Freelancers make up a growing percentage of the global workforce. As of 2023, 72.1 million Americans were independent workers, comprising about 45% of the total workforce. While many of those take on freelance assignments occasionally or part-time alongside a traditional job, the number of full-time freelancers increased by 73% between 2019 and 2023, and make up 26 million of the current independent workforce.
Given this expansion of the gig economy, it’s no surprise that companies across sectors increasingly rely on contingent labor and freelance talent to meet the workforce needs of their business. A Deloitte and MIT study found 82% of organizations are actively working to improve how they integrate independent workers into their teams.
Of course, the first step in that process is to hire the right freelancers for your roles. Here are some key things to keep in mind when you’re embarking on your next search for freelance talent to ensure that you make the right hiring decisions.
Where to find freelance talent
A freelancer marketplace is the most consistent way to find high-quality freelance talent. These platforms typically provide some initial vetting of the individual and their skills. This can include skill tests taken through the platform that can supplement the information about education and past experience provided by the freelancer. You can also see testimonials and ratings from past clients that give you some insights into the individual’s success with past work.
There are a huge variety of freelancer marketplaces out there. These vary from broad platforms that include workers in various industries to extremely niche platforms focused on a specific sector or type of skill. Generally, larger general platforms will have more total freelancers to choose from, which can be both a pro and a con—you’ll have more options to choose from, but sifting through those options could be a more challenging and time-consuming process.
Which freelancer marketplace is the best to use will depend in part on your company and the type of role that you’re filling. However, here are some of the most popular platforms to search for freelance talent:
- Upwork – Among the largest sources of freelance talent, Upwork’s marketplace includes more than 18 million freelancers from 180 countries, so you can access professionals from all over the world. It has an equally varied array of job categories, from creative talent like writers and designers to tech pros like coders and developers. If a job can be done on a freelance basis, there’s likely someone on Upwork offering those skills.
- Freelancer – The largest freelancing platform by its number of users, Freelancer.com is known for being highly competitive from the worker’s standpoint, which can be a good thing for employers who want to hire the best talent at the best value. It has a similarly wide array of talent as Upwork in terms of both skill sets and location.
- PeoplePerHour – Another site with a broad variety of skill categories, freelancers on PeoplePerHour excel in areas like digital marketing, content creation, programming, product design, and similar roles in the tech, design, and creative niches. This is an ideal site to hire freelancers for relatively short-term projects, though you can also find independent professionals on the site who are interested in more long-term arrangements.
- Toptal – For those seeking the highest tier of freelance talent, Toptal is an exclusive network to connect with the top 3% of freelancers from around the world. Their primary focus is in technology, finance, and project management. This is the ideal platform if you’re willing to spend a bit more to hire the best, particularly in areas like software development or website design.
- FlexJobs – This is a great site to check if you’re looking for a freelancer to take ongoing part-time work or for long-term projects. The site is a kind of hybrid between a remote job board and a freelancer marketplace, and can be a way to access occasional freelancers who may not be on the larger marketplaces.
Now that you know the best places to look for freelancers, how do you make sure you’re hiring the right ones? Here are three tips to follow that can guide you through that process.
#1: Define the scope, requirements, expectations, and goals of the project before you start searching for talent.
It’s impossible to hire the right person if you don’t know what kinds of skills and experience you need in the role. You wouldn’t start recruiting a full-time employee without taking the time to define the role, and the same holds true of freelancers.
This starts by defining the length and details of the project itself. Identify the specific tasks that you’ll need a freelancer to take on, as well as the deadline (for a one-time project) or the schedule of delivery (for ongoing work). Once you know these details, do some research into similar jobs posted on the platforms listed above to get a sense for what you should expect to pay for that work.
Finally, consider what skill sets and experience you would want to see in the freelancer that you hire. For example, if there are specific certifications you would want them to have, or key skill sets that you’ll prioritize when screening applicants. In some cases, it may be appropriate to design a quick skill test or test assignment that you can use to ensure the person you hire can complete your job effectively.
#2: Focus on quality over cost.
Offering competitive pay is even more important when you’re hiring freelancers than when you’re looking for full-time employees. An employee is more likely to accept a lower salary to join a company that offers other desirable things, like a flexible schedule or excellent benefits. Neither of those will entice a freelancer, though—their schedule is always flexible, and benefits aren’t usually part of the conversation.
The adage of “you get what you pay for” typically holds true when it comes to hiring freelancers. If someone is offering to do the work for less than the market rate, there’s usually a reason. They may be inexperienced and not know what they can charge, or could be new to freelancing and trying to build their portfolio. They also might not be that skilled and make their living by undercutting people who are. In some cases, you’ll luck out and hire high-quality talent at a bargain, but you’re just as likely to get subpar work if you hire based on your budget rather than the demands of the project.
#3: Conduct the same thorough interviews and assessments that you would for full-time hires.
This is another area where employers often have things backwards. There’s a misconception that your selection process for freelancers can be less rigorous than that for full-time employees, and following this can get you into trouble.
Admittedly, there is some truth to this idea, in the sense that you don’t necessarily need to evaluate freelancers on all the same metrics as a full-time hire. Things like cultural fit and teamwork may not factor into the equation, for example, especially if the freelancer will be remote.
In other areas, though, you need to be at least as comprehensive, if not more so, when bringing on a new independent worker. Freelancers usually receive less training and onboarding after being hired, which makes it even more crucial that they have the full skills required for the role from the start. They also still need to have certain soft skills, particularly strong communication and time management. It’s still smart to conduct a phone or video interview in addition to the written application, as well as utilizing targeted skill tests to verify that they’re the best person to take on your project.
Taking full advantage of freelancers for your team
Hiring a freelancer can be a very smart move for a business. It brings a new level of flexibility to your workforce and can enable you to access skills that you don’t otherwise have on your team, without the hassle and expense of conducting a full search. Freelancers are also ideal for one-off projects, like building a new website or designing a company logo, where you won’t necessarily need to keep someone with those skills on your team in the long-term.
Getting the most out of freelance talent starts with how you search for and hire them, and that’s where many companies get into trouble. If you use the platforms listed in this article and follow the three tips above, you can effectively leverage the power of the gig economy to grow your business.
