Hiring Contractors: How To Find Quality Workers on Upwork

You may need contractors to manage a task or project and resort to checking freelance platforms on the internet. Upwork is one of the platforms with the largest network of independent professionals and who BetterLegal uses for many of our contractors. As a result, it has become one of the leading freelance marketplaces that connect you to workers.

The platform caters to many industries. It is free for start-ups and companies to get access to workers. Currently, Upwork has an estimate of 12 million registered freelancers listed. Unfortunately, finding quality workers from the mass can be difficult. While they have many legitimate freelancers, there are still those looking to scam you of your time and money while some are incompetent.

The quality of the contractor you hire determines the quality of your project. So this article helps you differentiate the talented workers from the substandard ones. Keep reading to find out how to find quality hires on Upwork.

Define Your Budget

Before you begin searching for quality workers to hire on Upwork, you should define your budget. Set a fair price you are willing to pay for the project. If you are unsure what is fair, you can search related job posts online for competitive prices.

To find a quality, choosing the lowest-priced person may not be the best idea. However, a higher rate does not guarantee a quality worker. Asides from the hours spent on the project, the skills set of the freelancer dictate the fees paid eventually.

Create a Job Description

Quality workers on Upwork are passionate about what they do. They want to do a great job when hired. To them, it increases their chances of getting more job opportunities. You can find great workers by being clear about your expectations and deliverables. A precise job description helps qualified contractors understand what you need.

An excellent job description has the following:

1. A clear job title
2. A brief overview of the available job position
3. A list of job responsibilities to help contractors understand the scope of work required
4. A  list of specific qualifications and skills required
5. A brief “About us” section demonstrating who you are and what your company represents
6. The employer’s contact information

Define What You Are Looking For

You need to find the right fit for your company or project when looking for contractors on Upwork. First, search for the skills you need by clicking on a particular niche. After doing that, browse through profiles to find what meets your requirements. You will find plenty of information on a prospect's profile to know if they are a good fit. In addition, their bio will give you an insight into their personalities and work ethics.

While many Upworkers plaster their bios with many skillsets, a great trick is to find someone that is very specialized in the area that you need. Don’t try to hire a general marketer to handle all of your marketing needs on Upwork, it’s best to find someone great at Google Ads, or Email Marketing, or Analytics. The beauty of Upwork is that you can find multiple specialists for a few hours a week than one generalist full-time.

Search for Talents

Technology has made it easy to distinguish quality contractors from substandard ones. With a platform like Upwork, you can be your staffing agency by using the platform’s search feature. When you input the industry and job description, it will give you several options to choose from. You can also streamline your search based on skills and years of experience.

Create a Job Post

Before hiring a freelancer for your project on Upwork, you must create a job post. Your job post will generate project proposals from potential contractors. Review the proposals and separate what meets your standards and requirements.

Then select quality workers from project proposals that stood out to you. In addition, use Upwork Al-powered filtering system. The system allows you to choose your criteria and generate a list of quality contractors. You can then invite those you want to submit a proposal for your job post.Inviting Upworkers after thorough research vs letting them find you is another great trick of the trade. Many Upworkers looking for work apply to every job under the sun. Great Upworkers don’t need to seek out jobs as smart employers find them.

Check the Rating System

Finding the right quality freelancers isn't just about having multiple people to choose from. Upwork has rating systems to help you get insights from other employers. Also, star ratings and feedback from other projects can help you identify quality talent. You should avoid workers with many completed projects but no feedback.Always read reviews thoroughly and try to understand context. Just because an Upworker got a bad review, doesn’t mean they did a bad job. The employer could have been a terrible manager with unrealistic expectations. Read between the lines when checking reviews and inquire about them to your potential Upworker.

Pre-Screening Services

You can find quality workers through Upwork pre-screening services. Its expert-vetted talent status connects you with quality workers. Only a few talents qualify for this status. They go through a pre-screening process to evaluate their technical expertise and soft skills.

It is available to freelancers who have experience in web development, design/creatives, sales, and marketing. With this service, you can verify contractors' identities for security and compliance purposes. It also offers videos and chats features to interview potential workers.  This makes your due diligence process easier.

A way for you to pre-screen yourself is to add a little specific task for the Upworker to accomplish when they apply for the job. People that are not detail oriented or spamming job applications won’t complete the simple task and you can pass on them.

Conduct Video Interviews

Most contractors on Upwork work remotely. Conduct video interviews with such people. You gain a better sense of a contractor’s ability and fit when holding a video interview.

In addition, find out if they can complete your project on time and if the person is familiar and experienced with your industry. Finally, you can determine how they'll handle your project from their response to questions.

Always make sure you see the person’s face you’re hiring and that it’s clear that you are hiring them. You don’t want to be in a situation where you hire someone and they sub-contract the work to someone else. You want to make sure the person you hire is the one completing the work, unless specified otherwise.

Hire a Contractor

After going through the above steps to find quality workers, it's time to get started. First, offer your preferred freelancer the project and finetune the details. Then, create and sign a contract to make it official. This helps to protect your business and the worker.

The contract can contain the following details:

1. Names, contact information, and date
2. Roles and responsibilities
3. Payment terms (either fixed or hourly)
4. Deadlines
5. Confidentiality information clause
6. Independent contractor terms
7. Termination clause
8. Indemnity clause
9. Limitation of liability
10. Any other terms as agreed by parties.

Get Started!

Hiring contractors on Upwork is similar to hiring an employee. This article narrowed down the process to make it easier. Now, it's time to get started. First, however, remember finding quality contractors takes patience and perseverance.

The worst mistake you can make is hiring an incompetent person masking as a professional worker. Also, remember that not all contractors on the platform are genuine. So to streamline the process and ensure you get the best talents,.