Create a killer freelancer profile by following these steps

Surviving the freelancing economy is challenging in the beginning as you are fully relying on how you market yourself and stand out from the rest. There may be a lot of reasons why you're not getting any work, but one of the most important factors when starting out is a great freelancer profile.

Business owners hate to waste time on interviews and long hiring processes, so having an impressive profile and cover letter saves them lots of time as they have everything they need to know about you without investing any more of their time. Here's how to create a great freelancer profile and get hired today:

1. Your Title

One of the first things people see when evaluating you for a role is your title. Make sure your title summarizes your key strengths, and shows you as an expert in one field (rather than a generalist in several things). Dont use vague titles, like "Highly skilled graphic design ninja" or "the last copywriter you will need to hire" but stick to a prescribed format where you try and highlight the 3-4 most important things about you, separated with a vertical line ( | ).

For example:

Senior Designer | UI/UX Design | Product Design | 5+ Years Experience

B2B Copywriter | Real Estate and Fintech | Case study Expert

2. Start with an edgy question

Use your main strength and make a catchy question. Remember people usually only read the first 4 lines, so being able to grab their attention from the beginning is crucial to ensure they read the whole profile.

Think about your ideal client, what are they looking for? What problems they are facing and how can you help them fix them? The more interesting and right to the point, the better.

Example :

Are you looking for more traffic and higher ranking on Google search results ?

Are you looking for an Instagram expert who can help grow your online presence ?

Are you looking for a Visual designer who can help you create a powerful brand for your business?

3. About you

Remember the first 4 lines are everything. If you manage to captivate your reader there, then they will probably move on with an interview. Use the first paragraph to explain in a few words who are you, what you have to offer, and your most proud experience.

For Example:

I'm Jane Doe and I have 6+ years as a UX/UI Designer. I'm passionate about creating smooth and user-friendly experiences. I previously word at Apple as a UI Junior Designer and Product Developer.

4. Talk about past jobs

Now it's time to talk about all your previous experiences. Try only mentioning the most relevant past jobs. Include a title and a couple of sentences that summarize your previous responsibilities and achievements. Try and highlight the things you did, how you interacted with the client, what outputs you created and how they benefited from you. Try and talk about all past experiences in a positive light.

4. Share your skills and relevant tools

Adding skills to your profile helps employers to find you and to know exactly what are your capabilities and how you could help them. The skill could be the tools you master, languages you speak, soft skills, and programs you usually work with. Rather than listing the skills vertically and creating a long list, add them horizontally separated by a vertical line and stick to 5-6 things, so it looks neater and doesnt look you're just filling up your profile with words. Some examples here :

For designing: Adobe InDesign | Illustrator | Photoshop | XD | Premiere | Audition | After Effect | Figma

For social media management: Airtable | Later | Planoly | Inshot | Plann | Tailwind | Mailchimp

For project Management: Asana | Clickup | Slack | Zoho | Trello

6. Talk about your style: How you work with your clients

You will be working with different personalities and moods. Some people prefer to chat over video meets. Some others rather chat over WhatsApp as they need quick responses. Defining your own working style might take some time, but there are some best practices you should follow:

Setting up communication timeframe and channels, Defining Deadlines, Establishing expectations, KPIs, and project management tools

For example :

"I can be available 9AM - 4 PM ET every day"

"I give my clients a daily update on progress and an itemized invoice at the end of the week"

"I keep a detailed timesheet of my work"

"I use Asana to manage my tasks"

7. Why should you hire me section

This is a ProvenTeam recommendation. At the end of your freelancer profile, try to add a final sentence or two on why someone should hire you. Try and anticipate what is most important to the employer ( whether its Trust, Quality, Value for Money), and address their pain point.

This text really needs to be unique and resonate with the employer. Its your chance to have a heart to hear with them and win them over.

"I'm the kind of person....."

"While I may not have the right skills, I am highly motivated...

"My one strength above all is...

8. Profile Video

If you are a creative freelancer, then having a video intro showing your past projects, abilities and even video editing skills is key. Add a 2 minutes video talking about yourself, your skills, and previous jobs.

For example, if you are a graphic designer, you can include a showreel video show casting portfolio.

9. Portfolio

Adding a portfolio will add credibility to your profile!

What should a Graphic Designer portfolio include:

Moodboards

Brand books

Soft books

Logos

Websites

Mockups

Email marketing designs

What should a Content Marketer portfolio include:

Blogs

Social Media Accounts

Landing Pages

Magazines

Newspapers

Shops

Product descriptions

What should a Digital Marketing portfolio include:

Screenshots of campaigns plans

Links to Previous Clients

Links to your own website

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