Hiring a freelancer to help you get some work done is a great way to…well, get some work done. Whether you need help with graphics, web design, content for your sites or blogs, or whatever, there is a freelancer out there that can help you get the job done right. But as we discussed on Monday, when you are looking to hire a freelancer, there are several things you need to do on your end to ensure it’s a profitable and pleasant experience for you both, and today we’re going to talk about the actual hiring process and how to make sure you will get your job done right. What follows is a quick list of dos and don’ts that you should keep in mind when you’re out hunting down a subcontractor:

• Do know what you want. Knowing what you want done is half the battle for you both. If you are clear on what needs to be done and the results you’d like to see, your freelancer will be clear on what he or she needs to do to make those results happen. If you don’t know what you want, you can’t expect someone else to magically “get it.” Sit down and write it out, draw it out, whatever you need to do to get a decent idea of your goals, whether it’s a new logo for your blog or a series of articles to use for article marketing.

• Do write a good ad. If you’re planning to hire someone by putting up an ad on CraigsList or similar, you are going to get a ton of responses, but by writing a good ad in the first place, you’ll be able to easily weed out the people that won’t be a good fit right off the bat. State clearly what you’re looking to have done, your price range, and your deadline/preferred turnaround time. Ask that applicants do something specific like put “Graphic designer for XXXX job” in the subject line, so you can tell who can follow directions and who can’t and weed them out accordingly. If you like reading resumes, then you can ask for one – but have them paste it into the body of the email, instead of an attachment. If the pasted portion comes in all out of line and garbled, someone doesn’t care whether or not you can read it, so you can weed that out immediately, too. If you’re looking for a content writer, and there’s a misspelling in the very first sentence, then weed that out. Etc. You get the idea. But make sure your ad states specifically what you are looking for and what you’re willing to pay for it. It will cut down on wasted time for both you and your potential new freelancers if they can’t do what you want, or you can’t pay what they want. And that said…

• Do be realistic. Go to the “Writing Gigs” section on CraigsList for any city on the planet, and you will find at least one ad that reads something like, “Looking for freelance writer to help me write fantastic ebook about XXXX. Writer must have a degree in journalism, 15 years experience writing for established publications, an extensive portfolio I can look over, and if you already have an agent that might want to publish this on real paper, then you’ll get first dibs. I can’t afford to actually pay you anything, but if it sells, you’ll get a cut of the profits AND it’ll look great in your portfolio! And it’ll be fun!” No, no, it won’t be fun. That’s unrealistic – there’s no way you are going to get someone with a degree and 15 years of experience if you can’t pay them anything. Those people don’t need portfolio builders anymore, and an ad like that is not going to do you any good. Your requirements in an applicant should match both the project and what you can afford to pay that applicant. Trying to do otherwise wastes both your time and theirs.

• Don’t be vague. Once you’ve hired someone, you’ll need to convey more detail about the project. And while knowing what you want is great, you also have to be able to express it to your freelancer so they know what you want, too. This is especially important if you’re dealing with graphics or web design, because it’s such a visual medium. Don’t use industry buzz words, don’t say things like, “we want classic and professional, but it also needs to be new and edgy” because…what does that even mean? Instead, try for things like, “Our company colors are blue and white, we’d like an open design that’s easy for us to update, with white space so it’s easy to read, and space for X number of ads on the right sidebar.”

• Do be open to suggestions. You’ve hired a professional to do the job for you, which means you’re confident they know what they’re doing…so be open to suggestions they may have, particularly when it comes to web design, and particularly if you don’t know much about web design yourself. When problems arise, listen to what they’re saying and take their suggested solutions or workarounds under consideration.

Hiring a freelancer should make your life easier, not harder. If you keep these things in mind as you go through the process of finding and hiring one, you’ll be able to get your work done and begin building a strong relationship that will be beneficial to the both of you in the future, and that’s never a bad thing.