Ask HN: How do you find and vet freelancers?

5 points by mkinom 5y ago ↗ HN

I'm a backend engineer and I don't have much experience with design (UI/UX), sales or marketing. I intend to hire freelancers to design and market a MVP. How do folks generally go about finding and vetting freelancers? My expertise is limited and I'm not sure how to evaluate the freelancer's work. What are the things to look out for? What financial arrangement works best, hourly or per project?

2 comments

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brudgers 5y ago ↗

With an adequate budget, vetting can rely on established consultants with excellent portfolios and a long list of impressive references. Trying to get work on the cheap is a crapshoot. reliable quality costs real money because doing things right takes time and experience. Good luck

jamil7 5y ago ↗

I can only speak from the freelancer's side. The best clients I get generally come through referrals from people I know or people I've worked with. I think the same goes for looking for a freelancer, if you're not sure, ask around among colleagues, friends, people you know in the industry.

Hourly works best for both sides I think. An easy way to do it with a fixed budget is to say you have X budget which translates to Y number of hours from the freelancer, discuss together with the freelancer what you can get out of that and what you both expect.