Freelancing in the Time of Pandemic

By: Ma. Bernadette Lirio-Zabala

October 04, 2021

With all the uncertainties happening in the world right now because of Covid-19, how do you think you can find a job that you can excel at while earning a decent amount of money? This is the question that popped on my mind when I decided that I wanted to work again after a year of slumber. I really wanted to worked but I wondered how can I do that without sacrificing the safety of my family?

Freelancing at the time of Pandemic

Then came the answer. I have this really good friend of mine who shared my dilemma of wanting to continue working while sharing each milestones your kids have. She introduced me to freelancing and to Surge Digital Agency.

What is a Freelancing in the time of Pandemic?

So what is freelancing anyway? Freelancing is being your own boss. It means working independently rather than being an employee of a company. Freelancers are sometimes also referred to "self-contractors" or "independent contractors". They are hired by client to work either by full-time or part-time basis. The downside of being a freelancer is you do not receive any compensation from your client. Freelancers have to pay their own taxes and get their own insurance.

Ever since the pandemic strikes, people just wanted to stay at home, thus freelancing has become a popular career. There's not much difference when you compare freelancing in the time of pandemic from freelancing before the pandemic. The noticeable difference is that the competition during the pandemic is very steep since most people are looking for an alternative to working outside their homes while others were retrenched and are looking for an income to replace the job they lost.

The different types of Freelancing Jobs.

Nowadays, more companies are hiring freelancers to do minor roles and tasks rather than hiring a regular employee. Listed below are the different type of jobs/roles a freelancer can pursue.

Engineering and Architecture

Architects, Civil Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Interiro Designers, Mechanical Engineers, Chemical Engineers and Procurement Engineers can also work as a freelancer.

Writing

Copywriting, editing, proofreading, ghostwriting, content writing, creative and technical writing and business writing are some of the tasks that freelancers can do. A writing freelancer can earn about $5 per hour for starters and earn more as they gain experience.

Sales and Marketing

Lead generation, Social media management and marketing, telemarketing, Search engine optimization and marketing, public relations, digital marketing and market research are some of the fields a freelancer can work on.

Administrative Support

Administrative assistance jobs includes data entry, audio or video transcription, email management, travel organisation, order processing, project management and online research.

Graphic Design, Creative Design, and Web Developer

Freelancer who are creative and fancies visuals can become a graphic designer or illustrator. Photography, videography , web development, software development, mobile development and game development also fall on this type of freelancing.

Accounting and Bookkeeping

Accountants and bookkeepers are one of the most in-demand freelancers nowadays. Companies hire a freelance accountant / bookkeeper instead of getting a regular employee to save money. Financial advisers also falls on this category.

Customer Support

Customer service representatves and Technical support can also become a freelancers.

Information Technology and Data Science

Information technology jobs includes information security. systems engineering and administration, DevOps engineering, network administration and security while data science jobs can be data engineering, mining and extraction.

How to become a freelancer during the pandemic?

1. Choose your niche or service.

You have decided to become a freelancer and you've made up your mind that you will become one. Now it's time to choose what service you can provide based on your skill set and/or work experience. Your prospective clients will be looking for someone who can give them a solution to their problem, it's your role as a freelancer to give them that. Make a brief description on what services you want to offer and how can that help them.

2. Decide who is your target market

It is important to know who your prospective clients are and what services are they looking for. Are you an architect or a civil engineer? then your target market will be in the construction industry. Are you an accountant or a bookkeeper? then you will look for a target audience who's frequently looking for that service.

Nowadays, there are a lot of websites that makes it easy for freelancers to search for a possible client. You can go and try websites like UPWORK, LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, Fiverrr and many more.

3. Prepare your portfolio

A portfolio showcase your skills, experiences, certificates and services. It is essential to create a portfolio that will highlight the solutions that you can give to your clients. Clients will also refer to your portfolio for past experiences and how they can benefit from that before they hire you. A brief introduction about you, your services and skills, previous works/experiences, certificates and contact information should be included in your portfolio.

4. Know your worth

Research in the market what is the price of other freelancers in your niche. You can refer to their payment scheme before adjusting it depending on your skills set. Having a payment scheme before getting your first client will make it easier for you. It will be one less thing to think about.

5. Network. Network. Network.

Again Network. In the field of freelancing, networking is really important. You can land your very first client by maybe adding them in LinkedIn. Maybe somebody, who knows another person is looking for a freelancer and they can introduce you. Therefore again, Network.

6. Enhance your skill

“Never stop dreaming, never stop believing, never give up, never stop trying, and never stop learning.”

― Roy Bennett

Just because you landed your first client you will stop there. Not. Enhance your skills by taking a course, attending training or by just reading. Don't stop there. The more skills you can offer the higher your price can be, thus the higher your income.

7. Prepare your workspace and work gadgets

Prepare your workspace right away. It is better to work on a clutter-free space with a working laptop or computer, a good internet connection with at least 20Mbps speed will suffice and of course a mobile phone where clients can contact you is a must.

Freelancing at the Time of Pandemic

It's not being condescending to believe that you will have your first client right away but there are things you also have to do to get it. Prepare an amazing portfolio to showcase your skills and that's a start. Hardwork will always pay off. Nowadays, because of the pandemic most of us cannot go out to look for a job, however it doesn't mean that we will stop. There are a lot of option for us to still earn and not go outside we just have to learn where to look and how to start.