It’s 2020 and hiring a freelancer for your online business can be an extremely difficult job if you try to hire locally. Online freelancing platforms aim to make the hiring process as smooth as possible. These sites expand your pool of potential applicants, offer unbiased client feedback and ensure that both you and your freelancer are satisfied.
Tips for Hiring Freelancers
Hiring your first freelancer doesn’t have to be difficult. Even if you’re experienced at in-person hiring, here are a few tips to make it easier online:
- Don’t lowball your costs. Expect to pay the going market rate or you may receive low-quality work.
- Take time on your job post. Clearly describe your requirements in advance to save time later in the hiring process.
- Include a hook in your post. To make sure your applicants have read your entire job posting, ask them to include a specific word that proves they read the post carefully.
- Research your prospects. Use the platform’s messaging functions to interview your candidates and review their profiles and past work.
5 of The Most Popular Freelancing Platforms
1. Upwork
Five years ago, oDesk and Elance, two of the most famous online freelancing site, came to a merge and Upwork was born. The new platform offers all kinds of talents for all your online business needs, from design, data entry, to software engineering. A highlight of Upwork is that it offers a Pro talent service featuring good freelancers handpicked by the platform to meet business owners’ needs and budgets.
This platform is perfect though, a lot of people, both freelancers and clients, complain about the high percentage fees charged by Upwork. Also, your account could be suspended if you don’t follow their rules in the payment system.
Just a side note: some of our initial team members at SoftwareHow were initially hired on Upwork.
2. Freelancer
Freelancer provides the most comprehensive list of industries of all the freelancing platforms in this list. If you want a one-stop shop for all your freelancing needs, this is your best option. With over 31 million registered users, you’re sure to find the right freelancers of any skill level.
Freelancer has recently launched a new tier of service called the Preferred Freelancer Program, open to the top 3% of ranked freelancers. This is a direct response to the challenge created by Toptal, the final platform on the list.
3. People Per Hour (PPH)
Short for PPH, People Per Hour is a relatively smaller freelancing platform featured on this list, but they seem to be growing very fast. Started in 2007 in the UK, PPH claims they’ve connected over 1 million customers and paid over £100 million to freelancers.
Despite the name, PPH also offers jobs at a fixed rate for as little as $10. Although remember that you get what you pay for. For example, a website that costs $100 isn’t going to look that professional when compared to a $10K site. If you have a small job or are under a tight budget, People Per Hour may be the best place to try.
4. Guru
Founded in 1998, Guru offers the widest range of available skills than any other freelancing platforms. Aiming to be the premier platform where professionals go to collaborate and get work done, Guru covers almost all your online business needs. Besides business people, engineers, lawyers, and architects can also outsource tasks on this platform.
Regarding payment settings, Guru has the most flexible options than most of the competition. For example, you can pay your freelancers based on job, time, milestone, or even set up recurring payments for your best hires.
5. Toptal
Toptal targets startup businesses by allowing you to hire freelancers from a network of the top talents in the world. Unlike other freelancing platforms listed above, Toptal doesn’t have a general skill category. But instead, the platform claims that it only shows you the top three percent of talents in development, design, product/project management. Guru achieves this by designing a careful screening process that only certified industry professionals can reply to your job postings so chances are high for you to hire real experts.
The downside is that you’ll need to make an initial $500 deposit before a new job can be posted, though Guru guarantees that the amount will be credited back to your account after you make your first hire on the platform. Obviously, this service is best for high-paying jobs that demand the top freelancers in the market.
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