Personally, working eight hours a day, five days a week in an office is boring. I love having the freedom to work anytime and anywhere. I have learned many things by having these so-called ‘free days.’ And it all comes with working as an IT freelancer.
Working a nine to five in various positions in application development, such as .NET,
iOS,
Nodejs, and more was the great experience for me but my dream of becoming a full-time freelancer never stopped growing. In Vietnam, becoming an IT freelancer is not necessarily the best choice for developers. Due to company’s low budgets for domestic projects, these are all too low for the actual cost of living in the country. This is why I decided to become a global IT freelancer. You may wonder what is the difference between an IT freelancer and a global IT freelancer. Well, you guessed it. My work extends far beyond the borders of Vietnam. I’m no longer limited to just working in Vietnam. The whole world is at my fingertips!
Upon first learning about working as a global IT freelance, many people may think this is a simple job. But they don’t realise that it is actually can be more difficult working as a full-time freelancer. Here are a few tips on what I had to do to get to where I am today as a global freelancer.
English
You won’t make it outside your country without English, especially when it comes to the IT world. All documents are in English, all relevant l forums and groups are in English, most of your clients will use English, and millions of online freelance jobs in this IT worlds are in English. With good English communication skills, your first step into the world of freedom. It’s important to note that you’re not required to be a master or an expert in English. IT freelance careers don’t ask you to write essays in English. You’ll need strong English when it comes to communicating.
Strong Portfolio
When I first started to step out into the freelancer world, I thought I could do everything. I was fully confident in applying and bidding on every project I came across. My first bid
was about a
PHP developing project. But for some reason, no one was reaching out to me. I focused on voicing my experience and
technical knowledge but I didn’t have a strong portfolio to back it up. Clients who viewed my portfolio didn’t see a lot of truth in what I was telling them about my skill set.<
A strong
tech portfolio is not only necessary as an IT freelancer, but also in all online freelance jobs no matter what industry you’re working in. For most clients, your portfolio may make or break your chances of landing the job.
It’s important to build up your website and include relevant blog posts, apps or projects you’ve worked on to build up your freelancer profile and credibility.If they have a good idea of your background and work experience, they will be more likely to hire you for the job.
Understand Your Client’s Needs
You can’t sell a comb to someone with no hair.
It’s important you understand what your
clients want. For instance, while searching for IT freelancer jobs, you will learn that many available projects involve working with social networks, dating apps, streaming, chatting, financial, and more. These are hot topics right now in the freelancer industry. Build some projects in these areas to showcase your understanding and expertise of these products. This will make you very valuable to potential clients. Not only will you gain experience from building these projects but you will also have some demos to add to your portfolio.
Build Your Network
The best way for newbies to find job opportunities in the freelance world is to build up network starting with the people you know. It helps to utilise contacts you’ve made with previous projects. Reach out to them and let them know you’re looking for additional work. I found my first project from my
Android friend for
iOS position in his project. There are hundreds of groups and forums specialising in specific
tech projects thousands of experts to bounce ideas off of and showcase your skills. Use these groups to learn more about what skills you may be missing in the industry, share what you’re good at and gain advice from your peers. The more you share, the bigger your network grows and more opportunities will come your way.
One takeaway point from this whole experience is that the more preparation and experience I had, the more successful I became at landing new clients. Remember, you will get out of this what you put in! What are your experiences with landing new clients? Do you have any unique techniques or tips for growing your freelance careers? Feel free to comment below!
