Whether you want to interview them, run reference checks, give them a trial project, or check out their portfolio, one way or another you will need to assess a freelancer to ensure they are a good fit.
As part of your freelancer assessment, you can identify and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in order to select the freelancer most suitable to your specific needs.
Skipping this assessment may step lead to problems at a later stage: What if they’re not flexible enough for second drafts? What if they’re good at what they do but have terrible communication skills? Whatever it is, if you don’t like the freelancer that you’ve hired, you will be wasting a lot of time, energy and money on them, so making the right decision is crucial.
There are plenty of ways you could research the freelancers who have applied for your job. You can either go through their CV (if available) and check if there is any relevant work experience that matches your project, any significant achievements or any transferable skills you’ll need. You can also check out their LinkedIn profile to see if they have any recommendations from previous clients, any certificates and what their connections are like.
You can also google them and check out their social media profiles (most of them have professional social media profiles) to get a gist of the type of person they are.
Let’s say you put a few freelancers on the shortlist for your job. Now, you could compare their résumés with each other. However, what exactly should you look for? What could you assess to end up with the right freelancer for your company?
SKILLS
Marketing specialists usually have skills that span different industries and competencies. In general, they need to have the right balance between hard and soft skills and relevant industry and work experience.
We have compiled a few factors that you need to assess before you hire your freelance marketing specialist:
Hard skill testing is crucial when it comes to hiring a new freelancer. By testing for hard skills, you will be making sure that the freelancer is proficient enough when it comes to job-related tasks. Here are some hard skills you should be looking for:
(Source: LinkedIn)
Soft skills are often overlooked, but they usually make all the difference. Soft skills are basically “personality traits” or personal qualities that can very quickly make or break your relationship with a freelancer. These include interpersonal skills, communication skills, motivation, flexibility or critical thinking. Soft skills really do matter, and even though they are hard to quantify, they are worth looking for.
Here are some examples of soft skills to look for:
EXPERIENCE
You need to figure out what sort of experience the freelancer has and then choosing the freelancer who makes your project run smoothly in the end (thanks to their experience!). Here are different types of experience you need to assess:
EDUCATION
This doesn’t necessarily mean that they must have a University degree, but you could also check for certain certificates or degrees like a Google Adwords Certificate, for example.
No matter how skilled the freelancer seems to be, you need to ensure that they have materials that prove that. You could ask for any of the following:
Results of previous work
Were they able to generate measurable results in the past? Were they responsible for setting up a campaign that has gone live? Did they increase leads or sales of a company by X %? Did they improve rankings for certain keywords?
Portfolio
Most freelancers have a portfolio that they use to showcase their different skills and expertise through the different jobs they’ve completed.
Previous clients and references
Do they have reviews on their profiles? What is their relationship with their former clients? What are their clients saying? What references can you contact?
Testimonials
Most freelancers will have testimonials and reviews on, either, their Linkedin profile, their website, or their social media pages.
Samples
You can also ask for a few examples of their work.