The Lady Programmer

Oftentimes, the new freelancer is faced with wonder why the first interested client that comes their way is not responding after they are interested in knowing a provider through an interview. There are actually several reasons why clients do not respond.

photo credit: 4U (SXC)

1. They are busy with their jobs. Most people that post jobs on the website are not really HR people dedicated to screen manpower. Contracted work is often defined by the department that needed it most – oftentimes the head of offices post out their subcontracted jobs at the online offshore job marketplaces.
2. They hired another person in another freelance site or within their workplace. This is often a usual practice, so it is important to put the best foot forward in applying for a job because the competition sometimes extends not only to one job marketplace but to others too.
3. They realized that they lack budget for that particular job. There are some instances when clients overlooked that they had no budget to pay for an outsourced job, or simply re-allocated the funds to some other priority task and decided not to pursue the hire.
4. The job is too simple: they realized that they can do that job themselves. I run into some very simple tasks that were posted out on workplaces such as oDesk where the client did not realize that the job will just need a simple Excel formula (instead of a macro) to complete the job. There were so many applicants and many even provided the steps on how to do it.

With these reasons in mind, it is often useful to write up a follow up letter or two: if there is still no response then it can be safe to assume that the buyer may not be interested. Simply relying on one job where the client invited you for the first interview could really be exciting – I did jump at joy when I got that first interview – but then, keep in mind that there are other jobs waiting to be done. Applying to other jobs will definitely increase the odds of getting better jobs and finally getting hired.

I believe that getting a freelance job involves a series of steps.

The first step involves creating a profile. Profile means taking stock of your skills and also your portfolio to prove that you can do a job. This does not apply to programming, web design and graphic skills but also to writing jobs as well. Showing your presence and maintaining a good standing puts you well into the first step.

The second step is to actively seek jobs. The internet is vast and it is still growing; it creates a lot of job opportunities and a great deal is usually outsourced. More writers are needed to write more web content, others are needed to create the pages that will hold all the information and still others are working at the backbone of the internet – making sure that the information is delivered promptly by maintaining uptime of the server.There are plenty of jobs around that lies around, waiting to be done.

photo credit: neadeau (SXC)

The third step is to accept interviews. Getting interviewed for a job means something: that you are most likely capable of doing the job above all else.

The fourth step is to accept the job and ultimately, get paid plus a good rating to boot.

And the cycle begins all over again, but this time, you have an experience to make you more credible for the jobs that you like.

I realized that someday I will not be able to design nice pages, learn new web design techniques and even write informative posts in blogs that will benefit the readers. It is important that the freelancer should also look into options that enable him or her to earn money without working for it actively.

Personally, I have not discovered how to earn passively until I decided what makes others rich. I asked these questions myself: Is it hardwork? Does it always have to do with inheritance? Is it purely luck?

I learned that there are investment vehicles that the rich people put their hard earned cash in. They earn it through their active income or businesses and their excess funds is spent on buying additional assets: but these assets basically generate passive income.

What are some investment vehicles that are available in the Philippines?

1. Stocks: This is by far the riskiest investment. I have not been able to try investing in these investment vehicles. I am greatly interested in learning how to put my money and interpret the technicalities that I always see on stock tickers and newspapers. If you happen to own some then you might find yourself lucky if this gives a very high yield.
2. Bonds: The least risky investment because it is least affected by market fluctuations. It gives a guaranteed given rate of return.
3. Mutual funds and unit investment trust funds: These investments are a combination of stocks and bonds. Mutual funds are offered mostly by insurance companies while unit investment trust funds or UITFs are offered by banks. There are some mutual funds that are invested mostly in least risky investments while a portion of it is invested in stocks. There are also some funds that are made to be invested more on stocks and a part on bonds. Mutual funds always aim at diversifying funds so that the losses of one fund is covered by the gains of the other fund.

photo credit: OmirOnia (SXC)

I have been able to start myself investing in UITF in a very large bank. I still plan to add more funds to my freelance career, so that I can be able to earn a lot of cash passively.

photo credit: scataudo (SXC)

A freelancer in the job marketplace has to think of himself as a product or service: he should be able to package himself in such a way that he is easily noticed by the potential clients. There are more and more people getting into freelance jobs full time or part time and getting noticed is also something that is not easily done.

We are also well aware of the products and services that we have seen around, and many of these started with humble beginnings. We have also seen too many businesses that failed after their launch. We have also read success stories of business empires who had truly started from scratch and had made through despite such adversities that they encounter. Freelance is not in any way different from establishing such name branding that the entrepreneurs behind these business had been able to do.

As a new freelancer, he should be able to know this early on: he has to build a name for himself. As he gets opportunities, he should be wise in establishing a name for himself – I believe this tip does not apply to outsourcing sites but as a freelancer to his local community as well.

So how do you establish yourself with such name brand:

1. Seek a niche opportunity and be really good at it through trainings and self-learning.
2. Prove that you are good with your niche skills by earning certifications, related job experience or sample work.
3. Know what to specialize by knowing the skill demand of the market.
4. Speak to the world about the services that you offer through websites.
5. Know when to specialize and when to move on to other skills.
6. Build solid experience and place it into the portfolio in and out.
7. Learn how to network and market yourself.
8. Strive to always improve your profile to make it attractive to prospective clients.
9. Always improve communication skills.
10. Learn from mistakes and never look back.

If people started noticing you, then you must realize such blessing that you have. Establishing such name brand is a long term duty that must be always be practiced.

Freelancing is similar to a corporate job which is geared to climbing up the ladder towards management. If you have tried your hands in being the rank-and-file employee, then being a supervisor, then being a manager – freelancing jobs is very much similar in that degree. Freelancing starts with competing with a big crowd of applicants, then doing well for the first job and as your job experience and reputation grows, you price yourself a bit higher when you feel experienced enough.

photo credit: coniferine (SXC)

The sad thing is that there are so many freelancers out there who are also starting out just like you. If you are marketing yourself in a global marketplace then you will soon realize that competition can be very tough as there are so many people who can do the job. The client would always prefer the one who is well experienced to do a particular job to those who are still out to get their feet wet.

If you are a new freelancer, then how would you make yourself stand out?

1. Identify the strongest skills that you can use in freelancing.
2. Polish your profile and write down relevant experiences.
3. Speak to the client with a custom cover letter.
4. Always learn new things through continuous trainings and self-learning.
5. Give yourself a good market price for your skill.
6. Do not sell yourself cheap.
7. Do not overprice yourself either.
8. Follow up with clients who expressed interest.
9. Write thank you letters after an interview.
10. Respond promptly through interview invitations.
11. Create a profile around your special skills.
12. Put some effort in creating a professional-looking profile.
13. Be prepared for possible questions that the client may ask during an interview.
14. Have several means of communicating through the client – voice, chat, email.
15. Compose a tag line or title that you think will catch the client’s eye.
16. Be focused on the needs of the client, rather than your own.
17. Find jobs that really fits your skill.
18. Put something in your portfolio. If necessary, do some sample work to fill in something for that portfolio.
19. Prove your skills by taking online tests and listing down acquired certifications.
20. As much as possible, be one of the earliest applicants for the job.

My list here is not limited to this. If you have something to share, then let the world know through the comments below.