Working as a freelancer is slightly different from working within a company. Some tasks are new, such as client communication and extensive sourcing, while others may take a back seat.
In this article, we will discuss the qualities that can help recruiters succeed in freelancing.
Positive Attitude
Maintaining a positive attitude is one of the most crucial qualities. Believing that everything is going well can attract positive outcomes. Positive-minded recruiters tend to experience more successful situations, such as recommending excellent candidates, securing job offers, dealing with pleasant clients, and more.
Results-Oriented
In recruiting, it's essential to focus on results. A recruiter's ultimate result is hiring a suitable candidate. Being results-oriented means understanding that success isn't just when a candidate accepts an offer but also when they successfully complete their probationary period.
Metrics-Loving
Understanding and tracking metrics is essential for showing excellent results. Metrics such as the number of closed positions within a specific period, the candidate funnel (how many candidates were at each stage: initial contact, interviews, offers sent, offers accepted), rejection rates, candidates who didn't pass the probationary period, and more can help in decision-making and performance improvement. Tracking this data allows recruiters to estimate how many candidates they need to present to close a position and how many candidates to contact each week to provide at least one for client consideration.
Pleasure in the Process
In addition to focusing on the outcome, it is very important to enjoy what you do. If a person doesn't derive pleasure from the work itself, they are unlikely to be successful in it. Personally, I feel very sorry for people who spend years of their lives doing something they don't love.
Resilience to Stress
If you take everything too personally, you will burn out very quickly. And with each situation, your emotional well-being will decline, which can lead to a cycle where you start attracting negative events into your life.
Therefore, it is very important to have something in your life other than work, such as hobbies that help you relax and feel happy. It can be anything: dancing, yoga, walks, painting, hanging out with friends, and so on. Choose what helps you unwind and switch off.
Team Support also helps. For example, we have a separate chat for venting, where you can complain about all the injustices of life, get support from the whole team, and virtual hugs :) Believe me, it works!
Self-Organization
When you don't have a supervisor looking over your shoulder and controlling your actions, you have to be your own boss. Therefore, it becomes very important to set tasks for yourself, prioritize, motivate yourself to work, and monitor results.
Daily planners, task managers, time trackers, and many other tools come in handy here.
Desire for Development/Self-Education
In our profession, everything is developing rapidly. Candidates become increasingly in demand, and old hunting methods no longer work. In freelancing, where recruiters are solely engaged in active searching, it is very important to constantly evolve and try new tools and methods of finding specialists.
Attention to Detail
In a day, a recruiter reviews a million profiles and writes a hundred emails to candidates. In this case, attention to detail matters. Spotting the right skills, correctly writing a person's name, not forgetting to note updates in the database, and responding to candidates in a timely manner with feedback—all of these matter.
Moreover, basic attention to people is crucial. Programmers are just like us, and it's nice for them to be noticed for their achievements, their portfolio appreciated, or their blog read, rather than receiving a generic message.
Negotiation Skills
In freelancing, recruiters communicate independently with both candidates and clients. Therefore, the ability to negotiate becomes doubly important.
Responsibility
This is the last quality on my list, but not the least in importance. It entails taking responsibility for the results of your work, delivering on promises to clients and candidates. When you work for yourself, you realize that if you let someone down today, they won't come back to you tomorrow. This can quickly lead to losing loyal clients and candidates.
I also found it interesting to hear from freelance recruiters I know about the qualities they believe are helpful for freelancers:
Liliia Doronina: My main quality is that I love what I do. Self-discipline and a desire to achieve results.
Ekaterina Lyashenko: In our work, it's crucial to be results-oriented. This motivation drives important qualities like organization, responsibility, and proactivity. With these qualities, you can achieve results much faster. It's also important to love the process of your work, which provides perseverance and inspiration to keep going.
Victoria Salakhieva: I would highlight the following key qualities:
- Persistence. The first year in freelancing is the toughest because you need to completely readjust and face daily obstacles. Persistence in reaching your goals will help you stay on track and achieve results.
- Willingness to learn every day. A freelancer must be an expert, as they don't have a supervisor to consult with. They should see many ways to achieve the goal and offer them to the client (from classic methods to the most innovative).
- Responsibility that won't allow you to miss deadlines under any circumstances.
- The ability to constructively defend your point of view and build partner relationships.
