An open letter to the ‘struggling’ freelancer…

I’ve been a freelancer before so I get it.

I get that’s it’s tough to have consistent work.

I get that it’s tough to try and demand fair payment from your clients.

I get that it can often get pretty damn lonely.

But it’s not without its perks.

Want to work from a beach, sipping cocktails, just how the ‘gurus’ do? Sure thing, go for it.

Want to spend the entire day watching Netflix and get your work done during the night, right before the deadline? Sure thing, go for it.

Want to take as much time off as you can afford to do the things you love, without having to ask for permission? Sure thing, go for it.

Is it hard to get clients, or are you just not trying hard enough?

I recently posted a job listing for a new writer to join my team.

Let me tell you I am amazed by the number of applicants who want to work with little old me.

69 people applied.

But I’m shocked by how few people spend even a few minutes reading through the application to follow a few simple steps.

The application had 122 words. On average people read at a speed of 200 words per minute. Therefore most people could’ve read and digested the application in less than a minute.

The application process wasn’t complicated.

I didn’t ask for 17 references or your entire work history since your paper round age 12.

I asked for three simple things:

I was most shocked when I received applications like these: (note: any sensitive data has been omitted. I’m not here to tag and drag I just want to highlight the current state of the gig economy as I see it).

1. Fair enough, you have 10 years of B2B experience.
2. You have two degrees.
3. But what I asked for were samples of your work.
4. In this (very) short post, I don’t know anything about you. The only way I could ascertain whether you can produce high level content is because you’ve told me. It’s a classic case of show don’t tell.

1. First of all the role was for a content marketer, not a content manager. I might seem pedantic here, but when you have to read through over 60 applications, small details like this really do grind your gears.
2. Second, this job was never advertised on LinkedIn???? A classic case of cut and paste, and even then, the actual cut-and-paste application isn’t even good.

It may seem like i’m trying to pick faults at freelancers, that’s not the case.

Out of the all the terrible applications I received, there were a handful of people who:

1. Stuck to the brief
2. Seem like they could be a really good fit

What i’m trying to make clear here is, for every application you send, 40 people will send one that’s WAY worse.

It’s not hard to stand out if you follow the brief, show them why you’re the right person for the job and for the love of all that is good: DO NOT COPY AND PASTE YOUR APPLICATION.

So before you start thinking your freelance career isn’t going well, or you’re not getting the type of clients you’d want, seriously consider how much effort you’re putting into your applications.

This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by +392,714 people.

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