You posted your project and received 30 quotes. Now, you must review the candidates and select the best Freelancer for the project. Below is a detailed look at how you can approach the decision-making process.
Step One — Narrow the Field
On the Work Room Quotes page you will see two types of quotes from Freelancers: standard and Premium. Freelancers pay more to submit a Premium quote. When you see the Premium quote icon you know that the Freelancer is serious about acquiring and completing your project.
Once you have sorted through the list of quotes, use the skills, experiences, and locations listed in the Freelancers's profiles and quotes to separate the candidates who meet your basic requirements from those who do not. This elimination process will make the more detailed screening manageable.
For example, field narrowing for a programming project might involve screening out all the C++ and Java programmers who do not list the requisite French fluency. Of the 30 people who submitted a quote for your project, perhaps only five of them speak fluent French. Step one would eliminate 25 candidates.
Step Two — Screen Candidates
Once you complete step one and narrow the applicant pool to a chosen few, you can move to the next piece of the process — the detailed candidate screening. This step involves contacting each Freelancer to determine his or her level of understanding as it relates to your project, his or her Freelancer demeanor, and any other relevant details. The goal is to locate one Freelancer who can complete your project professionally, successfully, within the desired time, and for the requested price. Step two should be comprehensive, as poor selection may not only result in the loss of money but the receipt of a useless product.
Use this set of questions as a guide:
- Does the Freelancer have the skills and experience needed?
- Is the Freelancer located in the desired area?
- Are the price and time estimates acceptable?
- Does the Freelancer have good communication skills?
- Did the Freelancer answer the questions posed in an acceptable manner?
But keep an eye out for the following red flags. By themselves, these items may not indicate a bad Freelancer. However, it may be best to avoid contractors who display several of these characteristics.
- Difficult to reach or contact — Freelancers who do not respond, who must be prodded to respond, or who are delayed in their response may jeopardize your project by missing deadlines.
- Have difficulty understanding the project and/or the technology or media needed to complete the project — Assuming you explain the project well, a good Freelancer will be familiar with the problem and the means to resolve it.
- Lack of experience and background in skills needed — Ideally this problem will be eliminated in step one; however, a Freelancer may misrepresent his or her knowledge, skills, and experiences in the quote.
- Lack of access to equipment, tools or software needed to complete the project — The detriment of this issue will depend on the nature of the product. As the Employer, you must decide how this will impact your project.
- Request for payment before work is begun — While requests for good-faith deposits are understandable in some cases, payment before work is begun or delivered should be avoided (even if it's through Guru Invoicing). Respond to a Freelancer's request for a down payment by requesting the use of Guru.com's SafePay service. With SafePay, your payment protection is completely guaranteed.
- Provide no direct contact with the person tackling your project — Firms and companies submit many quotes. As long as you can speak with the person who will work on your project directly, this is not an issue.
- Offer no references to verify past experience — References are provided as a measure of comfort and allow an Employer to hear another Employer's take on the Freelancer. Freelancers who are unable to give you references because of their newness in the industry are not cause for alarm, assuming you don't mind their lack of experience. On the other hand, experienced contractors who cannot or will not give you references are troubling.
- Possess a communication or language barrier that prohibits understanding or completion of the project — The ability to communicate is essential to project completion. While candidates whose native language varies from your own should not automatically be disqualified from the project, you should consider the impact a severe language barrier could have on your project. On a separate note, language ability may impact the project if it requires fluency in a foreign language that the contractor does not have.
- Unable to meet time frame — Assuming you can spare some extra time, this isn't a problem. However, if you need the work done within a tight window, a Freelancer who is unable to commit to that window should be avoided.
- Cite numerous emergencies — While everyone experiences emergencies from time to time, Freelancers who have frequent excuses should be avoided. This may be the hardest to discern before the project is begun but is a good tip-off to potential danger after the project has begun.
While it is quite possible that the ideal Freelancer will state that he or she cannot begin your assignment for a month or be unable to provide references (as they are new to the industry), you must consider the effect issues like these will have. These facts, by themselves, may have no impact on your project, so long as you are able to spare the time, or are willing to work with a novice.
Step Three — Weigh Attributes
Once you speak with each pre-selected Freelancer at length, you can move to step three — attribute consideration and weight assignment. With information in hand, consider the benefits and drawbacks of each candidate.
The easiest way to make a decision using the data gathered in step two is to assign one point for each positive attribute and subtract one point for each negative attribute. The candidate with the most points at the end of step three will be the closest match. Learn how to award your project.
Step Four — Pursue Extra Insurance
Even with a rigorous selection process, you want to ensure that the Freelancer who accepts your project award will live up to your expectations and successfully complete your project. As part of the project award process, ask your Freelancer to upload a Project Agreement for your approval. And, make sure you specify and agree on how you will pay the Freelancer. You have two transaction options: Guru Invoicing and SafePay.
Conclusion
Selecting a Freelancer for your project is manageable when you break the process into the four steps above and approach each step with a list of requisites. Whether you hire one contractor in your lifetime or hundreds, a plan of attack will help you avoid bad contractors and experiences. |