How to Hire a Freelancer

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Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.

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Does your growing business need a Freelancer?

Understanding the steps behind hiring a freelancer, including data about candidates looking for freelancer jobs, salaries, and key terms to include in your job description, can help you stand out from the competition to reach, attract and hire quality candidates.

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Our mission

Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.

Read our editorial guidelines

Freelancer: What is the cost of hiring?

2025-10-01

Why Hire A Freelancer?

Working with an expert at a lower cost is possible only by hiring a freelancer. With minimum training and maximum flexibility, quick turnaround, and low overhead, the ideal freelancer may start working right away. They can work on both short-term and long-term tasks without any hassle. Freelance platforms make it easier for employers to hire a top professional for their work. 

Contributions of a great freelancer: 

  • Recognise project specifications to deliver precise, high-quality work according to the task or project needs.
  • Effectively communicate via many channels (email, Zoom, online collaboration tools, Microsoft teams, etc.)
  • Freelancer provide assistance with urgent tasks or unforeseen problems outside of the regular working hours.
 

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance freelancer

There are certain situations when hiring a freelancer/contractor is better than hiring a full-time employee.
 
  • To keep pace with the order : Sometimes it is difficult to keep pace with the orders due to the lack of staff. Hiring a full-timer in such a situation will be expensive and time taking. Hiring a freelancer can be an easier solution.
  • Short-term project : Short-term projects are always crucial for the growth of the business. It is always ideal to hire a freelancer with the desired skill set for such projects instead of hiring a full-timer.
  • Lacking capital : If you are lacking capital, you may not be able to hire employees to drive expansion. Freelancers make it possible to build a dream team with fewer expenses.
  • Creativity : Maybe your marketing team has lost key people. The team is not coming up with creative ideas. In such a situation, hiring a freelancer could provide freshness and boost creativity.

What are the different types of freelancers?

Understanding the precise type of freelancer you require for your organization is crucial. There is a freelancer that can complete the task, whether you need them to take product images for your website, write blog posts, handle social media or create your full website from scratch. To assist you find a freelancer who suits your needs, the following are some typical sorts of freelancers:
 
  • Freelance photographers: Takes clients on photo sessions, takes pictures of products for internet shops, etc. edits photos post-production as well.
  • Freelance writers: They can take on a wide variety of writing duties and projects, including creative writing, copywriting, articles, e-books, speeches, and press releases.
  • Freelance designer: They offer a broad range of design services, including everything from logo development to website design to branding to photo retouching.
  • Freelance web developer: Creates and develops websites in accordance with client needs.
  • Freelance social media specialist: They may generate social media postings, engage with followers, keep track of specific key performance indicators (KPIs), or do something completely else. Other talents that can be useful to include customer service, ad production, and analytics tracking.

Where to find a freelancer?

Try a few different recruiting techniques to locate the ideal freelancer for your company:

To find the right freelancers for your business, try different recruiting strategies like:

  • Request Referrals: Ask your friends, family, and/or contacts in the professional world whether they know of any freelancers they’d recommend.
  • Freelancing websites: Check out online platforms for freelancers like Upwork, Proz.com, and freelancer.com to connect with them, check their proposals, and get an idea of their fees.
  • Portfolio websites: Websites like Behance, Dribbble, GitHub, and other places where people showcase their greatest work are wonderful places to identify freelancers who are perfect for the job.
  • Social media or personal approach: Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, etc. can be a good place to find freelancers. Messages on Facebook groups can help find a suitable freelancer. A personal approach, like asking a peer in other organizations for freelancers they have worked with on a similar project.

Post your job online: Try posting your freelancer job on Indeed to find and attract quality freelancer candidates.

Skills to look for in a great freelancer

A great freelancer candidate will have the following skills, attributes, and work experience that reflects:

Freelancers are top experts in their domain. They provide specialized services to address the skills gap that your staff has at your business. Employers should identify a freelancer that matches their requirements. Look for qualifications and work experience that show their excellent freelancing talents, especially in the area for which you are hiring.
 
Freelancer requirements:
  • Work samples or a portfolio of the freelancer
  • Need to see the skills they specialize
  • Understanding of online collaboration tools like Trello or Asana
  • Should have superior communication abilities
  • Check the project management capabilities.
  • Self-control and adaptability

Writing a freelancer job description

A thoughtful job description is critical to finding qualified freelancer candidates. A freelancer job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities, and the preferred skills for the position.

When writing your job description for a freelancer, consider including some or all of the following keywords to strengthen the visibility of your job posting. According to Indeed data, these are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on freelancer jobs:

  • Freelancer
  • Freelance
  • Work from home typing
  • Subject-matter expert
  • typing work from home
  • work from home web developer internship
  • Freelance translator
  • Freelance jobs

Interviewing freelancer candidates

Strong candidates for freelancer positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

  • Time management
  • Prior experience as a freelancer
  • How they communicate and measure results
  • Personal working method
  • Rates, fees, and payment terms for freelance work

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of freelancer interview questions for examples (with sample answers).

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FAQs About How To Hire A Freelancer

Indeed’s Employer Resource Library helps businesses grow and manage their workforce. With over 15,000 articles in 6 languages, we offer tactical advice, how-tos and best practices to help businesses hire and retain great employees.