One of the biggest and most gruesome challenges faced by freelancers is finding and acquiring good and new clients. As the global job market becomes more virtual thanks to technological advancements and blurring of international restrictions due to the digitization of work processes and functions, freelancers are now finding themselves more capable of approaching and working for foreign markets.
Here are a few tips to set yourself up for international freelancing success and score relevant and well-paying gigs!
- Presentation: highlight your USPs
Your first impression is likely to be your last impression and studies have shown that most people form one within 1/20th of a second. This is especially true in the digital space where you do not always have the opportunity to leverage your interpersonal skills to your advantage. Hence, optimizing your presentation on hiring and freelancing platforms for the international market becomes crucial.
Highlighting your unique selling points that can act as differentiators and pique the interest of potential clients is one of the most effective ways to get their attention and get the conversation rolling. It is important to remember that at any given time, there is an army of freelancers competing with you, and this is even more extensive when you are looking for opportunities in the foreign markets.
Getting noticed through articulate and crisp presentations of your work and portfolio is key to ensure that you put your best self forward and effectively differentiate yourself from a seemingly endless sea of potential candidates.
- Pay attention to details and keep it simple
Being meticulous and detail-oriented is essential to ensure that your profile or application is free of basic grammatical errors and spellings, which is crucial especially if you are trying to score a gig in foreign markets.
Looking reliable and presentable is imperative and your tonality should always represent the type of clientele you are targeting and trying to score. Hence, being articulate while also keeping it simple is one of the best ways to find new international clients in the digital space.
- Customize your applications
Generalization can backfire when it comes to scoring international freelance gigs, simply because it can make your application or profile look boring, dull, and unappealing. It is likely that your desired clientele already has a massive pile of homogenous and similar local and international candidates, and hence, it is always better to research the needs of the client or organization and customize your application to get their attention.
Your personal statement should be as crisp and intriguing as an elevator pitch since it is one of the first things an employer will read and will encourage them to read on and consider you for a particular project.
- Demonstrate leadership experience
Demonstrating leadership experience and skills is one of the most effective and unique ways through which you can land your desired international clientele. This is necessary especially for the interview rounds where you have to express your behavioural and project leadership, along with the demonstration of excellent decision-making skills and communication skills through various examples.
How can you achieve this? Be prepared in advance, and let clients ask questions. Even though freelancing may feel like you are working in isolation, international markets have ways to ensure that even freelancers collaborate to work in teams and deliver desired results.
- Cultivate necessary trust
Trust in the virtual world, especially when it comes to hiring and project management for the international market, is necessary to cultivate. Freelancing is largely based on trust, so instilling trust in potential employers is crucial. It is critical to look, act and sound professional at all times, and meeting deadlines and requirements accurately are one of the many ways through which you can earn credibility in the eyes of potential employers. This trust can go a long way, as recommendations from your first international client can act as a stepping stone to build a larger global clientele as a freelancer.
- Opting for smart fintech solutions for payments
Finally, one of the biggest challenges faced by freelancers while working for international clients is figuring out the payment system, mostly due to the currency and exchange rate barriers. Opt for a seamless payment system, such as the international payments solution by Salt that ensure that freelancers in the country can receive USD payments at viable and low conversion rates. It’s one of the smartest decisions one can make to ensure that only a small percentage of the payment is lost via conversion charges.
As virtual spaces open up for international freelance opportunities and projects, thanks to remote working and the growth of freelancing across various industries, it is important to adopt the latest fintech innovations provided by organizations such as Salt to ensure that you optimize your work processes and related functions in a prompt and cost-efficient manner.
