We live in a globalized and technological world, where change is always the order of the day. In this sense, the global workforce has always experienced significant changes as the world transforms. Therefore, in the search for employees, new alternatives are opening up, and above all, opportunities in freelance work.
In this article, we will talk about the skills that employers are looking for in freelancers today. In addition, we will talk about the benefits of hiring freelancers and the challenges we commonly associate with freelancing, let us observe now:
- How have freelance hiring patterns changed?
- What are the main motivations to decide for freelance work?
- What are the fastest-growing industries for freelancers?
- Some benefits of hiring freelancers
- What skills do freelancers need to have today?
- What are the challenges of freelancing?
- How do communication, marketing, and strategy make a difference in freelance work?
- How can we help you determine the freelance skills employers are looking for?
1. How have freelance hiring patterns changed?
Due to the transformation of traditional workplace expectations, many professionals are opting to go freelance. As a result, professionals who are typically engaged in traditional careers are increasingly building more flexible careers.
The ability to build a career that suits your terms is one of the most important motivators for freelancers. In this sense, when you build a career related to your lifestyle, you will be able to grow professionally and feel motivated to keep moving forward.
Freelance work allows you to make use of 100 percent of your capacity and potential as a person. In other words, if in a traditional job, you do not feel that you are taking advantage of all your skills, then freelance work is an excellent option.
Plus, when you learn to promote yourself professionally, clients will like to work directly with you. This way, the income is directly for you, and your earnings will be higher.
Learn more about how have freelance hiring patterns changed on Connect Freelance
2. What are the main motivations to decide for freelance work?
Due to the new normal, freelance work has increased and changed perspective significantly. In this regard, employers are increasingly looking for freelancers to meet their needs.
In addition, thanks to this new market direction, new work patterns, and new responsibilities are increasingly developing.
Satisfying a market that was previously only face-to-face is the new purpose of freelance workers. Therefore, nowadays, a series of surveys have been developed to gather the opinions of workers who are increasingly joining the freelance world.
Surveys have found that more than 78 percent of respondents plan to do freelance work in the short term.
As main motivations for freelance work we find:
- To obtain additional income
- Explore a wider range of career opportunities
- Increase their knowledge and skills
- Practicing what they like
You can also get more specialized information about the main motivations to go for freelance work in Dubai; please contact us.
3. What are the fastest-growing industries for freelancers?
Among the fastest-growing sectors or industries at the freelance level we have:
- Digital marketing
Digital Marketing consists of the application of marketing strategies that are carried out through digital media. In this sense, its growth is influenced thanks to the immediacy it provides and the tools it provides to make real measurements.´
The growth of the Digital Marketing industry has been 37%.
- Information technology
The information technology industry is an alliance between manufacturing and service companies and is characterized by capturing, displaying, and transmitting information electronically. In this sense, the technology industry is also responsible for optimizing the procedures and resources of the industrial sector.
The growth of information technology has been 20%
- Customer service
The customer service industry deals directly with customer satisfaction. As such, it always operates in the pursuit of optimizing the customer experience and their interaction with a brand.
The growth of Customer Service has been 12%
- Accounting, banking, and finance
The accounting, banking, and finance industry are responsible for ensuring the economic viability of a business.
The growth of accounting, banking, and finance has been 12%
The finance industry is an economic sector comprised of various entities that offer financial services. In this sense, each sector specializes in the production or supply of a good or service.
- Human tesources and recruiting
The HR Industry is responsible for recruitment, training, performance appraisals, job security, and many other freelance activities.
The growth of human resources and recruiting has been 10%
- Graphic Design
The graphic design industry deals with the communication that a professional exercises through messages with visual content, typography, images, and more. In this way, an attempt is made to deliver the desired message and generate positive interactions with users.
The growth of Graphic Design has been 10%
4. Some benefits of hiring freelancers
Various worldwide surveys show a significant increase in freelance work. Moreover, an increasing number of talents are joining the freelance movement and the trend does not seem to be slowing down.
The vast majority of respondents (70%) indicated that they had plans to hire freelancers in the coming years. This demonstrates the accelerated adaptation of companies to online work, as well as to remote work.
Most companies, (66%) end up offering full-time jobs for freelancers who complete projects with them.
According to the survey results, freelance outsourcing has wide-ranging benefits. Indeed, it indicates that freelancers are better at meeting scheduled deadlines (44%).
The survey also revealed the following characteristics:
- They are excellent at contingency planning for hiring contingencies (25%).
- Freelancers provide additional help to small teams and departments in their company (16%).
- Hiring freelancers is representative of high profitability (16%)
A freelancer working from home usually has no overhead. Therefore, it is much more economical to hire them. In addition, the payment is usually only for each task performed.
The flexibility freelancers need can also benefit their employers. Indeed, since they are not subject to fixed schedules, freelancers can easily adapt to the contracting companies. As the number of projects a freelancer faces increases, so does his or her experience. Therefore, it is easy to get freelancers who have great skills that are increasing in number.
Due to the globalization of markets, it is no longer necessary for employees to live in the same city as their company. That is why through freelance hiring you can have access to professionals from different countries.
When you hire a freelancer, if a good working relationship is created, it is likely to be a long-lasting one. Therefore, you may be able to successfully count on the experience of the freelancer for future events.
5. What skills do freelancers need to have today?
The surveys that were conducted determined that freelancers should have the following skills:
- Excellent time management (38%)
- Good communication skills (27%)
- Ability to self-promote (19%)
- Leadership (9%)
- Attention to detail (7%)
In addition, it was reported that freelancers conduct their job searches through the following tools:
- Online sites and professional platforms (69%).
- Social networks (12%)
- Company websites (12%)
- Personal networks (2%)
Of course, there are additional skills that are considered to be in high demand. In this regard, it is convenient to talk about natural language processing. To refine and maintain consumer appeal, natural language processing is used. In the same way, in language processing, you are always searching for and extending its existing functionalities.
The field of language processing has been booming lately, due to the rise of voice-activated speakers, voice-activated text processing, and voice-activated search. In addition, it is also necessary to talk about social media marketing. Companies are always expected to have a presence on social networks, and this is due to the rise of the digital age and interconnections.
There is a tangible reality today, and it is that many companies do not dedicate the necessary time to their positioning on social networks. In this sense, it is essential to take advantage of the current opportunities to offer positioning services in social networks.
We cannot overlook necessary freelance skills, such as design and content creation. Certainly, the rise of design has been vertiginous, but it has also been the need for content creators.
In many companies, there is a need for someone to develop, for example, a website, but they do not always have the right person within their ranks. Then, the need arises to hire a freelance worker, who can develop the design or electronic content required.
6. What are the challenges of freelancing?
The number of challenges facing companies today is closely related to digital modernity. In such a way, the vertiginous advance of the world and its globalization in networks has led to the creation of accessible fields for freelance workers.
These challenges of digital modernity directly affect companies, but freelance workers do not escape these risks.
- Among the challenges that we can find being freelance workers we have:
- Lack of job security (55%)
- Lower pay compared to traditional jobs (19%)
- Lack of additional benefits (17%)
- Fewer opportunities to be promoted (9%)
For freelance work, there are periods during a year that can be extremely productive, and others that are not. In other words, seasonality is a very important aspect for freelancers to consider.
So for a freelancer, it is of utmost importance to know whether or not they are in the most active production period of the year, or on the contrary, they should wait. Therefore, managing your money, time, and resources according to seasonality is vital in freelance work.
Additionally, learning to organize your tasks and time is of utmost importance when freelancing. Therefore, if you establish order in your schedules and manage your agenda properly, you will add positive points to your performance and you will not lose work opportunities.
You should not forget your contacts when you have questions related to your area. Therefore, we recommend to try not to lose communication. You can achieve this by maintaining constant contact with your customer.
Remember to always keep in mind as a freelancer, the expansion of your business. Therefore, training and constant learning should be your priority. As a result, you will be a better professional and you will offer the best of yourself in every task you propose.
7. How do communication, marketing, and strategy make a difference in freelance work?
Whenever you enter into a new working relationship, you want it to be on good terms. In this way, both, the hiring party and the hired party can take advantage of the benefits of having a good relationship.
To develop a good relationship with your clients, you should always focus on good communication. Therefore, if you express clearly what you say, with serenity and kindness, you will have positive aspects that will always add to your professional career.
Learning how to make your work known is another important aspect of the freelance world. Therefore, you should not only make yourself known through the recommendations of friends and family, but you should also know how to do self-marketing.
Developing decision-making strategies can also be a positive aspect of your freelance professional development. In this sense, being able to understand what the current scenario is and determine how far you want to go, is a determining aspect of making good decisions.
8. How can we help you determine the freelance skills employers are looking for?
In this modern world, freelance work is becoming more important. In this sense, having the right tools to make freelance hiring decisions is of the utmost importance.
If you want us to help you determine the freelance skills employers are looking for; and you want to take advantage of the information we have about freelance work, count on our support. In addition to helping you, we can complement your search and offer you additional ideas that will provide you with more information.
Would you like to learn what requirements you need to become a freelancer in Dubai? Call us at +971 43 316 688. You can also send us an email at contact@connectfreelance.ae.
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