5 reasons why you should be interviewing with companies who aren’t hiring
Drew is the founder of 5starfreelancers.com, and our very first guest blogger at Freepik.com/blog. Interested in publishing here too? Contact us 🙂
We are driven to freelancing in hope of creating opportunities that weren’t there before. So, why would we spend our time interviewing with people and organizations that aren’t actively looking to hire? The reason isn’t obvious, but it’s more important than you think. Here’s why:
Ask any freelancer what their biggest fear is, and they’ll say, “the ability to work seamlessly from one project to the next”. As a result of this fear, we find ourselves using our spare time perusing job boards or asking our friends if they know anyone in need of our services. We may spend our spare time firing off cold emails, sending desperate interview requests, or seriously contemplating why we left our full time jobs in the first place.
This leads to self-doubt, which is a toxic emotion in the freelancing world. It can also cause us to abuse the word “yes”. By that I mean, we begin taking on projects that we really don’t want to be working on. These projects may fill our pockets, but they don’t fulfill our goals and ambitions. They’re not the reason why we decided to go off on our own.
So, how do we find work that we’re passionate about and manage to pay our bills?
Interview with companies who aren’t hiring. There are 5 reasons why this unorthodox interviewing strategy will work for you:
#1 It will help you gain vital clarity
If you haven’t taken the time to figure out exactly what you want to be doing with you freelance career, you’ll never really have full control. Listing out companies you truly want to do work for before you know there is an opportunity will help you say no to the projects you don’t want. If you’re ever in a dry spell, it’ll be far less tempting to say yes to a project you’d only be taking to fill your pockets. These projects are a waste of time on a number of reasons.
Every freelance gig should be an opportunity for returning work. If you ever work for a client who you know you don’t want to work for, there’s no value in it or you, or for the client.
#2 You’ll appear more genuine
When the pressure is off for the client to make a hiring decision, they’ll be much more receptive to talk with you. Ask for nothing except 5 minutes of their time. Odds are they’ll say yes to a quick phone call. Use that time to simply introduce yourself and ask them to keep you in mind for future projects.
#3 You’ll be more noticeable
We all know what it feels like to put hours of work into a promo piece, a resume, a website redesign, only to have a prospect ignore you. It’s not a good feeling, right? Trying to land gigs this way can burn tons of valuable hours and be completely ineffective.
When you reach out to companies, organizations, or individuals at a low-traffic time, you’ll be surprised who you’ll be able to reach.
#4 It will help build trust
I’ve been fortunate enough to be on both sides of the freelance interview, and I can vouch that clients are far more likely to hire someone they either know personally or who has been recommended to them by someone they trust. If you work on establishing and maintaining that trust before it comes time to fill a position, a client will be far more likely to consider you a top candidate.
Think of how many people have gotten jobs because they were referred, not because they were the best candidate on paper. You could be the most qualified person for the job in the world, but if you’re trying to introduce yourself alongside 100 other applicants, you will forever be a number.
#5 It will help automate your workflow in the future
Nurture the relationships you establish with prospective clients,and 6 months down the road, they’ll be the ones knocking on your door. You’ll be in the middle of a project with 2, 3, 4 other companies asking if you’re available. You’ll suddenly find yourself with more options, and the prerogative to raise your rates because other organizations are competing for your business.
Seeding your workflow is a crucial part of running a successful freelance business. Not only will it save you valuable time, it’ll propel you farther and at a faster rate than you ever thought possible. Start doing this today, and look back a year from now to see how far you’ve come. I guarantee you’ll be leaps and bounds from where you are today.
