Tips on finding gigs
Build your profile
It’s a good idea to have a complete resume including all of your job skills and experiences that is easy for potential clients to access. But don’t forget to customize your resume for each project you want to apply. The more your resume reflects what the client is asking for, the better your chance to get the gig work. It may seem hard to keep up tailoring the resume for each job, but it’s always worth it. The more time spend here, the lower rate of rejection and the need to search for new job opportunities.
Promote your profile
Some of gig-work search websites allow you to keep the feedback of customers, as it is a good way to convince new clients about your capability and credibility. But you may use a range of different websites and you may forget all of your projects you’ve successfully done by the time. It’s a good practice to keep the track of each of your project, the client and contact information, and a short description of what you have accomplished. You can use LinkedIn or social media to showcase your talent and promote your brand.
Where to find gig work?
Upwork.com: For a range of expertise including programming and networking, engineering and architecture, design, writing and legal, or sales and marketing, gig workers can build a profile and clients (either individuals or companies) can post their projects. The search engine helps both of gig workers or clients to find the best case.
Freelancer.com: For a range of gig works in fields such as web design, mobile app development, virtual assistance, graphic design, product manufacturing and other areas, you can place the bids for a job and if it is accepted the job will be yours. By the time, you can build your profile and clients can trust you by browsing the history of your previous works and reviews.
Fiverr. com: You can join this website, build your profile, find a gig work and promote your brand in a variety of areas such as graphic and design, digital marketing, writing and translation, programming, business or management.
Flexjobs.com: By a membership payment, you can search gig works with more confidence, as this website claims to check every job opportunity to be sure it is not a scam.
Guru.com: This website provides a platform for connecting clients and freelancers in a variety of expertise including business and finance, sales and marketing, programming and development, legal, engineering and architecture, writing and translation, design and art and administrative and secretarial.
People per hour: This website connects clients to gig workers in categories like translating, photography, singing, audio recording, software development and etc. In this website, gig workers’ skills are rated and reviewed.
Behance.net: If you want to find gig jobs in fields such as graphic design, illustration, web design, architecture, photography and other similar areas, this website can help you.
Toptal.com: his website claims to be an exclusive network of the top 3% of freelancers in a variety of expertise such as software development, finance, project or product management.
Freelance Connect/mediabistro you can find gig-work jobs here mostly as writer, editor, graphic designer, researcher, photographer and other similar jobs. You can build a profile and apply for the posted jobs.
Envato studio: This website is specific to design and web-development. This platform works as a third party between gig workers and clients. That is, it helps gig workers to find the job and be sure of payment. On the other hand, it supports clients in finding the best gig worker and gives them the opportunity to evaluate the quality of works before the final payment.
Kolabtree.com: This website helps organizations to hire freelance scientists and researchers.
Taskrabbit.com: Not all gig works are digital. You can find jobs in areas like plumbing, assembling, cleaning, planting, packing and moving in this website.
always Be aware of scams
In any platform you are searching for a gig work, be aware of potential scams. Here are some tips help you to avoid scams.
A legitimate job post usually includes clear information about the job and the compensation. A job post should have details about the job description, the required qualification, the method and the frequency of payment. A legitimate job post, as well, is usually written professionally with no punctuation, spelling and grammar error.
A legitimate client doesn’t ask for money to hire you (even for background check) or expect you to buy a software, an equipment or a kit. So, if you are required to pay anything in advance, it’s better off to avoid the job.
Always be suspect of “too good to be true gig-work opportunities”. A job post offers getting rich so fast is almost never true or a job offer with too many pages for the contract is hiding something.
Never, ever reveal your bank info or social security number in any part of the application process.
Always check the digital footprint of the company. Check the URL and contact information carefully. A legitimate client has a specific URL and organizational email address according to its name. For employers in USA, you can also search the name of the company in Better Business Bureau to check the accreditation or whether there is complain or unsatisfactory record. If the client is an individual, ask for a list of references. If he/she stalls, it is safer to forget that job post.
Share your experience in this area with other gig workers, also, keep yourself informed of the latest methods of scams. The more you know about the new ways of scams, the better you can avoid them.
Sustain your viability: Planning and managing your finances
Financial Advice: Kess, S., Grimaldi, J. R., & Revels, J. A. J. (2018). Financial Planning for Workers in the Gig Economy. The CPA Journal, 88(8), 68–70.