Wanting to make a great first impression on new clients? When it comes to finding new projects on WorkStation, you have a few things within your control to stand out to clients. Work history and approval ratings are big factors -- but how you sell yourself and what’s listed in your profile are just as effective as important.

While 100 percent completeness of your profile is top priority, these are the areas you should focus on to make a stellar WorkStation profile.

Your name

It’s the first thing a client sees when they are considering you. The optimal format is pretty simple: your first and last name. Because you are an online freelancer, you do have a bit of flexibility if you don’t want your full name attached to your profile. You can choose an alias that will appear to any potential clients instead.

If you use an alias instead of your name:

  • Make sure it is professional and easy to remember.
  • Too short of a name doesn’t bring your profile up to the top of any search results.

Your photo

Did you know that you are seven times more likely to have your profile viewed if you include a photo? A picture puts a face -- and some personality -- to your name. It also differentiates you from the other 50 candidates in the running for a client’s project. Select a photo that is professional but still lets your personality show through.

These photos aren’t very large; just a small circular picture is all you have to work with.

  • Have one main focus in the picture.
  • Don’t select a photo with too many elements or too much happening.

Great:


Not great:


Don’t want to include a personal photo? While we recommend a clear, direct image of yourself, you can upload an industry-based photo instead. Try a pencil if you are a writer, camera for a photographer … you get the picture.



Your biography

This section is where you start to sell yourself. If you’ve hooked the client with your name and photo, your biography should seal the deal and be able to explain why you are the best person for the project.

When a client searches for a freelancer, our platform pulls directly from your biography. In addition to our freelancer-approved tips, here are some suggestions to get the most out of this section:

  • Get specific on what type of work you’re qualified for. “Editing” is a great industry, but don’t be afraid to narrow in on “Blog Editing” or “Retail Description Editing” instead.
  • Feel free to name drop; include any clients you worked with in the past.
  • Review your biography for any spelling and grammar errors — and then read it over one more time. It doesn’t matter how many projects you worked in the past year; a glaring typo can send a client running.

One more tip: Don’t copy and paste from your resume or LinkedIn profile. This section isn’t compatible with specific characters, bullets or line breaks. It won’t show up for a client, and it runs the risk of making your biography look like a bit of a mess.

Your skills

The Skills section could be the most crucial part of your entire profile. When a client is looking for freelancers, where do they start? They start by searching for the specific skills needed to complete their work.

The skills on our platform are freeform and can be anything you like. While this flexibility is awesome, it can also muddle the search results and harm your chances of being found by clients.

What a skill should be:

  • Accurate: Avoid adding skills that you don’t have or that you wouldn’t use on the OneSpace platform.
  • 1-3 words: Keep skills short, sweet and specific.
  • Relevant and known out of context: Not every client is going to know every industry acronym. Make sure your skill can be understood by everyone.
  • Singular: Avoid putting two skills into one. Let each skill shine on its own!

What a skill shouldn’t be:

  • Soft: Don’t add “Great listener” or “Terrific under pressure” as skills. While these are great, they will not increase your search visibility.
  • Compounded: Don’t combine “Blog and Article Writing” into one skill. Separate these into two skills.
  • Filled with superlatives: Don’t add “Five Years of Writing” as a skill. Keep it simple with “Blog Writing” and add that five years of experience in your biography.

Great:


Not great:


Once you have the process of creating your skills down, it’s good to look at your full list to make sure it’s complete. Keep these recommendations in mind:

  • Include all of the skills that you’d like to use when working on the OneSpace platform. “Financial Writing” and “Project Management” are examples of excellent skills to list.
  • Use skills similar to what you have on LinkedIn. Ask yourself: What skills have you been endorsed for? What experience do I have that would back my skills?
  • Add your work experience and supporting details in your biography and professional history. If you have “Data Entry” as a skill, then include your employment as a Data Entry Specialist in your biography.

Your professional history

The professional history section should include your past employment experiences that are relevant to the work that interests you. This isn’t an all-encompassing overview of every job you’ve had; keep it focused on what projects you are looking to get in WorkStation. This is also a great place to reinforce your skills; clients will look at your history to verify that your skills are exemplified and valid.

Just like in your biography, do not copy and paste straight from your resume or LinkedIn profile. Keep this section in plain paragraph format to avoid any weird formatting.

Your work preferences

Including your preferred work time and pay rate isn’t something you need to stress over! Even a baseline estimate can help a client figure out their project details and filter out freelancers that fit way outside of their project scope. Just like with your other sections, this can be updated as you see fit.

Last but not least: Profile visibility

Within WorkStation, your account has three profile visibility settings:

  • “Private” allows your profile information to be seen only by you. No information is visible to clients, and you would not be searchable by any client within the platform (AKA — no work for you).
  • “Public” makes your profile visible to everyone. You do not need to be logged into the OneSpace platform to see your information.
  • “OneSpace” makes your profile visible only to those logged into the OneSpace platform. You must have a valid account to access your information, and your profile would appear in the search results for clients.

To ensure that you are searchable for projects, we recommend that you set your profile visibility to the “OneSpace” option. This is the best way to find new client projects while keeping your information from the public eye.