We’re gradually coming out of lockdown. Cue massive sigh of relief.  Restrictions are easing and we’re out and about that bit more. I’ve been meeting family and friends who I haven’t seen in months (at a distance of course). Others are heading to parks at the weekend to escape the apartments they’ve been cooped up in for weeks.

The global pandemic has thrust everyone into some pretty bizarre and unexpected life situations. Whilst working remotely from home has become the new norm, not everyone’s home workstation is ideal. 

I’ve seen some pretty poor graphic design briefs during my time working in ad agencies.  As an account executive, I was the point of contact between clients and our design team. When a client wanted a new piece of content made, they’d send me a brief which I‘d pass onto to our designers. To be fair, most of the clients I worked with supplied plenty of useful information in their briefs. However, we received a fair chunk of pretty awful ones too. 

If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it’s the value of human interaction. Whether it be in person or through a screen, it’s something many of us craved during lockdown.    What can startups learn from this? That creating a strong company culture based on positive, regular communication amongst staff is extremely important.

Job interviews on Zoom can feel weird, awkward and disjointed. We’re all used to sussing the client’s vibes in person and adjusting our behaviour accordingly. That said, Zoom interviews are the future of freelance employment (whether we like it or not!). This means that adaptation is key. With these simple 10 tips, you should be on your way to nailing your next freelance job interview on Zoom!

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” - This has long been a regrettable reality for freelancers seeking to develop their career.

To help get businesses off the ground, many start-ups hire freelancers with specific skill sets (app developers, web designers, content writers etc.) for a short period of time. We really wanted to understand the process of hiring freelancers from the perspective of a startup. What challenges do they face? What could freelancers do better? How can startups and freelancers work together more harmoniously to support each other? To find out, we spoke to three startups, Petal, 1001 Stories and Big 7 Travel, who told us about their experiences of employing freelancers.

Client: I wonder if she got my message. I sent it a few minutes ago and still no reply. Look, I’ll send her one more just to be on the safe side… Freelancer: My god, if this person messages me one more time. Does she not understand that she’s not the only client on my books? Sound familiar?