How to Evaluate Freelance Jobs

With the economy in turmoil, many people are taking their skills and talents out of the mainstream job market and into a freelancing career. Artists, writers, web designers, and other professionals can find freelance work. The hardest part of the process is evaluating a job to see if the effort is really worth the money.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Access to freelance listings

1. Start by collecting a number of freelance listings. Compare these listings to see the difficulty or range of the jobs.

2. While money isn't everything, money is important. Evaluate the job to consider the time it will take compared to the total compensation provided.

3. Freelancers should also evaluate a job for standards. If the job is to create blatant advertising for an illegal or unsafe product, move on to the next listing.

4. Look for freelance jobs that can lead to consistent work. Many companies that list jobs are looking for an independent contractor they can rely on when they have similar jobs in the future. Perform well one the first assignment and you may be able to create a working relationship.

Tips & Warnings

• Even if you have a lot of work, keep networking and looking for new jobs because there will be downtime, eventually.
• There are some freelancing sites that charge a finder's fee. If you choose to use one of these sites for finding jobs, you can make up the fee in your bid.
• If you are bidding on a job, do not bid low just to get the job. Make sure your bid matches your qualifications and skill set.
• If you are using forums or sites like Craigslist to find freelancing jobs, be careful about sending the finished product before receiving payment.

Resources

• Freelance Writing
• Guru