There are a lot of sites like Freelancer and eLance where you must bid for project to get the chance to do them. Many people find this process incredibly frustrating, especially when you take a look at just how many others you are competing against. Freelancing sites in general do have a lot of value and there are some tips and tricks that you can use to improve your likelihood of winning a bid.
1. Follow instructions
This might seem simple, but a lot of people do not do this. I regularly see people who just use the exact same text for their bid on every single project, regardless of what the specifications of the project are, or what the employer is asking for. This is a sure-fire way not to get anywhere, because the first thing that employers look for is whether you were reading their instructions.
For example, on one job I applied for the employer asked applicants to include a key phrase within their bid. A quick glance at the bids showed that only around ten percent of applicants actually did this. If you go to the effort of bidding on a job on one of these sites, you are wasting your time if you don’t follow the instructions of the employer, particularly as they are often simple.
Imagine that – you are now in the top 10% of candidates just by reading the instructions.
2. Be personal and pick projects carefully
I’m going to discuss the next two secrets together, because they relate directly to one another. In a lottery, the more tickets you have, the better chance you have of winning, and many people think this concept applies directly to freelancer sites. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you are applying for a large number of jobs, you are probably taking a long time to do so, and the quality of your applications is probably also decreasing.
This is a lose-lose situation, because if you are burning yourself out, and if you do happen to win a project, it is probably a low quality one that no one else bothered to bid on.
A better approach is to pick projects carefully. Look for employers who are professional rather than personal, personal employers tend to have unrealistic expectations and not be serious about the budget or the timeline of the project. Personal employers tend to be more casual, which sometimes means you can submit less-than-excellent work, but it also means you may run into less-than-on-time payments, or instructions may not be clear (leading to issues down the road)
When you have found a project that you want to apply for, be personal in your application. You have the best chances of being successful if you respond directly to what the employer is asking for and show that you are aware of the specifics of the project. As someone that does a bit of hiring now, I like to know that there’s a person behind that profile image, ie someone that I can communicate with.
3. Provide evidence
Be prepared to back up any application you make with evidence about your skills. Keeping a document prepared with samples is a good idea, but sometimes you will need to write a new sample depending on what the employer is looking for. This is something that you have to consider on a case-by-case basis, but normally employers make it pretty obvious what they are looking for.
Even if they don’t ready it, they will notice it. It’s just one more point in your corner when competing with others bidding for the same job. Having a standard portfolio with some added examples that reflect more of what the job is looking for bumps you from the top 10% to the top 1%. You may not win every job, but you are greatly increasing your chances.
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