Looking to contract a freelancer? Here’s a few things to keep in mind.
1. Cost. As a general rule, experience and quality cost more, but money shouldn’t be a measure of ability. For example, a lot of very talented and young freelancers charge pennies simply because they want to add to their portfolio and start building relationships.
2. Portfolio. Always ask to see sample work. Any hesitation is a bad sign. Creatives in this industry take any chance they can get to step in the limelight. Check to see if the portfolio has a wow factor. The portfolio should mesmerize a minimum of once every three pieces. If it doesn’t, move on. It’s your company. You should love how it’s presented.
3. Results. I had a guest speaker in college flash his plastic smile, display his Rolex and freely discuss the number of zeros in his salary. When it was time to gloat about his portfolio reel, I noticed not one of the commercials was made in the last decade and only one of his clients was still in business. I could’ve told you from the Rolex he was outdated, but the point is, freelancers and agencies are a service selling ingenuity. Your success is our business.
4. Accolades. Aside from tedious evaluations, industry awards are the only way to gauge success for many creatives. If the wall of awards doesn’t have anything from the year before, raise an eyebrow. Two years? Raise a flag. Three years or more? Rise from your chair and leave. Pay money for fresh ideas.
5. Demeanor. I called to get a quote from a freelance photographer about two weeks back. The shoot was in a smaller town about 45 minutes away. His bid came in about $500 more than the best photographer in our city. He justified the cost saying he went to school for his craft and has bills to pay. Likewise, another photographer we worked with this week (honestly, just bad luck), set his camera settings so low we couldn’t make a billboard, let alone an 8.5
2 Comments
“…industry awards are the only way to gauge success…”
I completely disagree. I have 0 awards. Why? Because I don’t enter competitions. They are expensive and I’m often too busy to spend billable hours prepping applications and submitting work.
So, if I’m so busy with 0 awards, why are industry awards the only way to gauge success?
Also, point #5, not really sure what the point you’re trying to make is.
Cheers.
Thanks for commenting Charpie.
To set the record straight, let me pull the entire quote: “Aside from tedious evaluations, industry awards are the only way to gauge success for many creatives.”
These 5ives were written in order of importance as I believe them to be. Cost is the most important to make sure you’re getting the bang for the buck. The second most important thing, well before awards and accolades, was the portfolio. Even in the sentence in question, evaluations (of the portfolio) comes before awards. A solid book that justifies the price is far more important than anything else mentioned in the article.
The purpose of mentioning accolades was that many creatives do use awards as a metric of success. And indeed, awards provide a quick showing of proven ability as judged by industry contemporaries. Awards also provide other information not in a portfolio-sustainability. Some hacks have used the same 12 portfolio pieces for a decade. If the ideas aren’t fresh, they aren’t worth hiring. Awards are dated and can provide a timeline of creative output.
Demeanor. You’re right Charpie, this is a little vague. My point was simple – a degree doesn’t mean ability. Experience does not equal expertise. It’s easy for many businesses to fall into a trap by listening to the pitch rather than viewing the work.
I think you’ve brought up a very good point about award shows. There are many people on both sides of the issue:
“What do awards mean anyway? Are they worth the cost?”
“What better way to measure the merit of your creative output than pitting it directly against your competition?”
Let’s continue this debate. I’m interested to hear what others feel on the issue of award shows and how they relate to freelancing and agency work.