The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many lives, either in terms of health or in terms of jobs. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on freelancing can be seen. Due to the pandemic, many employees are either being laid off from their current job or are working at extremely low salaries.
As per the international labor organization, global unemployment was already at 190 million before the COVID-19 pandemic. The ILO CEO has estimated that COVID-19 would be affecting almost 2.7 billion workers globally. India, being the second-most populous country in the world has seen the effect of COVID-19 in employment and is among the most affected countries for unemployment. In India, an estimated 12.2 crore people have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Freelancing, which is also called the ‘Gig-Economy' has already seen the major competition in the pre-pandemic period and, the sudden job losses due to pandemic have increased the competition. Surviving (financially) and ‘work at your own ease’ has attracted many individuals to the world of freelancing. Stepping into freelancing would also enable individuals to start their freelancing enterprise.
As per the CNBC report, Freelance job openings increased over 25% during the April to June quarter of 2020. Freelance job postings rose 41% to 605,000 in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, according to the report. Demand for game designers and game developers has increased to 68% and 64% respectively in the second quarter, while job postings for e-commerce professionals rose to 54.4%.
If you have not yet started freelancing or not sure how to start, here are the tips to get started:
- Understand what freelancing is: Freelancing is not as easy as it seems. Before stepping into freelancing it is a must to understand the concept of freelancing and how it works. Even today many new freelancers just start freelancing but they have no idea how it works. It’s important to research the tricks and tips, the latest trends, and in-demand skills for freelancing, understanding how to start and win the projects.
- Look for the level of competition: You might be new to freelancing but freelancing is not new. The competition was high in the pre-pandemic period and it has reached another level after the pandemic has started. Every skill has a different level of competition; business services have high competition but the few other skills (e.g., accounting) have low competition but are high paying jobs. So, you have to analyze the competition level before starting freelancing and make your strategy.
- Understanding your skills and preparedness: If you have analyzed the level of competition you would have come to know about your skills and your preparedness. Your skills should match the demand of the employer if you want to land into more gigs. After all, the main reason for you starting freelancing is that you want to land into more gigs and start to earn more.
New freelancers have to prepare themselves for all the upcoming stuff. Sometimes you may have to work a full day and due to lack of work you might not work at all. Apart from preparing for your skills, you also have to prepare yourself mentally for all the stress and get ready for many sleepless nights.
- Brush up your skills as per the demand: If you have analyzed and checked the market and compared your skills with the in-demand skills, you would know what and where you lack. Remember that freelancing is a fast-growing market and anything here is not predictable. So, you have to brush up your skills as per the demand and be active to change yourself according to the new trends.
- Market yourself: Registering yourself with the freelancing websites is not enough. You have to market yourself. Social Media is a great place to start marketing yourself. There are many employers actively present on the social media platform who might get impressed with your portfolio (which you made on social media platforms) and hire you. Just bidding on the projects through freelancing sites is not enough; you should open all the doors of opportunities.
As stated earlier, freelancing is very unpredictable. It is a battleground; The one who stays active and quickly adapts the changes wins this battle.
NOTE: If you are a newbie and looking for a low competitive freelancing website then www.quickenlancer.com is the best place for you. The best feature of Quickenlancer is that there is no limit in the bidding i.e., you can bid on unlimited projects for free.
Visit Quickenlancer to know more about the platform.