For many businesses, there comes a time when they have to hire freelancers. Whether it’s for help with marketing or admin assistance, having extra talent around can increase productivity. With over 57 million Americans freelancing every year, there’s no shortage of talent.
However, if you’ve never hired freelancers before, you might not know where to begin. With so many staffing agencies and online platforms designed to help you find top talent, it can seem impossible to figure out which one works for you.
No matter what your needs are, there are options out there to help you hire freelancers at the top of their game.
Here are the top platforms and businesses to use if you need to hire freelancers.
Upwork
On average, companies who search for freelancers on Upwork find talent within three days of posting the position.
Upwork is a platform that allows you to post a job and have freelancers apply. It’s easy to set up a payment process, review profiles, and hire on the spot. You can even set up an interview with several people to find the right hire for you.
The only drawback is the popularity of the platform, which means you get an influx of resumes.
Toptal
If you’re looking for designers, engineers, or business consultants, Toptal is the perfect platform. Applicants have to pass a review process. Typically only 3% of them go on to the next level, which means you get only the top talent out there.
Like Upwork, you post a job and the company supplies you a list of candidates and resumes to choose from. However, this is much more expensive than most other options.
If you’re a small business, likely, Toptal is not a great option when it comes to your budget.
Guru.com
On the other hand, if you’re looking for designing, IT, marketing, writing, administration, and a variety of other industries, Guru.com could be a great fit.
They have over 3 million freelancers from all different backgrounds. The bonus of using them is that they handle the communication between candidates and companies. You review the candidate portfolio and hire your right fit. Then you can choose from four different t payment options, whether it’s milestones, tasks, reoccurring, or hourly.
While more expensive than some platforms, it is on the more affordable side.
PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour is equal parts freelance hiring and project management. The online dashboard was created to allow companies to hire freelancers without taking them on board through their company project management platforms.
It’s a great option if you’re looking for a full-scale system and talented people in love with what they do as freelancers.
To protect freelancers, you will need to put part of the project payment into an escrow account. Payments will be processed from there until it is depleted.
When you hire freelancers, you expect to get exceptional talent at a cost that fits into your budget. Using a hiring platform can make all the difference. They seamlessly allow you to navigate the process in a workflow that makes sense. But the best part is the ability to connect with top talent all over the world.