Comments on: 10 Things to Consider When Placing a Freelance Writing Job Ad

By: Top 10 Freelance Writing Job Ad Red Flags : Freelance Writing Jobs

Top 10 Freelance Writing Job Ad Red Flags : Freelance Writing Jobs — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:39:12 +0000

[...] shady or very low paying employers use to find freelance writers. As someone who has been reading freelance writing job ads every day for over a decade, I can tell you some things haven’t change. The good news is that [...]

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:54:29 +0000

That’s a good point as well. It also extends to the type of writing. Too many ads say something like “Writer Needed” where they could say “Automotive Copywriter”. This would save some time when searching leads, so that we could skip over ones that were clearly out of our area of expertise. I guess it’s a bit nit-picky since it doesn’t really help the company one way or another–but in an ideal world…

By: Claire

Claire — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:45:04 +0000

Great list, Deb! I would also suggest that ad placers USE their headlines by including any specific requirements that will eliminate most applicants. For example, a recent ad for an editor only wanted applicants who were Harvard graduates, but not only was this requirement not mentioned in the headline, it was basically the last statement in the entire ad. “Harvard Graduate Needed for Freelance Editing” would’ve been a good headline. The same for jobs that require applicants to be bilingual, etc. If you have a highly specific criteria that the majority of writers/editors will not likely meet, include it in the headline!

By: JenC

JenC — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:51:08 +0000

I totally agree here. I have avoided inquiring on many jobs because I wasn’t sure if I would be qualified and I don’t want to waste my time. I really relate to #10. I have quoted a price to some people and not only do they not negotiate, they just don’t respond at all. I think that is a poor way to operate. They could at least say, “sorry, but our budget doesn’t allow for that.” Some sort of a response, yes or no, would be appreciated.

By: Chinamatt

Chinamatt — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:25:39 +0000

Now that I think about it, my first job out of college was a vague ad in the newspaper. Aside from the pay it was an amazing job, and I still keep in touch with my boss and coworkers.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:52:43 +0000

Deb–Beautiful post! Thank you! I was one of the ones that was discussing this a few days ago in the comments and I think it’s great how you really picked it up and responded to our concerns–and quite quickly. Very good list. Only other things I would add:

Jumping off #3–in addition to unnecessary plagiarism warnings, any type of talking down to writers like we’re a bunch of idiots is not appreciated. You shouldn’t need to tell us three times in caps that if we don’t follow instructions our email will be treated to a delete–that’s a given.

Making a one-paragraph ad into an entire page by giving way too much extra information like your life history and career highlights. I really need to know about the job details, a brief bit about the company or person and the application requirements. Maybe it’s just me, but I hate spending that much time reading through extraneous information only to find out the job totally isn’t compatible.

Explaining away “no pay” because it’s a “start-up on a low budget”. You had enough money to get the website up and running, you aren’t starving, so why should start-up status mean that I don’t get paid? Chances are the site or publication is bringing in some kind of ad dollars and there’s always a rev-share agreement that could be worked out, so basically not paying means that I’m working to make you money for free because you’re a poor financial planner (or just a cheap skate looking for free work). Sorry, no.

By: Tish Davidson

Tish Davidson — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:38:57 +0000

Another thing employers should mention is providing a realistic turn-around time. Today (8/18) there is a job posting for a 100,000 word cat and dog book that they want finished by “very early September” — approximately 2 weeks from the posting date.

By: wombat

wombat — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:41:01 +0000

When looking at those comically vague ads, I do try to consider that, in any field, people who are hiring usually aren’t experts at hiring. They’re experts at doing whatever their own job is. But oh man, is there some way you can post this on every Craigslist board in the country?

By: Thursday Bram

Thursday Bram — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:07:52 +0000

I think it’s also valuable to be able to check up on a potential client in order to protect ourselves. There are definitely some people out there who don’t share their details because they know a Google search for their names will lead any smart freelancer to walk away from a job.

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:02:11 +0000

Thursday, that is exactly what promoted this blog post! Several members of the FWJ community were a discussing vague ads, with no client information or details about the job. How will we know if we’re a good fit? Plus I always recommend knowing as much as we can about a client so we can tailor our pitches to fit their needs.