There are many reasons why people choose to freelance. Some reasons include to be your own boss, to work from home or to earn extra money. But how do you get freelance jobs and is this a good time to freelance?

How is the freelance market?

Before deciding to become a freelancer (also known as a service provider), it’s good to know the health of the freelance market. So is it a good time to freelance? Well this might seem a bit counterintuitive, but during periods like we’re currently experiencing, freelance jobs actually increase. So the simple answer to this question is, ‘yes’. Freelance jobs are out there, there are more than you think, they just need to be found.

Is freelancing for me?

To paraphrase a well-known phrase, if freelancing is worth doing, it’s worth doing well. And if you’re not geared up to be a freelancer then there’s no point in becoming one!

To help you understand whether freelancing is for you, ask yourself these questions:

• Would you enjoy working for different businesses or other people?

• Are you a self-starter, able to manage your work and your time?

• Do you pay attention to detail?

• Do you finish what you start and take pride in what you do?

These questions are the same ones an employer would want to find answers to before offering a permanent job to a potential employee and it’s no different for freelance jobs.

So if you’re looking to be a successful freelancer, then your answers to all of the above should be, "yes". Freelancing can be a means to earn extra money, but if you want to make a success out of it and maintain your earnings, it’s best to leave a track record filled with happy job providers.

Which skills or service do I need to freelance?

There isn’t a specific skill or set of skills needed to get freelance jobs. And demand for freelance services varies. There are useful sites that provide demand information, such as itjobswatch and jobstats, but you can also get useful information by just searching and counting the number of freelance jobs reported by your favourite search engine.

But don’t be discouraged if your skill or service isn’t popular with Google or Bing. In fact, having a skill or service that has low demand puts you in a prime spot in the market, particularly if not many other freelancers have your skill or can offer your service.

And for sure, if a business or individual can micro outsource it, then it can be freelanced! So just bear that in mind.

But as a guide, freelance jobs include data entry, CCTV monitoring, online marketing, parcel couriering, event planning, phone answering, customer helpdesk, gardening, event planning, article writing and Website development. So skills can be as diverse as typing or data entry and video monitoring to writing and web development.

Where to look for freelancing jobs?

Job boards are an obvious place to start. However, job boards don’t specialise in micro outsourced jobs, which are the type of jobs you’re looking to get as a freelancer. Moreover, job boards capture CVs and not services, which may not really help you if you have a typical CV that may show you’ve done more than one thing over your working life.

There are specialist sites that can help you get freelance jobs. With these sites, you’ll be able to promote your service, not your CV, and you’ll be able to highlight your relevant skills and experience. You’ll also be able to interact with job providers, which will allow you to discuss job requirements and your skills, and work with them after you get the job!

Summary

There a many reasons why people choose to become freelancers. Some reasons include to start a business, to work from home or to earn extra money. This article has discussed how to get a job as a freelancer and the questions you’ll need to ask yourself if you want to be a successful one.

Copyright © 2011 by Peter Louis. All rights reserved