WE NEED YOUR INPUT: Where are you finding work?
There are so many platforms, tools, communities, recruiters, portals, lists, jobs boards... Which of them work, how do you feel about them, and are they worth the effort?
There’s an explosion of platforms for freelancers in recent years - in fact, it was one the reasons freelancing.support was born - because there are so many amazing resources for freelancers, but navigating them all is challenging, so we exist to help people find things which will be right for them - sort of like a homepage for freelancing.
You’ve probably already seen our Communities page, which is growing with links to the UK’s freelancing groups. Next up, we’re going to look at Job Platforms.
But we’ll be doing this with a difference - we want your views, thoughts, observations, comments and stories. Which are working well for you, which have tumbleweeded into irrelevance? Which promise the earth, but deliver mud? (Is that a phrase?)
We’re going to do this in a series of phases.
Phase 1 - Collection: Let’s find all of the places our members look for work. Using the comments, drop a suggestion of a place you’ve used in the last 12 months. I’ll compile the list, and create a simple page with everything we find.
Phase 2 - Feedback: How are you finding the platforms? Good stories, bad stories, it’s all useful. We’ll share what it’s really like to use these tools, and which might be better for some folk, better for others.
Phase 3 - Frustrations: Let’s identify the things none of the platforms seem to do well, so we can collectively let them know what they need to improve.
This needs to be a collective exercise, so please join in, share this post with fellow freelancers, so everyone can take part. Feel free to DM me if you’d prefer not to comment publicly.
Why are we doing this?
Firstly, there are so many new platforms in recent months, it’s always worth refreshing the list. Whilst really known platforms might get the attention, it’s often the more niche ones which have the quality of projects. Secondly, platforms change over time - their purpose, their focus, their values. What might have once been the de-facto place for creative freelancers might today have pivoted to only caring about clients, not us.
Secondly, individually, we are just another email in the feedback@ inbox, but collectively, we have the opportunity to be heard. Sharing our stories, experiences and frustrations with the platforms which sit between us and clients and work is important. The louder we shout together, the more clearly we might be heard.
Thirdly, for brand new freelancers, it’s important to know where to look, where to spend your time, and where to give up hope.
And finally - it’s useful to explain what each platform actually does, because Worksome is not the same as Malt is not the same as The Dots is not the same as Outside Perspective is not the same as Fiverr. So having a clear definition of the differences is super helpful.
So, let’s get started with Phase 1: Collection.
Drop a comment below with platforms you’ve used in the last 12 months to find work as a freelancer in the UK.
Linkedin only. I also subscribe to some freelance opp newsletters but nothing has come out of those. Yunojuno never has relevant work, worksome does via one of the major agency networks but it’s never panned out because they always want someone ft (plus it’s always out of date)
linkedin - relevant an useful
yunojuno -relevant an useful
Worksome -relevant an useful
indeed - occasional leads