{"id":20985,"date":"2013-06-25T09:56:57","date_gmt":"2013-06-25T16:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smartrecruiters.com\/blog\/?p=20985"},"modified":"2017-10-17T09:50:20","modified_gmt":"2017-10-17T16:50:20","slug":"how-to-hire-the-right-freelance-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartrecruiters.com\/blog\/how-to-hire-the-right-freelance-writers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Hire the Right Freelance Writers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since I write about pop-culture-y things for a living, one question I hear on a weekly basis – without fail – is \u201cYou have the best job! That\u2019s so fun! You are so lucky! How do I get a job writing about comics\/movies\/TV\/games\/whatever?” A valid question, I suppose, but one that often irks me simply because of the implied notion that\u00a0because<\/i>\u00a0it\u2019s fun it is therefore\u00a0easy<\/i>, or that there is some amount of luck involved. It isn\u2019t and there\u2019s not.
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\nBecause just like anything else, doing what you want to do as a paid job takes the same qualities as any other career path in life: passion, hard work, dedication, and an impossibly huge appetite that you will go to the ends of the Earth to satisfy even when you know it will remain forever unfulfilled. But you\u2019ll try anyway.<\/p>\n

So how does this pertain to you, the employer? If you\u2019re looking for the right freelancer to fill a certain role at your website,\u00a0I urge you to look at the fresh new voices within your own communities or industries to fill that void.\u00a0At\u00a0IGN<\/a>, a bulk of my most trusted freelancers were put in front of my eyes because of the work they were doing within IGN\u2019s\u00a0blog network<\/a>\u00a0or at their own private blogs or on sites that are more or less unknown. These were people I\u2019d seen writing of their own volition — passionately and well — about the things they love. Experience, in my opinion, is less important than passion.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re willing, as an employer, to be a guide to someone that has the passion<\/a>, skill, and dedication to the kind of work you\u2019re offering \u2013 work that they\u2019re already doing on their own because they love it \u2013 then pulling from this field of fresh talent will be rewarding not only for the freelancer but for you as well.<\/p>\n

Accumulating veteran voices is just as sound a tactic for improving the content of your site \u2013 which I\u2019ve also done, to great success \u2013 but helping the more inexperienced writers blossom is an incomparable experience for yourself in a managerial role that will be hugely beneficial to you in future positions, assuming you too strive to climb upwards. Curating veteran writers is just fine from a content perspective<\/a>, but facilitating the development of a new one can be innovative for both your content and your strengths as an employer.<\/p>\n

However, don\u2019t mistake inexperience for incompetence. There\u2019s a very clear distinction between a passionate writer with no experience and a passionate fan with no grasp on language. As an employer of fresh voices, it\u2019s your job to help guide the passionate writer with little professional experience through the ins and outs of freelancing for your outlet, not to\u00a0teach<\/i>\u00a0them how to write. You are an employer, not a professor.<\/p>\n

Passion might be greater than experience, but knowing the basics of the craft is essential before one even considers job hunting. As important as it is to your job to recognize new writers<\/a> that are ready for the next step, it\u2019s equally important to recognize the new writers that\u00a0think<\/i>\u00a0they\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n

Since you\u2019re reading this and have achieved a position where you are able to hire people, I\u2019m going to assume you\u2019re goal oriented and have, thus far, achieved the things you\u2019ve set out to achieve in your career. I\u2019m also going to assume that there were mentors and\/or employers that assisted you on your way. Hiring the right freelancer is another way to pay it forward; to help a like-minded but inexperienced freelancer reach the next rung of their ladder while simultaneously helping to improve your own personal skillset.<\/p>\n

Happy hiring!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"joeyJoey Esposito<\/a> is a Senior Editor at IGN.com. He lives in Los Angeles with his cat Reebo and writes comic books.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

SmartRecruiters<\/a>\u00a0is the hiring platform with everything you need to source talent, manage candidates and make the right hires.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since I write about pop-culture-y things for a living, one question I hear on a weekly basis – without fail – is \u201cYou have the best job! That\u2019s so fun! You are so lucky! How do I get a job writing about comics\/movies\/TV\/games\/whatever?” A valid question, I suppose, but one that often irks me simply […]","protected":false},"author":149,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":""},"categories":[840,630],"tags":[681,680],"series":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/www.smartrecruiters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Podcast-icon.jpg","download_link":false,"player_link":false,"audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/hiring-success-podcast\/id1472174987","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9oaXJpbmdzdWNjZXNzcG9kY2FzdC5jYXN0b3MuY29tL2hpcmluZy1zdWNjZXNzLXBvZGNhc3Q","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"soundcloud":{"key":"soundcloud","url":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/smartrecruiters\/sets\/hiring-success-podcast-1","label":"SoundCloud","class":"soundcloud","icon":"soundcloud.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3bM8YzLjM2G9qJXLBBySaB","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.smartrecruiters.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast","embedCode":"

How to Hire the Right Freelance Writers<\/a><\/blockquote>