So if you
follow me on Twitter, you know that I’ve been doing a lot more with LinkedIn (a.k.a. the unseasoned chicken of the Internet).
A while back, they launched a service to help companies find freelancers —
ProFinder. Well, I got an invitation..and then I got denied. I’m not the world’s most advanced freelancer, but I’m good, and I know my profile reflects that, so I had to ask what was going on.
They explained that I’d added
something about consulting (don’t remember doing that, but ok…I’ve made a lot of changes so maybe…maybe) and approved my account. I sat, excited at the prospect of new, passive leads (LinkedIn has always been good for me as a freelancer) but that lasted all of 2 seconds.
They say if you’re getting a service for free, be careful, because you’re the product. I decided to dig a bit deeper into why exactly LinkedIn is jumping into the freelance game and I
didn’t have to dig far.
They state quite plainly that they’re out to help businesses find help…who can blame them? They’ve had a hard time figuring out how to make money as a social platform, and freelancing is a $715 billion market. So basically, they aren’t out there to help me as a freelancer, even if the platform does make my life easier.
LinkedIn is being selective…allowing only experienced freelancers who’ve established
presences on their site into the program. In other words, they’re trying to differentiate themselves from larger, more open platforms such as Upwork, where companies have to shift through language issues and less-experienced workers to get the help they need.
This is where the change comes in.
Right now, freelancing is a wide open world — there isn’t any real, standardized way to tell the “class” of a freelancer, but if LinkedIn keeps going the
way I think it is, there will be soon, and it will likely be harder for new freelancers to get started.
I say all that to say that every effort you invest now in building your freelance brand, will likely be worth even more in the future…which is why I’m so glad you’re here on BlackFreelance. It might be hard to tell now, but all the small steps you’re making today are huge favors for your future self.
Keep on
freelancing.
Megan.