Landing your first project may take a couple of weeks or even months. You have to patiently wait until that marvelous day arrives and you are granted that much expected project. Who knows, you can even win not just one but two projects at the same time.
You’re excited and you can’t wait to start. You set your mind on your next goal: getting your employers satisfied with your work. Off you go!
A couple of days or weeks go by, along with some sleepless nights, and you’re finally ready to deliver the projects. You received good feedback from your employers, but after that, you never heard back from them.
You begin to wonder if there’s something they didn’t like in particular that they chose not to tell you. It could probably be in the way you handled the tasks, or how you communicated with them.
Here are the common reasons why you were never hired again by your previous employers along with tips on how to increase your chances of repeat hire.
1. Miscommunication
Time difference makes things a lot harder than they actually are. When you are online, your employers are offline. You have to wait for your employers to reply to your messages, which happens at the time you’re already in bed, snoozing in dreamland. It feels like a crazy waiting game!
It’s not your fault that you live on opposite sides of the world. However, you can make the gap feel thinner by scheduling weekly or daily calls with your employers. Doing this will let them know they’re still on top of their projects and so are you. This also helps them feel confident about you and what you do, and will prevent unwanted misunderstandings.
2. Project delays
Sometimes life can get in the way. Your son gets sick; your internet connection is terrible; the workload is too overwhelming; and the list goes on! In the eyes of your employers, you have the same number of hours in a day as they do, and they’re not happy about any delay.
You may ask, “How can I avoid this from happening?”
First of all, set realistic expectations; don’t promise the moon to your employer. We all know that Rome wasn’t built in a day, so don’t try to do so.
Secondly, plan your week ahead and organize your work day based on the projects you have.
Last but not least, don’t take on too many projects; unless you’re part of a team of freelancers and the tasks will be divided among yourselves.
Not being able to deliver on time because you have a lot of things on your plate will only harm you and your stats.
3. Too many revisions
Did the employer ask you to fix or change too many details? Was it a back and forth kind of thing? This can be frustrating on the side of your employer. What you can do next time is to list all of the requirements and expectations to make sure you are both on the same page.
4. Increasing bid after getting awarded
We get it, sometimes projects appear to be simpler than they actually are. You only realized that the tasks required are not that easy to complete; thus, you increased your bid amount after the project was awarded to you. This could be something that employers aren’t too happy about; unless you have valid, acceptable reasons.
To prevent this from happening again in the future, have a long chat with your employers and explain the milestones in detail. This may take a couple more minutes than anticipated, but it will be worth it. Not only you will be able to give them truthful quotations, but you will also prove that you are responsible and serious about their projects.
Don’t let the quality of your work and your talent be overshadowed by these mistakes! By following these simple guides, you can increase your chances of getting hired again. Make sure to look for more jobs here, and keep these tips in handy.
