More and more agencies, companies and start-ups rely on project-oriented cooperation with freelancers. This growing number of potential clients presents you with the challenge of finding an interesting and well-paid job that matches your qualifications and expectations. When assigning freelance jobs, experience in the respective industry, reviews of your previous assignments and your salary expectations are decisive criteria. Exciting projects and assignments for freelancers locally or remotely all over Germany and abroad are waiting for you according to your recommendations after your registration. With us you have the possibility to find your perfect freelance job in Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid or elsewhere in the world.
A freelancer is usually a self-employed person who is highly qualified and highly specified in a specific field. As a specialist, he or she supports various companies and closes possible knowledge gaps in projects with his or her know-how. In most cases, the activities are subject to a time limit which is laid down in a service or work contract. Payment is based on an individual agreement and can be recorded in the contract as an hourly rate, fee or flat rate.
In Germany and around the world, numerous companies and firms from a wide variety of fields work remotely with freelancers. Starting from a project with a specific goal, the search is on for expertise that cannot be found in one’s own company so far. Therefore, the decision is to be made to permanently hire a new employee for the topic, because over a certain period of time it is foreseeable that the expertise will be needed for a longer period of time. Alternatively, a freelancer will be hired specifically for the project, whose knowledge and skills will only temporarily strengthen the company.
Regular, fixed income is inadmissible in this context. In this case, the impression of pseudo self-employment could quickly arise, which is prohibited in Germany, for example. Freelancers are not subject to social security contributions and are seldom directly involved in the company, so they are not bound by instructions. The working hours and the place of work can be chosen by the freelancers themselves without a separate agreement. The biggest challenge is the constant acquisition of new assignments in order to generate a secure income.
The demand for freelancers is growing from year to year. A freelance platform is therefore an optimal basis to find the first or further freelance jobs locally or remotely for you. The basis is a meaningful profile with an appealing photo of you, which should be contemporary and reflect your own personality. An important basis of decision is your skills, which you should indicate as comprehensively as possible on the profile.
Without selling yourself short, honesty will last longest in this context. If you are a proven expert in an industry, you can emphasize this on your profile. Showing off with skills in which you have only partial or no knowledge will ultimately be to your disadvantage in the context of an assignment. Already one bad review on a portal can prevent future assignments.
USPs, special experiences and skills in your profile are essential for successfully be found by potential clients. Freelance jobs often require precise knowledge and a certain amount of experience is always an advantage. If previous jobs were additionally rated “very good”, your chances on a freelance platform increase enormously.
Not insignificant for the generation of new assignments are nowadays also international customers, for whom suitable language skills are often a must. Even companies that assign freelance jobs in Germany often use English as their internal communication language. The exchange with employees can only take place with the appropriate language skills. Speaking other languages increases the chances of approaching international clients with your profile.
How can freelancers find a suitable and of course well paid remote job in Germany or in other European or worldwide countries? This question arises especially at the start of the freelance activity. If the decision to become self-employed has been made without a corresponding lead time, during which customer acquisition has already been carried out, this is elementary for successful work.
The first aspect is an own homepage. You should create it in an attractive design and then optimize it for search engines. Since larger platforms and the competition are not at all asleep, the generation of jobs via your homepage is a matter of luck, especially at the beginning. Ideally, it serves as a business card, because relevant rankings are only achieved by websites after a certain period of time.
Social media is another option. On Facebook, Xing or LinkedIn there are a lot of groups and job offers. But this is also where direct competition begins. You are by no means alone on the social media platforms and numerous freelancers with a meaningful profile snatch the coveted and well-paid projects. In the Facebook groups the price of a freelancer is usually the deciding factor and in this respect there are rarely good quality offers.
Networking is another way to get interesting orders. At trade fairs and conferences you can get in touch with potential clients. You have to be born for networking though, otherwise the door-to-door work is usually in vain.
Freelance websites are an excellent chance to find an exciting freelance job. The registration is usually free of charge and possible for many activities. By creating your own profile you have the opportunity to identify yourself as an expert and will be proposed for freelance jobs that fit into your field of activity and for which the payment is appropriate. These platforms either offer companies the option to contact you directly or arrange interviews.
There is no specific restriction with regard to the industry for freelancers. Banking & financial services, accounting & taxes, energy & utilities, food & beverages, research & science, health, wellness & fitness, import & export, media & publishing, fashion, human resources, translation & localization and many other industries are open to freelancers for their work.
A specialization is always helpful. The more precisely you position yourself as a freelancer, the easier it is to find the right jobs. Use the specification of your activity on your profile, for example:
Especially recommendations and also positive word of mouth can be of great importance when looking for a freelance job. The more positive the cooperation with a company has been, the more likely are follow-up assignments or recommendations to other customers. This exchange of customers gains a certain dynamic when a project is successfully completed. Ideally, you will be able to choose your customers or the upcoming assignments yourself at some point or determine the your fee.
The payment or the fee cause a certain amount of uncertainty for many freelancers. On the one hand it is important to cover one’s own costs and on the other hand not to discourage the potential client with excessive demands. A healthy mediocrity is a good basis for negotiation, especially at the start of the freelance work. After having completed a good number of assignments you will find your appropriate hourly rate.
A general answer to this question is of course not possible. The following factors influence the payment:
You should think about your hourly rate, i.e. your fee per hour of work, even before you register on a freelance portal and the resulting negotiations with companies. This is also the basis for your daily and weekly rate, which can be requested for extensive freelance projects. To put it simply: Your freelance hourly rate must be appropriate for the project.
As a small rule of thumb for determining your freelance hourly rate: Take the hourly rate of a classic employee in your industry times 1.5 and you have an approximate benchmark. After all, you have to pay taxes and insurances and cover other costs yourself that an employee does not have to pay. Companies and firms are also aware of this when looking for a freelancer and calculate accordingly when assigning jobs. With increasing experience, your hourly rate as a freelancer can of course rise.
In general, supply and demand regulate the price. As an expert in online marketing, as a creative designer or as a programmer you can earn very well, because your skills are often decisive. As a consultant, the industry is decisive and which target group you want to address. Copywriters often have a harder time, because they usually cannot give an hourly rate, but are paid per word. The competition in this field is incredibly fierce. Photographers must also be able to assert themselves on the market. Good pictures need patience and time – both are rarely available. It is always helpful to exchange ideas with other freelancers and compare offers. In this way, an appropriate freelance hourly rate can be determined.
Especially at the beginning of a freelance activity it is difficult to establish yourself on the market. Nevertheless, you should be selective with your projects and not hide your skills under a bushel.
Most freelancer jobs do not impose any restrictions on the place and time of work. So as a freelancer you can decide for yourself when the job is done. Deadlines are agreed upon until the submission or the end of an assignment. Keeping these deadlines should be decisive for you. Exceeding the deadlines can lead to bad reviews.
For some assignments it is necessary that work is also done in the respective company or that the results of an analysis are presented on site. Depending on the agreement, the companies then pay for the travel expenses incurred. However, a location-bound arrangement is the exception. Freelancers usually work remotely in their home office, in their own office or in a Co-Working Space.
Before concluding a contract, it is important to clarify the future communication channels and the assignment management. To avoid misunderstandings or developments in the wrong direction in a freelance job, a regular exchange between contractor and client is essential. Modern platforms such as Skype or Zoom offer the perfect means to exchange on a regular basis.
In addition to your own homepage and social media, freelance platforms are a good opportunity to find suitable and well-paid freelancer jobs. The platforms offer a fair exchange and mediation between freelancers and companies.
For example as a consultant, software developer, art director or online marketing expert, a freelancer with the appropriate skills can generate very high hourly or daily rates.
Here too, the market regulates the price. The hourly rate for freelancers varies depending on the industry and profession. The more experience and competence a freelancer brings to the table, the better paid the assignments and projects are.
The decision lies with each person himself. The free allocation of time and individual planning are opposed to customer acquisition. There is no restriction regarding the persons.
There are no professional restrictions for freelancers. As proven experts they are at home in all common professions. They work as copywriters, SEO specialists, developers, project or marketing managers, web designers, photographers, accountants and much more.
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