring you an attitude. Telling them that you're surprised they weren't able to do something for you quickly enough is a surefire way to set them off since, honestly, you have no idea what else is on their desk or what else they have to do. Furthermore, when you're working on a test project, take it for what it is. Demanding a long-term plan, up-front payment, and similar pieces of information, before even completing a 400 word test article, is too forward. Finally, acting as though the work, for which you're being paid, is an inconvenience is an attitude that will quickly have you shut down.

All-in-all, a pretty aggressive individual with a strong sense of entitlement. Definitely not someone I'm interested in bringing to my team. I paid him for the article and told him that we're not a match. Meanwhile, I've found another candidate who has been very friendly, cooperative, and excited about the work. She'll be getting a long-term project starting today.

 

@PhiladelphiaIM "entitlement" is definitely the word! Thanks for sharing

 

Having been on both sides of this issue I think it's important for both sides to be civil and open minded. Ideally "the client is always right" which means that whatever demands the clients have, it's the freelancer's job to meet them. HOWEVER you need to be reasonable about it.
On several occasions I've had to wait days (sometimes weeks) before an employer would look over my work and pay me for it. Freelancers just have to understand that that's something that comes with the jobs. Cops could get shot, athletes can get injured, and freelancers can get late payments. Just deal with it.
If a problem gets out of hand most freelance websites have a way to facilitate communication with a demanding employer/lazy freelancer. You can always get paid/get your money back if there are problems you can't resolve between yourselves.

 

There is such a big problem for lazy people is how to find exactly type of work that you can provide being a freelancer. Those people think there is only one problem: 'What to do?' and there's no problem such as terms or deadlines, meeting the client, finding another. If you're good freelancer, clients should search for you but to achieve it, you should work hard anyway.

 

I think that everyone has had both good and bad experiences when it comes to working online. Being a freelancer, I value a client who pays me on time, treats me with respect and works hard to provide the instructions needed so I can get the job done on time. I do this as my full time job and YJunk, I can see your point of view but at the same time, paying a freelancer late who worked hard on your project won't go down very good. I think that what PhiladelphiaIM did was the correct thing. He got rid of the one that bothered him by just going on ahead and paying him then being honest with that person. It is unfortunate that some freelancers are lazy but you never know what it is going on with them. If you see that they are lazy just simply get rid of them and find another freelancer who is willing to work hard and do the job correctly.

Suggestion: Before you hire a freelancer tell them how long they have to do the job and let them know payment will be received after you've checked with making sure that everything is done correctly. This way if they are lazy then you will know almost right away. Another suggestion is to also do what PhiladelphiaIM did with informing the freelancer that he was going to be busy and not able to reply much to Pms.

Open communication between both parties is vital in order to make the partnership work correctly.

 

I think both parties should treat themselves with respect,little things count