Eight reasons why you should hire freelancers during the pandemic downturn

Pandemic notwithstanding, the war for talent continues. But all too many hiring managers and even HR professionals are blinkering themselves to a significant part of the talent pool: freelancers. Here are eight compelling reasons to consider hiring a freelancer for that full-time position.

1) Freelancers know all about working from home, remote working, and the variants in between, meaning they are less affected than people who were used to office stability. You can be certain that when lockdowns and WFH began, freelancers took to COVID conditions a lot more easily than full-timers.

2) Freelancers are highly attuned to industry conditions and information, because their livelihood has always relied on keeping themselves up to date and competent. What that means is, they really, absolutely know their business, and they are always ready to hit the ground running.

3) Freelancers are used to being evaluated on their output, which has gotten a whole lot more important these days. Of course, you might not find this relevant if you are still operating on face time; but if that’s the case, you should probably get ready to be replaced yourself!

4) Freelancers know how to operate in an independent and flexible way. This is a VUCA and FUBAR world right now, so you want people working for you who can quickly adapt and get things done, don’t you?

5) Freelancers have a huge range of experience and exposure because they deal with more different clients in a single year than some people have employers in an entire career. You need that broad background and the perspective it brings.

6) Freelancers frequently come with their own equipment and know how to take care of it, so your overburdened IT department has a higher chance of getting a break. Some freelancers even come with their own software!

7) Freelancers are open-minded about their survival in bad times, which means they can apply that same open-mindedness to the company's survival. You need to be equally open-minded about them.

8) Most importantly, a growing part of your talent pool is going to be freelancers, simply because it's hard to find a full-time job these days. These people are highly practical, and you should be practical too.

Remember, a gap in someone's resume is not the end of the world.