Working With Contractors Made Easy

Finding The Talent

Great contractors are found in all walks of life, and useful business relationships can be formed through clients, family, friends, advertising, or networking. However, there comes a point when your personal network is tapped out and you’ll need to start qualifying and screening contractors that are totally unknown to you.

This process usually begins with an advertisement or other invitation for interested contractors to contact you. The level of detail that you include in your advertisement will dictate the range and quality of applicants you receive. So, be sure to state exactly what you’re looking for, and be specific enough so that applicants think twice before wasting your valuable time with an enquiry.

After all, there is a world of difference between:

“Responsible, detail-oriented HTML programmer with keen eye for pixel-level accuracy to convert Photoshop files to HTML.”

And:

“HTML programmer, must be capable of converting Photoshop files to validated HTML/CSS (4.0/4.01/XHTML) with absolute pixel-perfect accuracy, minimal direction and revisions. Please be able to check your own work comprehensively, be well-versed in browser-compatibility, and have excellent communication skills in English. All applicants must be willing to produce a trial PSD->HTML conversion to be considered for this position.”

And:

“HTML programmer, must be capable of converting 2 Photoshop files to validated HTML/CSS (4.0/4.01/XHTML) daily, with absolute pixel-perfect accuracy with minimal direction and revisions. Must be skilled at image optimization and load-time reduction techniques. JavaScript/DHTML a major plus. Please be able to check your own work comprehensively, be well-versed in browser-compatibility, and have excellent communication skills in English.

Excellent skills in all MS Office applications required. Multiple client references and 3 years of relevant experience required. All applicants must be willing to produce a trial PSD->HTML conversion to be considered for this position.”

The more information you can provide, the more targeted your applicants will be. Ideally, you’ll provide a detailed job description including all applicable categories from the following list:

• Professional Skills
• Communications Skills
• Office Software
• Languages
• Presentation Skills
• Business Skills
• Availability
• Career Level
• Industry Experience
• Work style and Environment Preferences
• References
• Representative Work (etc.)

A Needle in A Haystack

Placing ads can sometimes be necessary, and the location of those ads will dramatically affect the kind of people who respond.

Advertising online is extremely inexpensive, fast, and flexible. Online employment advertising is divided into two tiers, lower and upper. The lower tier consists of smaller, project-based Websites such as Elance.com and FreelanceWorkExchange.com. These sites are typically visited by less experienced contractors who are at an early point in their career, and offshore/international workers.

Advertising on these lower tier sites can result in a tidal wave of responses, some at incredibly low prices. However, the qualification process can be difficult and lower-end contractors tend to be much less successful during trial projects. If you hope to locate a very affordable contractor, and are willing to spend some time looking for the right person, these websites can be very useful. Be sure to but a comprehensive description of your trial project on the site, and include some specific qualifications that you’re looking for so that you’ll have fewer unqualified responses to go through. Then, be prepared to ignore the lowest bidders (they’ll usually be kids, or totally unqualified bidders) and invest in a series of trials with a relatively low success rate.

Upper-tier Websites such as dice.com or monster.com are considerably more expensive, typically costing at least $100 (and it goes up from there) just to list a position. However, you’ll be reaching much more experienced marketplace, with more qualified workers in general. In addition, these Websites will force the respondents to work through a restrictive system of resume submission, which allows you to easily assess the results. You might find that the several hundred dollars you invest in such a listing prove worthwhile as you locate the ideal contractor with fewer trials, ultimately saving money from your recruiting budget.

If you’re searching for international (offshore) contractors, your options are much more limited. An abundance of international contractors can be found on Elance.com, but the process of finding the quality vendors amongst the sea of newbies can be frustrating and risky. A better route is to contact a company that has experience establishing such relationships and have them make the necessary arrangements.

This allows you to have immediate access to a pre-qualified team of offshore contractors without the risks associated with establishing the relationships and qualifying the offshore team. You’ll pay for this kind of service, but it’s still dramatically cheaper than going it on your own.