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How does Freelancing work? Typically, someone will post a job or project on an online freelance website and interested freelancers will bid on the job. They say how much they would charge to complete the task and why they are the best person to carry it out. Often, these proposals are ‘sealed’ so that only the hirer can see the full details of all of the proposals – the aim being to prevent providers trying to undercut the bids that other freelancers have already been placed. The person who posted the task then chooses from all of the proposals that they have received and awards the job to the cheapest provider or the freelancer they consider to be the best‐qualified for the task. The freelancer then carries out the work and sends the completed project back to the hirer. If both parties are agreed that the project has been carried out in a suitable manner then payment will be facilitated.
Types of Freelance work
Writing / Translating You could be asked to write articles, product descriptions for online stores, or even Social Media updates. If you are fluent in another language you could do translation work. This is probably the most accessible type of freelancing work out there – especially if you have an English qualification and are used to writing essays.
Graphic Design This could be a bit more of a challenging sector to join. Not only do you need copies of industry‐standard software, but you need the skills – and imagination – to use it to its full potential and meet the demands of your clients.
You could be creating a logo for a company, animating videos, illustrating PowerPoint presentations, or working on adverts that will appear in papers and magazines.
Programming and IT Programmers are the brains behind websites and apps we all use every day. They are tasked with building software that is well‐designed and easy to use for the typical customer, and often have to write code to make it happen.
A typical project may include helping websites with their search engine optimisation (SEO). Analysing statistics and managing databases are common jobs on freelance sites, too.
Admin Support One of the most popular tasks is called transcription, and this involves listening to recordings of conversations and typing them out. You could even be a part‐time personal assistant – answering phone calls from customers, planning the boss’s schedule and booking their travel arrangements, or performing light research for their reference.
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Freelancing websites There are a lot of Freelancing websites to choose from including:
Student Gems ‐ www.studentgems.com
Gradlancer ‐ www.gradlancer.co.uk
Elance ‐ www.elance.com
Guru ‐ www.guru.com
Upwork – www.upwork.com
Freelancer – www.freelancer.co.uk
People per hour – www.peopleperhour.com
Click worker – www.clickworker.com
Fiverr – www.fiverr.com
Elevator café ‐ www.elevatorcafe.com
3desk ‐ www.3desk.com
Authentic jobs ‐ www.authenticjobs.com
How to succeed . . .
Fill your profile out properly and make it
stand out from the crowd.
Add a professional photo.
When you finish a job, ask the hirer to leave
good feedback on your profile
Some websites offer free skills tests –
complete as many as you can
Do not bid on a job you cannot do – it may
lead to negative feedback on your profile
Do not bid too high to start with. It may be
worth doing a few ‘cheap’ jobs to build your
profile and get some positive feedback
Check the hirers profile – is there positive or
negative feedback? Have they posted jobs
before? Be aware there may be a few
dishonest hirers who try to take advantage of
the system
Self Employment The definition of self‐employment is ‘starting and running a successful business or social
enterprise’. Starting your business can be very rewarding but also a lot of hard work. Where do you start?
SPEED Plus is a six month business start‐up project part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), who aim to help create new businesses in the West Midlands. The project is led by the University of Wolverhampton, who work in partnership with Keele University, Birmingham City University, Staffordshire University and Coventry University.
Specialist consultancy, development, advice, help and support is offered to current students, graduates, alumni, staff and partners from ANY subject area/industry to start and run their own business along with their studies, after graduation or alongside employment in a supportive environment.
Contact [email protected] for further information
The following is a list of links to websites that can help you investigate becoming self‐employed. Prospects ‐
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/self_employment.ht
ml
Make it happen ‐
http://www.mihmentoring.com/
Gov.uk ‐ https://www.gov.uk/browse/business
Business Enterprise Support (BES) ‐
http://www.enterprisesupport.org/
Staffordshire Business Innovation Centre ‐
http://www.thebic.co.uk/
Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce ‐
http://staffordshirechambers.co.uk/business‐
support/starting‐business/
Business Gateway ‐ http://www.bgateway.com
Startups ‐ http://www.startups.co.uk/
UnLtd ‐ http://www.unltd.org.uk/
Cobweb ‐ http://www.cobwebinfo.com
There is also a section on self‐employment on Ecoach – www.staffs.ac.uk/careers/ecoach
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Careers Network The Careers Network is here for students and graduates from the very moment you enrol at Staffordshire University, and forever after. We can help you:
Get part‐time work and work experience.
Plan and make decisions about your future career.
Prepare a fabulous, professional CV.
Practice interview technique and prepare for interviews.
Arrange a course‐related ‘sandwich’ placement.
Meet employers.
And lots more . . . We do this through a range of services, including:
eCoach, our online careers portal.
Face to face, and email, Employability Coaching.
Careers fairs and networking events.
Unitemps, our on campus recruitment agency.
Centralised sandwich placements team.
eCoach Through eCoach, Staffordshire University’s career
portal, you can access the latest career‐related
advice, tutorials and tools, including:
One‐to‐one career Coaching.
Interactive CV builder and CV checking service.
Interview simulator to help you practice your interview skills.
Assessment Centre tool and practice aptitude tests.
Learn about yourself using psychometric and personality tests.
Watch 100s of inspiring real life career stories.
Set your own career goals using Career Planner.
Search millions of jobs from thousands of job sites ‐ all in one place.
Research and network with thousands of companies in the employer database.
Go to www.staffs.ac.uk/careers/ecoach and either click on ‘log in to eCoach’ and sign in with your normal University username and password, or (if you have graduated) click on the ‘Request a username and password’ link to gain access.
Getting careers help There is a Careers Network on the Stoke and Stafford campuses. We’re open daily, from 9am to 5pm. Our Employability Coaches see students daily from 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm. You are welcome to call in at any time and see us. Alternatively, if you prefer, we offer email Coaching via [email protected] – just drop us a line and we’ll allocate a Coach to you.
Contact us: Online: www.staffs.ac.uk/careers Email: [email protected] Telephone: Stoke Careers 01782 294991 Telephone: Stafford Careers 01785 353233
Locations: Stoke Careers Network Trent Building, Leek Road, Stoke on Trent ST4 2AR Stafford Careers Network
Ground Floor, Beacon Building (next to the
Grumpy Mule), Beaconside, Stafford ST18 0ED