Some job platforms provide invaluable matchmaking services, connecting freelancers with work. Others charge far too much for questionable benefits. Jobs for skilled freelancers are booming. And it doesn’t matter whether your skill is in marketing, tech, law, logistics or accounting. Companies are turning to gig platforms to find skilled freelancers to fill a wide array of openings. The pandemic is partly responsible for the change. With COVID-19 leading to widespread telecommuting, acceptance of untraditional working arrangements has gone from rare to de rigueur. That has broken down barriers that discouraged companies from hiring off-site experts, says Joseph Fuller, professor of management practice at Harvard Business School. At the same time, the uncertain economy makes companies reluctant to hire full-time employees. Instead, they’re enlisting part-time and temporary consultants, bringing in expertise on an as-needed basis. “When companies are under duress, they innovate,” says Fuller, who recently co-wrote research on the market for skilled freelancers. “They often take that learning and make it part of their permanent approach.” Online platforms such as Upwork, Toptal, Braintrust and Catalant are a key to the trend, Fuller says. These gig platforms screen freelancers, sussing out specialties and publishing ratings from their former employers. That creates the equivalent of an online talent supermarket — a big benefit to companies in need of experts, he says. Using freelancers rather than hiring new employees also saves companies time and money, he notes. It enables them to experiment with new people and processes without making costly long-term commitments. However, these job platforms are a mixed bag for the freelancers themselves. Some provide invaluable matchmaking services. But others charge far too much for questionable benefits. Reviewing more than a dozen online job platforms for skilled freelancers, SideHusl.com found that more than a third of the platforms provided substandard to barely average options. In many cases, the only outstanding thing about the fair-to-middling bunch was the wide array of fees they imposed on their freelance workforce. Still, many of the skilled job platforms provided better-than-average opportunities, allowing freelancers to set their own rates and collect 100% of what they charge. The better platforms generally charge clients a fee for the introduction instead of digging a commission out of the freelancer’s wages. And they have a stable of high-quality clients that expect to pay premium prices for skilled work. As is true in many areas of the freelance economy, some of the best places to find skilled work specialize in a limited range of positions. Creatives: Working Not Working connects “creatives” — such as writers, editors, producers, photographers and illustrators — with big companies that need talent. The site’s fees are paid by the companies that do the hiring, not by the creatives listed on the platform. And the site’s client list is a who’s who of innovative Fortune 500 firms. Technology: One of the most hotly competitive markets for freelance talent is in the tech sector, where experts in everything from software development to user experience command six-figure wages. Not […]
