Our mission at Chunk of Change is to help prepare you for success in the gig economy. From finding what makes you the best and only choice for a project, to tips on maintaining the value of your work when billing clients, or on the flip side, as an employer, attracting the best and brightest to your projects.
As the gig economy continues to grow, companies are beginning to form teams of freelance and contract workers, and this means being the right choice as a freelancer, and also, being a gig economy team player.
First things first, if you only focus in one place, hone in on who is doing the choosing to better understand what will fulfill their goals. This week we offer you an amazing insight into how those that hire gig workers choose (and how to make them choose you)!
Vitamin T, who screens and vets talented individuals for companies and projects has a process that begins with a “Team Interview Worksheet.” The worksheet assists employers during the process of hiring multiple freelancers to form a project team.
Here is some insight that both sides can glean from the worksheet, but specifically think about how someone would answer these questions about you:
Right out of the gates the decision makers need to know what value you will bring to the company, but more importantly, what specific role will make you crucial to their team. This means that they are not hiring a “graphic designer,” but a “web graphic designer,” or a “print graphic designer.” When putting a team together for a project, general skills are helpful, but an employer needs to fulfill specific goals, and an expert wins out over a jill-of-all-trades every time.
It’s important to broaden your skillset, but it’s much more important to know and effectively communicate what makes you the best in a specific skillset. Determining your unique value and what sets your apart from the field is crucial to standing out as the best choice!
The two questions above are very important differentiators and can make you the top candidate. More importantly, this is UVP, your unique value proposition. Being good at something is important, being better than your competition is more important, but the most important thing is being the best and exceeding expectations! Each individual has their own UVP, sometimes that is a specific skill, but it can also mean that you are very good at what you do and: easy to work with, punctual, efficient, friendly, and dependable. Determine what you offer that makes you the best choice, and learn to communicate that to potential employers – that’s UVP!
Now the shoe is on the other foot, the employer also needs to know their UVP in order to interest talented individuals in their projects and teams. It is crucial for an employer to determine if you are a “good fit” for a team, but it is just as crucial for you to determine if the project or team is a “good fit” for your career. We must learn from each project and take that knowledge with us to our next endeavor. Spinning your wheels with a project that doesn’t amplify your experience and cultivate new skills results in stasis, and the name of the game is growth!
Ride into Battle Armed to the Teeth!
You now have a insight into what potential employers are thinking about when they interview you. It’s an excellent start, but it’s akin to bringing a pea-shooter to a world war. Think of Chunk of Change as your arms-dealer at large. My soon-to-be-released book The Gig Is Up: Thrive in the Gig Economy, Where Old Jobs Are Obsolete and Freelancing Is the Future! is your arsenal – my gift to you in your campaign to conquer the gig economy. I’m here for you, and I’m bringing out the big guns:
- Using UVP (unique value proposition) to stand apart
- Becoming an elite freelancer
- Harnessing the app market
- Taking your career to the next level
- Taking advantage of reviews
- Finding out what’s next in the gig economy
Together we’ll explore the inner workings of gig economy, how to carve out your place and add value with each completed project and achieve work FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!
Let me know I can help!
