Don’t You Dare: Five Fatal Mistakes Beginning Freelancers Make

Bad time management

Working from home sounds like the best thing ever, but, believe it or not, the situation can quickly turn into a trap. Since you are between well-known walls with no direct supervision from your employers, it’s easy to get distracted. Slacking on the sofa, binge-watching TV series or falling into the cat meme trap while browsing (sidetracking) makes you waste your precious time and lose productivity. You eventually end up telling yourself “No worries, I’ll make up for it tomorrow”, but the sad truth is that the next day (and the following ones) will be the same, ultimately resulting in a half-baked work you cobbled together hours before the deadline. And there is nothing employers hate more than a botched-up work made by a freelancer lacking any respect towards the job.

Over-exaggeration of your skills

On project websites, an honest resume is everything: this is why such services offer a detailed profile page where freelancers can showcase the skills they are proficient in, sometimes even being able to set the actual level of expertise. When applying for an open position, employers will look at your profile and decide whether they want to give you a chance or not. The problem with faking your skills or over-exaggerating them is that you will be “torn to pieces” during the interview. Since companies that wish to hire someone for a long-term job that requires high-level skills and expertise will always do a screening on their own, they can easily spot fakers; and their fate can be nothing else but being stigmatized for good.

Taking on projects without proper expertise

Don’t get too desperate just because you failed to find a job with your skill set: it doesn’t sound comforting at all, but you have to be patient no matter what. So under no circumstances should you start eyeing other, more popular categories that don’t match your skills. The reason is simple: the idea of “It couldn’t be that hard, I’ll look up some tutorials, then it’s rock ‘n’ roll, baby” always ends up in catastrophic results.

Granted, expanding your field of expertise is good, but taking on jobs before learning the ropes guarantees a negative review from your employer.

Only participating in contests

Out of all freelancer websites, contest sites are the most rewarding, but they are also the riskiest at the same time. They offer a contest in which the best work is awarded a huge amount of money, far exceeding the payout you would normally get on other freelancer websites. The promise of winning the golden ticket to the Wonka chocolate factory often blinds even the most talented people. Sadly, it doesn’t matter how much time and energy are put into a spectacular work, there will always be a better one who takes it all. And to pour even more salt into the wound, there is rarely a price for runner-up entries.

Our advice not to get disappointed too much and lose your spark forever: opt for fixed projects that pay less (but pay anyway if you deliver in a timely and quality manner) instead of wasting your time and effort on a contest, where you could easily end up being a sore loser.