6 Powerful Interview Questions for Freelancer Applicants

By: Tyson Thronks

2018-08-08 9 minute read

After posting a job, going through the sorting and evaluation process, it is now time for interview. The process is a critical part of hiring a new comers into your company. The interview phase will be the deciding factor if you will let the person join your team or you just have to let that person go. Interview plays an important role in the hiring process of freelancers whether they will be full-time or part-timers.

Interview will give you a preview how smart, how effective and how confident the person is. Through the process, you will also be able to see if the person shows interests in a long-term or a short-term relationship with you and your business. So you might as well set an example of accuracy by just giving them a 10-15 minutes interview so you won't be wasting much time on a single prospect.

We prepared few questions that we think you need to ask before employing someone to build a business empire with you. Remember that, an entrepreneur can't do it alone, an army of good workers or freelancers will definitely give your business a better exposure and more chances of success.

The lists of questions are divided into personal, logistic and communication. The following interview questions might help you decide if you will be hiring the right person for the job.

Q#1: "Why do you choose to be a freelancer? And what are your goals for being one?"

A very basic but not so personal question but the main goal here is to let your applicant talk about themselves. You need to give them a space of comfort so you could have a preview of their personality. You have to let them out of their shell to see how well they think fast and how easy it is for them to communicate their thoughts.

freelancing job

freelancing job

You need to know some bits and bytes of their personality. You need to see clearly if this person have the potential to stay stuck with your longer or they are just looking for a breakthrough.

Q#2: "If you are to choose which skillset you want to specialize with, what would it be and why?"

They already mentioned in their CV's and cover letter their field of specialization so they no longer need to elaborate on that. What you are trying to find out with this set of question is finding out their other talents or specialization. Sometimes it is way better to know that the person you hire do have something extra to offer, so when the time comes that you need their expertise, it is much easier to communicate with them than hiring a new freelancer again.

We hope we are making sense by saying that keeping a multi-talented freelancer is worthy of your time than always going through the hiring process again and again.

Q#3: "What is your current availability and were you able to work with people with different time zones?"

This question matter a lot because in the freelancing world, you really don't have a clue from where can you get the freelancer of your choice. There are locations that offer a wide choices of specialization but sometimes you have to go through different individuals from different time zones to work for you.

freelancer time difference

freelancer time difference

There are also global locations that will give you a 5 to 16-hour time difference and you need to see if you and your freelancer can meet half-way or you can determine a time where you both are comfortable with. There are a lot of benefits of hiring a freelancer and your choice might be talented and have a good project offer. But if the time zone will not work right with both of you then you just have to let that person go.

You need to know if your prospect have schedules to work on. You need to know if they have a full-time job and they are doing part-time freelancing or they do freelancing full time because there is a great difference with the results and it also affects the submission deadlines too. Delay works means bad business for you.

Q#4: "Do you prefer any pay range for your job? And do you have any salary goals in the future?"

The applicant already mentioned in her application the amount or the project rate, so you no longer need to ask that. What this question want to preview is to see how your freelancer thinks of the future. You need to see if they have set some goals to see themselves grow in the freelancing world or you just see them looking for extra income while they have nothing to do.

The question will also help you determine if you are talking to someone who wants to hone their talents or someone who are just there to freelance for the mean time.

Q#5: "What is your understanding of the job and the requirements to finish the job?"

This question is pretty basic yet you get to determine the communication skills of the interviewee. Your main goal here is to see if your freelancer do really understand the job you are offering and if they do really understand what to do. It is like asking them to rephrase what you already told them in your job posting.

It is more like telling them to interpret in their own words what you want them to do. You are just making sure that they really know and understand the work you offer, and to see if you are on the same boat.

Q#6: "Do you have more questions?"

A very plain question yet your applicant need to answer this one. You may see the dedication of the person if they answer you. If they ask you few more couple of questions, it means the person really wanted to understand how they can get the project done. They are showing some sense of commitment to the project you offer by asking you important questions.

freelancers questions

freelancers questions

If the person you are talking too didn't reply at all, it means they have other options too. They simply are just testing the tides with you, they are not committed to anyone at all except themselves. What they want is extra money but they can easily jump from one employer to another so avoid individuals like this.

There goes those 6 important questions to ask when you want to interview a freelancers. If you may try asking more double-bladed questions that could bring out the best and the worst of your applicant. There are also other questions you could ask your freelancer before you hire them but the bottomline is you need to be critical about their skills and dedication to the job. As a business owner and operator you are bound to determine first hand, if the person is really are fit to work with you and your project.

The interview is like spot checking what you already know and verifying it to see clearly that you and the applicant are a match. Don't talk too much in the interview, let the applicant do the talking and you will easily peep through their personality. There were no right and wrong answers, there were just valid ones.



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