Freelancers can be a great asset to help you free time for important work and projects. They can also provide expertise that you or your staff do not have, and you may not require on a permanent basis. They can also fill in for employees who take a leave of absence or fall ill.

There are many platforms that specialize in helping you hire the right freelancer and make it easy to manage the projects.

I use Upwork most of the time but have used fiverr on occasion as well. Freelancer is another popular platform. I like Upwork as I can post the job and quickly start getting proposals in my inbox. I can also search for freelancers with the skills I need and invite them to submit a proposal or express interest in the job.

Hiring using these platforms is easy but you need to be prudent on who you hire as you can be disappointed if you do not follow certain precautions.

Here are the steps I follow to hire the right freelancer.

1. Use a reliable platform that offers as communication and file management system and handles the payments. I like the fact I can keep all communications including video chats within the platform
2. Post a clear job or project description. Upwork provides examples of good job postings
3. Ask questions for people to answer when they submit a preliminary proposal. This will help you create a shortlist of candidates
4. Ask for a cover letter. This will help you to see how they communicate in your language and how well they communicate in writing
5. Conduct an online video or audio interview. This will help you get a feel for the freelancer and see how punctual they are
6. Check the reviews on their past jobs
7. Ask for a detailed proposal once you have had a discussion so you can check their understanding of what you want

I have learned from experience that applying the above steps results in much better hires. It does not matter where people live if they can do the work remotely. What is important is their skill set, their attitude, responsiveness, and the ability to take responsibility and keep commitments. This can be gauged using the steps listed above.

Here is a sample of a recent job posting I made:

Video Editor – Business videos

I am looking for a video editor to edit select videos for my YouTube channel.  The videos are expected to be published on a bi-weekly basis. They range between 4 and 7 minutes.  
Hiring a video editor would allow me to generate more business and thus produce more videos.  My goal is to increase the number and frequency of videos produced.

I require a good editor who can understand my message and cut the videos down to the essence. I would also like the editor to bring fresh ideas and approaches to the videos to make them more engaging. The qualities I am looking for are creative, reliable, understanding of business approaches and responsive.

If this job interests you, please send a letter explaining why you think you are the right person for the job. I will then schedule interviews with selected freelancers. I will also request a test project to help me assess your work if you are one of the final prospective freelancers.