Checklist for a Great Remote Freelancer
We have worked with more than 50 freelancers this year. And most of them are not able to work remotely. So drawing from our wealth of experience, we have written a checklist for everyone who wants to hire remote freelancers or, alternatively, find a job as a freelancer.
1. Be Responsive
As you are not in the office with us, we are unable to know whether we can expect your answer in five minutes or not at all. In other words, when 24 hours have passed without a response from you, we usually assume that you are no longer available. While we understand that you need to take a break from work every now and then (and we encourage you to do this often) we would appreciate it if you could give us notice when you are not going to be available to take on any new work.
2. Written Communication
Paying attention to reading and writing precisely is extremely important to us. We make sure that all of our tasks are described in detail and we attach screenshots when necessary. We are happy to discuss any further details with a video call, but let’s limit that to only when it’s absolutely necessary or when a situation is very complicated.
3. Quality of Work
Just because you are not in the office with us and you are able to work in the comfort of your own home doesn’t mean that the quality of your work should suffer. We cannot accept anything less than top-quality work, even if you offer to work for free. We also appreciate a freelancer’s ability to take initiative and solve their own problems — if you don’t understand the task you have been set, think about it again and if you really can’t figure out, ask whoever assigned the task to you to explain it in further detail for you.
4. Fast Turn-arounds
At 6Minded, you have a small but significant part to play in a larger project. If we ask you to work on a small task, we appreciate as fast a turn-around as possible so that the next person can start working on the next step of the project based on your input. If you cannot complete a large project fast, let us know as soon as possible so that we can find another freelancer who can. And don’t forget to that it is very important to set achievable deadlines for yourself. As a thank you, the same rule applies to our payments — you can always ask to be paid and you will receive it quickly.
5. Be Organised
If you are a busy freelancer working on more than one project at a time, please make sure you are able to manage your time well before agreeing to a project. What’s our suggestion? Organise your inbox into folders. Plan your time generously for different clients. Make a list of priorities and allow yourself to say no to new projects or give a further away and more realistic deadline if you worry that you be unable to meet it.
6. No Silly Excuses, Please.
Since you are a freelancer working for yourself, issues with your internet provider or an unexpected visit from your mother in law are not sufficient excuses for not meeting a deadline. If you are feeling sick and your deadline is in two days, don’t wait until the last minute to let us know you cannot complete the work on time. Send us a message immediately to advise us of the risk you may miss your deadline. This will give us time to find a backup plan. Our clients pay us for the work to get done so if you are unable to do it, we will have to find another solution.
7. Familiarity with New Tools
Although Google Drive is not exactly new, Asana is very intuitive, and you can get in touch on Slack on just about any device. You will be surprised how many young people still send email attachments and try to get hold of us by telephone. But the good news is that you don’t have to be very tech-savvy to learn how to use new apps and adjust your habits to faster processes in the company. Also make sure that when you write instructions that you keep it concise and re-read it after you complete it to ensure that it is easy to understand.
8. Always Be Polite
Just because you don’t see someone face to face doesn’t mean you don’t need to practise good manners: apologise and say please and thank you when necessary. If you are asking for the same thing for the fourth time in a row and still get it wrong, politely let them know that it is the fourth time. However, If it begins to happen too often with the same person, please let us know.
9. Respect Clients
It’s easy to get impatient when you are dealing with a client that doesn’t know enough. But keep in mind that while the clients may not always be right, we never say anything bad about them. They can be in a hard personal situation, just received some bad reviews at work or perhaps they are in a hurry. We never know. The moment you say anything wrong about a client is the when you stop being able to work together. Insulting is passive and not productive.
10. Respect Yourself
When the client treats you badly in a way that makes you uncomfortable, he/she shouldn’t be our client. Please report the situation to us, and we will ask for an explanation. Don’t insult them back, just ask.
11. Own the Process, so the Process Doesn’t Own You
A great freelancer makes sure that they have dedicated tools for everything. Asana for project management, Figma for getting feedback on mockups and UXPin for preparing prototypes. RealTimeBoard for working simultaneously, Zoom/Skype for calls, BrowserStack for testing, InstaGaant for planning, WeTransfer for sending files… and Google Drive for everything else.
It’s almost completely unnecessary to use email internally. Familiarise yourself with all the tools at your disposal and they will work for you.
What other tips do you have for being a great freelancer?
