Re: Questions for Contractors

["shannons" <shannons -at- wwdb -dot- org>]

>
>We may need to hire a contrator for a short time and I wanted to know what kinds of questions would should I ask a potential contractor. It seems to me that the questions would be different from a full-time candidate, since the goals of the employer and candidate are different.
>

Having been on both sides of the fence, I can tell you the questions are/should be different in several ways.  

First, since you are hiring them to do specific work for a short time, you'll want to be sure they are able to get in there and get the job done with minimal supervision and more importantly training, especially in that kind of writing.  
*What types of writing have they done? (sample exerpts please!)
*What type of writing do they enjoy doing?
*How do they prefer to learn the product they are writing about?
*How familiar are they with the tools you are using (i.e. if you want it delivered in Framemaker, do they have any Framemaker experience? 
NOTE: Asking them if they can deliver in xxx format tells you nothing about whether or not they have experience in it. I can deliver in a format I've never worked in before, I just have to learn it first. Do you have time for the learning curve? If you do, you may want to know if they are going to charge you for learning your tools?
* How much interaction do they usually have with their clients?
* How long have they been freelancing? (are they parttime/moonlighter/fulltime) NOTE: That doesn't really tell you how good the writing is going to be, but rather tells you the availability issues.
*What are their normal lead times? Can they meet your deadlines? (be specific)
*How many other projects do they work on at one time? (A profitable freelancer is working on projects and marketing themselves, both activities take TIME)
*Do they have references that can verify that they meet deadlines, communicate well, and don't cause problems with your full time staff. (You can get the quality of the work from the samples, what you really need to know is if this person going to be a major headache to work with)

Legally, as a contractor, they get to determine when, where, how, etc within the agreed upon boundaries.  
* How much time do they work onsite/offsite?
* If you want them to have onsite time, what is their availability?
* How many revisions are included in their rates?
* How do they prefer to operate (i.e. meet w/you how many times? communicate on a regular basis or just a predefined project benchmarks, etc)
* What are their billing practices (how do they bill by hour/project; when do they bill; billing terms?)

Be sure to always have a detailed written agreement. Some contractors have their own, or you provide one.  Be very clear on delivery schedule, deliverable expectations, who determines if the work is acceptable, what the review cycle is, and what you are paying for.

As with any employee, there are a lot of contractors that are wonderful to work with and some who are not. Your task is to figure out if this person can get the job done in a timely and professional manner meeting your quality standards AND negotiate the contract/business terms to suit both of you.

Good luck
...Shannon Stoltz 


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