I wasn’t too sure whether to make this an article or not. But, I’ve learnt the importance of having a professional attitude to your work and relationship with your clients.
This can be as simple as emails! No slang or abbreviations please, keep it formal, only email during work hours! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten annoying emails at 10pm and how unprofessional it is.
Working in-house at an agency or studio, you need to be on time and ready to work. Show up presentable, tidy, make sure ya’ll smell good! If you’re using your own laptop, ask beforehand if you will need any particular programmes so you can download them prior and be ready to work immediately.
ASK QUESTIONS! The worst thing is having a freelancer that doesn’t get the job right because they simply didn’t understand the brief. So ask as many questions as you need to, make notes, make sure you understand the brief before you get started. Remember, you are on the clock and time is money for your clients.
Understand that the work you do is ultimately for the client you are working for and you are being paid to do what they want you to do. This sounds obvious, but many freelancers get annoyed by this. We have to balance our personal preferences and design style with producing work that the client likes and wants. This means doing those extra amends that stress you out, revising that animation that you know you got right for the 14th time.
This is hard, as quite often I’ve had the struggle of knowing my idea works better than the clients, but it’s really about communicating and finding that balance. You should for sure use your experience and skills to create the best work for the client, but also, most importantly, understand their needs and wants for the project.
Remember, you work ultimately in a service based industry, so you do need to serve the client, no matter how tough and stressful they can get at times.
Catch up on previous parts of The Freelancer Grind below:
Making a clean and simple résumé
Creating an eye-catching portfolio
