5 Tips to Keep Your Skills Updated as a Freelancer
Freelancing is not for the faint of heart! Here are a few tips to ensure you’re continuously sharpening your freelance skills.
Do they events of 2020 have you thinking about starting a career as a freelancer? Well, nobody can blame you. With the growing unemployment rate and an unending global pandemic, freelancing seems like a decent way out. And 64.6 million people in the U.S. think so as well.
Many people also start freelancing because they think it’s super-glamorous. Imagine: you wake up whenever you want, plan your work how you want, and don’t have to sit in traffic to and from work each day. Unfortunately, only one from the statements mentioned above resembles the truth—traffic. Yes, most freelancers don’t have to travel to and fro and spend hours stuck in traffic jams. But that’s about it.
As a freelancer, you depend on yourself, and it’s a hard thing to learn. Soon, you’ll find out that planning your work is not that easy. And, if you’re just starting out, you’ll spend many hours looking for potential clients and building up your portfolio. So, you’ll have to forget about free time. Another thing that you’ll learn very quickly is that you are the only person responsible for your professional growth. No one will invest in helping you upgrade your skills. That’s your job.
Sounds tough, right? It is! But today, we’ll share some tips on how you can keep your skills updated as a freelancer to remain competitive in your industry.
Keep Up with your Industry through Online Courses
It’s incredibly exciting that continuous education is so accessible nowadays. You don’t even have to leave the house to sign up for a course or even get a college degree. Besides, there’s an array of massive online courses that have both free and paid educational opportunities to learn new skills and upgrade the ones you already have. The most popular online education platforms are:
Udemy: Most courses on this platform are paid, but course organizers often offer huge discounts. Besides, once you purchase a course, you have lifetime access to it.
Udacity: This platform is especially useful for those who want to do freelance work as programmers, data analysts, engineers, etc. The courses are quite expensive ($400 per month of learning), but your expenses will pay off pretty quickly, considering that freelance programmers alone earn $1,300 a week on average.
edX: On edX, you’ll find a variety of courses fit for every freelancer. This platform is curated by the top U.S. universities, including MIT, Harvard, and Berkley.
No matter which e-learning platform you choose, you can always learn at your own speed, which is perfect for freelancers. You can also get a certificate confirming the completion of courses.
Listen to Freelancing Podcasts
Besides improving your skills through online learning, you also need to keep up with the hottest trends in the freelancing industry in general. The easiest way to stay aware of the latest freelancing news is to listen to a podcast. Here are the top 3 podcast suggestions for you:
Freelance to Founder: This podcast is perfect for those who plan to turn their one-person business into a fully functioning company one day. You’ll find success stories, tips, and recommendations from those who went from being freelancers to becoming entrepreneurs.
The Solopreneur Hour: If you’re thinking of becoming a freelancer but doubting this decision, this podcast could help you move things forward, as it covers the stories of people who turned their hobbies into blooming freelancing careers.
The Freelancers’ Show: This podcast is a haven for freelancers who are constantly looking for opportunities to improve. You’ll find actionable tips, stories, and news from the freelancing world.
It’s also a great idea to listen to the podcast from your own industry. This way, you’ll be better informed about how your job outlook may be changing in the upcoming years. As a result, you’ll have a clear understanding of which skills you need to focus on.
Maintain Your Soft Skills
As mentioned, freelancers often have to look for clients on their own, and that means knowing how to establish a rapport and build a professional relationship. In the recruitment process, soft skills can be a deal-breaker. Linda Ferguson, the CEO of Subjecto, shares that, when hiring freelance writers, she mostly focuses on their communication and analytical skills rather than their experience. Here are som other soft skills that are absolutely essential for freelancers:
negotiation
storytelling
adaptability
flexibility
problem-solving
research
resourcefulness
work ethic skills
Soft skills also include your ability to remain productive and manage your time. Your performance largely depends on your respect for deadlines, so invest in building up your organizational skills as well.
Network through Social Media & Forums
A successful freelancer is also great at networking. Your connections show how determined you are to grow as a freelancer and how good you are at maintaining professional relationships. This way, you’ll have more chances to receive invitations to exclusive events, webinars, and conferences, where you can learn something new.
How can you grow your network as a freelancer? Start by connecting with people through forums and industry groups on social media. There, the participants share many useful links and opportunities to grow professionally. You may even find your next client in one of these groups.
Review Past Projects & Learn from Them
Growth is impossible without self-reflection. It allows you to understand what you need to improve your next project and which skills need an upgrade. So, reflect on every project once you finish it. The easiest way is to keep a journal so that in the future, it will be easier for you to return and review your past experiences and remind yourself how you can improve to achieve success.
It’s a Freelancer’s Fate to Keep Learning
You cannot underestimate the importance of continuous learning in freelancing. Your entire career as a freelancer depends on how well you’ll manage to upgrade your skills and acquire new knowledge. Luckily, continuous learning has become easily accessible today.
Kristin Savage nourishes, sparks, and empowers using the magic of a word. Along with pursuing her degree in Creative Writing, Kristin has experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in marketing strategy for publishers and authors.