I’ve been (un)steadily freelancing since the beginning of the year and since things have finally settled down into a routine it’s time to spew out some free advice…
First, if the job advertisement doesn’t list a salary range it means they expect job applicants to be desperate enough for work that they’ll undervalue themselves. If the position remains open for a long time that means other applicants have wised up. Corollary to that, if you apply for a job and don’t hear anything for over a month that means that they hired someone else who later wised up and split. You are now their second or third choice.
If the position announcement has incomplete sentences, poor grammar, or misspellings don’t even bother with them. This isn’t just a Craigslist issue – I’ve seen this on more “corporate” job sites.
If you do get work, make sure sure sure that you have some sort of employment agreement that covers the pay rate and period. The agreement doesn’t need to be complex, just something that will help prevent you from getting screwed.
Anil Dash is much more eloquent with the last piece of advice than I could be:
I talk to a lot of consultants, freelancers, and small businesses who do web work, and I used to be a freelancer myself, so sometimes I get asked for advice on how to price one’s goods and services.
I think I came up with my best suggestion today, and it involves only two simple steps:
- Slap the client in face.
- Tell the client your hourly rate.
If the person looked more shocked, horrified, offended, hurt, saddened, or wounded by the slap in the face, then you are still pricing yourself too low.
Your mileage my vary, this is not to be construed as legal advice, eye-poking may be substituted for slapping in some states.
I would add asking for 50% in advance, so you don’t waste your time and avoid giving your creativity away.