Hiring a Freelancer? Don't Miss These 13 Interview Questions

Introduction 

Hiring freelancers to support key initiatives or address strategic priorities can be effective, but only if the right freelance partners are chosen. Conducting a thoughtful interview process is crucial to making a hiring decision you will not regret. To get a true sense of the candidate's personality, communication style, enthusiasm for the work, and cultural fit asking a proper set of questions is crucial.  

So, this article provides 13 client interview questions you can use to gain a deep, nuanced understanding of freelance candidates and their potential as a resource to help your organization thrive. 

Top Questions To Ask 

If you are willing to hire a freelancer, here are interview question examples that can help you greatly. 

1] Why did you decide to freelance? 

Knowing why freelancers choose their career path is important, as it can provide insights into their passion and drive. Most freelancers choose to work for themselves for flexibility, being their boss, and the ability to work from anywhere. Look for passion in their response to identify whether they fit your company and role well. 

2] What is your area of expertise?  

The freelancer's area of expertise, experience, skills, work history, and passion will help you identify if the candidate is fit for the role. Discussing their expertise, strengths, limitations, and career goals can help determine how well they may fit your culture and future opportunities. 

3] How do you manage multiple clients? 

By asking this question, you can gain insight into the freelancer's time management and prioritization skills. You will also get insights into the ability to use the tools, balance the workloads, quality, and management experience, and above all, set the milestones. This is one of the most important client round interview questions. 

4] How do you plan to achieve the KPIs for the project?  

This question helps determine if the freelancer can understand the project's aims and fulfill the requirements. Doing so will give you an idea about the planning process intended to be followed.  

5] How do you stay updated with the latest trends in the industry?  

By asking this client interview question, you can gain insight into the freelancer's knowledge and interest in the field. It can also show how freelancer keeps their skills relevant and competitive and how they learn new things.  

6] How do you communicate with your clients?  

Since freelancing is a remote work setting, this will help you identify the right communication channels and incorporate the feedback mechanism. Doing so will enable you to get timely deliveries and resolve queries quicker. 

7] What are your payment terms?  

Asking potential freelancers about their payment terms can help you set up the payment method. It is one of the most common interview question examples. It can be on a word basis or per article basis. Also, you can set the payment method on phase will, which will be easier. 

8] Have you worked in this industry before?  

Asking a freelancer if they have worked in the industry before can help you assess their level of experience and expertise. This question can provide insight into the freelancer's knowledge of industry-specific tools, processes, and best practices.  

9] How do you handle feedback and revisions? 

Asking about how freelancers handle client feedback and adapt to changes can provide significant insights into their policies linked to rework. Also, this will help you determine the exact timeline for an article and what is the best way to move ahead in such situations.  

10] What challenges have you faced working with clients, and how did you overcome them?  

Understanding the freelancer's problem-solving skills and resilience is the key insight to this question. Asking how freelancers handle client challenges reveals their ability to manage miscommunication, scope creep, delayed payment, unrealistic expectations, dissatisfaction, stress, and conflict and maintain positive relationships. 

11] What are your strongest skills? 

By asking this question, you can learn what skills the freelancer has developed and mastered over their freelancing career and how they can apply them to the project. With insightful follow-up questions, you can get freelancers to provide more details on key strengths while determining if they have the skills and mindset to thrive in your team. 

12] What type of projects do you prefer?  

This is a crucial question if you are hiring for an agency. Asking freelancers about their preferred projects provides profound insights into their interests, passions, strengths, experience, work style, motivations, and potential fit with a company's needs and vision.  

13] What do you need from me? 

To successfully onboard a freelancer, you must discuss their needs openly. Some freelancers require a formal services agreement, brand guidelines, or other assets. Asking freelancers about their requirements for working together prevents surprises, delays, and frustration. Their initial requests allow you to assess whether their needs are reasonable, whether you can meet them, or whether they may not be a good fit for the available opportunities. 

Conclusion 

The client interview questions should be focused on dialogues, not interrogations. By asking thoughtful questions, sharing information openly, and evaluating enthusiastically, you can find freelance partners ideally suited to support key initiatives and enhance your business's success. 

Also, if you want to hire the best freelancer for your business, consider ZoopUp, a platform offering expert freelancers for multiple skills and positions.