Weeding Out Subpar Freelancers

You have a task to be done and you want a freelancer to do it. So you write up the description, post it online, and get back a load of unfortunate responses. Now you have to sort through all that noise to find someone who’s actually good?!

It’s not quite what you imagined for a getting a chore off your plate.

Some candidates haven’t fully read the job description, yet they respond to your post enthusiastically to start. They don’t really know what they’re being asked to do but they want to respond quickly to increase their chances of being noticed. That’s a bummer for you because you have to babysit and double check they understand the task by asking them basic questions about it–even though all that information is already spelled out.

Others claim expertise, but when you ask them a basic question about it to probe further they can’t answer successfully. They’ve misrepresented themselves. Unfortunately, this trains you to look at candidates with suspicion, taking what they say with a grain of salt.

Some highball you. They over-inflate the hours required to do the task, hoping you won’t know the difference or bank on you being desperate to get the task off your list of things to do. Debating them on the price from the get-go presents a risk to starting the contract from a place of distrust.

Others just parrot the job description keywords back to you in a different order. They might be thinking you’re the middleman and don’t really know what you’re asking for. A thoughtless response requires less effort on their behalf, and if you don’t complain or notice, then it worked! But the burden is on you to check for legitimacy.

The adage “good help is hard to find” still rings true.

How to find the good ones

Good responses to your job posting contain additional information beyond the keywords found in the job description. Scan their cover letter messages for clues that they’ve tackled your problem before.

Check their portfolio materials. If you can think of a clarifying question about a portfolio item, just ask it! Their response gives more evidence to whether or not they’re qualified to do the job.

If they say they’ve done the exact task before, ask for a sample of that specific solution. Say you don’t need the full solution, just a snippet so that you know you’re both talking about the same thing. It could be a partial screenshot, an incomplete code sample, or a piece of a design.

Use your reputation as a job poster to your advantage. Those who’ve provided and completed numerous jobs successfully on the freelance platform can say “I want to be respectful of your unpaid time while you’re bidding for the job. At the same time, I’m looking to know that I will partner with someone experienced.”

What candidates are dealing with

Before you dismiss all freelancers as spammy or lazy, consider what they’re up against. It’s helpful to empathize with the candidate’s side of the partnership so you can work with them.

When you submit your job on a freelance site, candidates are playing a numbers game when they respond to your post. They have to respond to lots of jobs just to land one. That sucks for them.

They’re also trying to avoid the trap some unscrupulous job posters set: trying to get free work out of someone before agreeing to pay them. Needless to say, don’t be that guy.

Candidates also encounter half-written jobs and they don’t want to get sucked into a situation where success criteria are a moving target. It’s no wonder they’re doing a pulse check on you because there’s a lot of thoughtless job-writers who don’t quite know what they’re asking for.

Good partners are out there

Finding the right freelancer is tough when so many use spam tactics. But the good news is that the right candidates are just as tired of the noise as you are.

You don’t have to reward lazy bids, but as you refine your posting and messaging strategy, you’ll start to attract and recognize the people you actually want to work with. The most important thing is to treat candidates with respect: give them a clear, fair chance in your initial message, just as you’d want them to give you.