How to Get Freelance Work

One option for launching your own business or if you want to work for yourself is to get freelance work. Living the freelance life can be a rewarding choice, but it’s very competitive. Many freelancers compete for the same jobs, and it can be difficult to get hired. The challenge gets even more difficult if you have little or no experience for the work you want to do. If you’re up to the challenge, you can find work. It will take persistence and knowledge of where to look.

Be Persistent

You are among many who thrive on the freedom of being your own boss. There are freelancers who you’ll be competing with, who have many years of experience and client references to match. You cannot afford to be anything less than persistent if you want to get freelance work. For example, you should look for and apply for as many jobs as possible. It will help you to improve on the entire application process, such as writing cover letters and following up with potential employers. You’ll also have more job offers as a result. If you apply for only a few jobs, you’ll get fewer job offers. Fear of rejection is a real issue that you may be confronting, but it’s something you have to deal with and overcome. Think about your goals of working for yourself, and the freedom that awaits you and your family instead of the pain of not getting hired.

Know Where to Look

There are many online and offline companies that cater to the freelance community. You can take advantage many of them for free, while you’ll have to pay to utilize other resources. There’s a mix of great websites, books and other resources that post jobs or list companies that hire freelancers, and scam companies that will take your money and you won’t see one job out of it. Knowing where to look for legitimate opportunities is half the battle in applying for freelance work. Here are some tips for where to look for your next job:

• Avoid bidding sites because they often cost more than what you’ll earn in the long run
• Network offline with colleagues, friends and local business owners
• Find jobs on specialized job boards, such as ones that cater to the creative community
• Build relationships with marketing and advertising managers
• Check the careers section of websites that you come across in your line of work
• Contact website owners and introduce yourself
• Enter search keywords in the major search engines, such as “hire freelance web designer” or “hire freelance graphic designer”
• Check Craigslist.org, but only respond to jobs that include an official website to avoid scammers

You have to be targeted in your approach to help you be consistent in looking for jobs. If you cast your net too wide or if you have no plan at all, you may become sloppy in your approach to applying for jobs.

Working hard on persistence and finding the right places to get freelance work should put you in a great position to get hired. If you don’t see the results you need, then ask a friend, colleague or expert to review your resume and cover letters. You may need to improve those to stand out in the crowd of freelancers who are applying for the same jobs.