The future belongs to the people who will adapt to rapid changes, the world is going to experience. Conventional choices & monotonous working culture is something people always wanted to get rid of and that's the main reason for the young generation to quit their 9 to 5 jobs and take up Freelancing in whatever capabilities they can.
The last decade has seen a steep rise in it and recently Covid-19 worked as a catalyst to make people realize the changing paradigms of future working culture, Flexible working hours, universal versatility and independent lifestyle made a dent in young people's mind to the extent that this industry is going to grow up to $20 to $30 Billion In India.
India has always been a huge job-seeking market, contrary to the creating one, Young mind looking for new ideas, exploring different domains, and creating something valuable with more productivity has made them realize how important it is to have an entrepreneurial mindset, and during this pandemic when there is a scarcity of jobs all around, and people just sitting at home idol, have manifested their mind to explore each and every prospect of working, and that's why freelancing has seen remarkable growth in past few months and is going to see much more than that in the upcoming future.
Remote working is something, now organizations are adapting to and this has created an insane amount of opportunity for freelancers.
Freelancers are going to find themselves in growing demand, with 47% of hiring managers more likely to hire independent professionals as per the requirement of the projects, and it does give more flexibility to organizations as well as to tap the best talent out there and create a much more valued work with fewer finances involved.
Due to Covid-19, companies are laying off their permanent staff due to less work, which in turn enables the freelancers to associate with them on a contractual basis. And this symbiotic relation is helping both freelancers and organizations to work in a more efficient manner, but in order to be relevant in the market you need to upskill yourself every minute. Since hiring managers have changed their mindset from hiring hardworking people to smart working heads, they need a multitasker who creates content from writing blogs to designing graphics to developing websites as they add value to the role not economically but creatively as well!As the Upwork’s just released Future Workforce Report, which shows the hiring managers habits, says-73% of hiring managers are continuing or increasing their use of independent professionals. 56% of hiring managers said working remotely has exceeded their expectations, and 62% said their workforce will be more remote after COVID-19. But freelancing comes with its own set of challenges, and to be honest, not everyone is happy with this working culture, It takes a lot of time and effort to build your portfolio, to market yourself, to get clients to retain your clients with the addition of new ones, and this all needs hell amount of continuous networking as people say "your network is your net worth" and once you become a successful freelancer people does get projects on the word of mouth!Students in their undergraduate degrees can also start freelancing and can work part-time and can be financially independent, branding themselves at that age can benefit them in building their network through their educational and professional life.
Few domains which are thriving for the freelancers are web development, Graphic designing, Content Creation/Writing, and Digital Marketing, however people in India are underpaid as a freelancer and this is the struggle which is going to take time, Indian Freelancers are working with global clients right from united states to Europe to Asia, the reason why everyone is turning toward India is this- According to the 2020 Freelancer Income Report by Payoneer, a global digital payments platform, Indian freelancers work for an average hourly rate of $18, while globally the average hourly rate is $21.
With curiosity to learn more and widen their professional barricades, have formulated a whole new category of highly skilled & well-experienced corporate freelancers who offer their services as independent contractors. For sure, the world is turning towards them to cater to their needs, and among the Indian woman freelancing is gaining its momentum, who cannot leave the homes out of personal reasons, hence, is obvious and here to stay at least in tier 2 or 3 cities. According to a recent study by Payoneer, one in every five Indian freelancers is a woman.
So if you are still a student, it's time to tighten your haunches and get ready for freelancing as it not only gives you an additional income but it does help you in developing your entrepreneurial skills while getting and retaining your clients, with COVID-19 hitting our economies and jobs, freelancing is gaining momentum and is something which is going to stay for a long time now and the best part is you can work as much as you can without having a corporate peer pressure and monotonous 9-5 job, It's just you need to understand your scope of work and upskill your self with time and technology!
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