Employers search for freelancers based on your skills and specialities, so it's important to set these up properly on your profile. Let's have a look at how they work.
When you signed up, you will have set your primary and secondary roles.
Specialities expand on your roles to show employers your area of expertise within your role. Specialities are different from skills because they help to define the type of work you do. For example, if you are a Marketer your specialty could be:
- Digital
- Content
- Social Media
- Communications
Or if you're a Developer your specialty might be:
- Frontend
- Backend
- Full Stack
- Virtual Reality
For Designers, your specialty may be:
- UX Design
- Graphic Design
- Web Design
- Art Direction
You can select and edit your specialities by going to your profile and scrolling down to the specialities section; it's under your work examples.
Click edit to choose up to three specialities from the search box. You can add how many years of experience you have as well by dragging the slider across.
Click save to set your specialities and go back to your profile. Under the specialities section, there is a section for your skills.
Employers search for the specific skills they need for their projects, so it's in your best interests to set accurate and relevant skills. Skills build on your specialities and let employers know exactly where your talents lie - they might be coding languages or programmes or platforms you're experienced in.
Just like specialities, click edit and start searching for your skills. Then add how many years of experience you have.
How do roles, specialities and skills work together?
Here are a few examples of roles, specialities and skills to help you show your areas of expertise.
Role: Marketer ⟹ Specialty: Content ⟹ Skills: Copywriting, SEO and Blogging.
Role: Developer ⟹ Specialty: Fullstack ⟹ Skills: Angular, PHP, Silverstripe.
Role: Account Services ⟹ Specialty: Account Manager ⟹ Skills: Strategy, Digital Marketing.
Role: Data ⟹ Specialty: Data Analyst ⟹ Skills: Data Mining, Analytics.
Role: Designer ⟹ Specialty: UX Design ⟹ Skills: Art Direction, Wireframing, User Experience.