Just a few years ago, most freelancers got their gigs from dedicated platforms, referrals, returning clients and of course brands approaching them with offers.

Project, contract or long-term collaboration may take a different format, but the essence is the same: freelancers have often been treated as external workers who do not play a key role in the company culture.

However, things have been changing rapidly in the last few years in freelancing industry.

Today, we have a growing number of companies and their recruiters actively looking for freelancers, but with a twist.

Organizations

Now, more organizations are happy to treat freelancers as employees to the extent permitted and integrate them into their core business and culture.

That said, it’s important for freelancers to understand what to expect, what to ask for, and how to improve their chances of landing the best gigs.

Here’s what we can learn from recruiters and how we can use that knowledge to grow our freelance careers even more.

One of the most common myths of freelancers is that the business is always the one who sets the communication expectations you have to follow.

Workforce

Some companies insist on embracing this aspect of collaboration because they need their workforce (freelance and full-time) to be available at certain times of the day.

However, others are more than happy to accommodate and provide considerable flexibility when it comes to working with their freelancers.

Especially when it’s the price of working with someone they’ve really impressed.

So, while the recruiter might not say it directly, you can definitely share your two cents about what you think is the best way to foster effective communication between you and other team members.

Dealing with people can also teach you a lot about life. The recruiting business is a people business, so you learn quite a bit about people’s situations and lives.

Sometimes you get to know the problems they are facing and the hard times they are going through.

One episode that is still fresh in my mind was a candidate we found for one of our clients.

He was a carpenter, originally from Poland and trying to get some work in Italy. I knew that Poles are considered hardworking and reliable.

I never imagined that one day we would have a candidate who, due to his poor financial situation, would have to ask us for a cash advance before his first day on the job.

This experience really made me feel happier about my life and the job I had at the time. I have learned to be more considerate of other people’s personal circumstances.

Another episode was that we hired two twins to work in the same company.

When we hired them, they both made a great impression at first, but after a month we were quite shocked to learn from the newspaper one day that one of them had been arrested for sexual harassment.

Sources: blog.freelancersunion.org | Skillmeter