Are you about to interview for a freelance writing opportunity? Getting nervous that the potential client won’t “pick you”? Stop right there, friend. We need to talk.

At the start of your freelance writing career, it can be hard to know how to handle the waltz of impressing clients and getting gigs. Hell, in the beginning, everything is a mystery.

I get it—I’ve been there!

Aside from pre-interview jitters, however, I’ve noticed a more destructive pattern amidst the freelance writing crowd.

There exists an unsettling idea that clients are elusive, mythical creatures. That they’re limited in supply and hard to keep. That they must be coddled and wooed if you’re to pay your rent this month.

These stories translate to one detrimental idea: that clients hold all of the power.

I’m here to tell you that this simply isn’t true.

You left the employee-employer mindset behind in the 9-5 world, and the rules are different here. If you keep telling yourself this story, however, you’ll continue to look like an amateur and perpetuate a vicious cycle.

We need to level the playing field in your head, so you can drop this rookie mindset and start seeing actual growth—even if you’re just getting started.

There’s a powerful mindset shift that can make the difference between being seen as hired help vs. a coveted specialist. The way potential clients perceive you can impact the money you make, the working relationships you have, and how quickly your network (ie: your writing job referral machine) flourishes.

Keep scrolling to learn why taking back your power as a freelance business owner is the ultimate key to unlocking long-term success.

And please—read this post before you apply to or interview for your next writing job.

 

 

When it comes to the mad rush for clients and our attempts to woo them at all costs, I boil the debacle down to one key problem:

 

The archaic interview mentality

 

Visit any freelance writing forum or Facebook group right now and you’ll likely find a similar theme: writers are always hunting for clients, and the majority of them are feeling pretty frantic.

I see people cold-pitching generically, lowering their rates to get any job they can find, and letting clients call all the shots when they finally get them on the phone.

This isn’t their fault—and if you recognize any of these behaviors, know that it isn’t your fault either.

The truth is, no one teaches freelancers how to handle this part of the process. It’s just a dive-in-and-swim situation, so naturally, you bring your previous experience to the table and try to apply it to the process of securing work.

As you may have suspected, though, it doesn’t really fit.

Like many new freelancers, you’re stuck in what I call the 9-5 “archaic interview mentality”.

You’re probably familiar with the standard employer/employee-hopeful interview process, which disproportionately places power on the side of the potential employer.

If memory serves, it goes a little something like this…

You sit across from someone who looks up at you from a copy of your resume.

They just printed it out and they can’t remember anything about you, so they quiz you about things on the page.

They fake-smile at you, taking notes as you respond.

You try to remember what your “biggest professional weakness” is.

When they ask for it, you say, “Well, I’m a biiiit of a perfectionist.” 

The interviewer throws up a little in their mouth. 

They jot down some more notes.

You squint to see what they’re writing.

 They make eye contact with you and realize you’re reading their notes. 

They hide them under a post-it note. 

Awkward.

You leave wanting to know what they thought of you… 

You think of a brilliant answer to a question they asked, but it’s too late. Damn.

How did you compare to the other candidates? 

Did you say something stupid?

Are you good enough? 

What if they didn’t pick up on how clever your portfolio was? 

Did you bring enough writing samples?

When will they call you back?

Will they call you back at all?!

You could follow up, but they hold the power.

They get to decide when (or if) you’ll get your answer. Ugh.

After enduring a few interviews of this nature for full-time jobs and internships, I felt that prospects were grim.

I could also feel the heavy reality of relying on the whims of a hiring manager to determine one’s foreseeable future.

I didn’t like it.

I began to wonder if there was a better way to enter into a professional collaboration than through a limiting, imbalanced, twenty-minute interview.

 

 

The “interview” that changed everything

 

Fresh out of fashion school, I accepted that interviews were prescribed cross-examinations of work history and skills.

I accepted that they were something terrible and panic-inducing.

I knew the scales were tipped, especially for a total newbie, and that convincing anyone to hire me would be hell. I hoped my stammering, systematic answers would cut it until someone took a chance on me.

All of this changed during one interview in the summer of 2009, after I applied for an internship at (what was then) the coolest fashion website in existence.

Despite having no formal writing experience, I got called in for an interview.

I spent hours picking the right vintage dress to wear. I remember wondering whether my outfit, hairstyle, or ability to articulate my fashion obsession would be enough to land a spot in front of one of their computer screens.

When I walked into the Refinery29 office—then a TriBeCa basement—the editor-in-chief greeted me with a warm smile.

As she motioned for me to sit at a conference table, she did something unexpected.

She told me to put my resume and portfolio away.

“I just liked the way you wrote your email,” she said. “Let’s have a conversation.”

I was shocked.

This was, hands-down, the coolest gig I had applied to, and she wanted me to take off my interview mask?

To just… talk?

At first, I felt thrown off, unable to use my rehearsed answers. But then, it hit me.

This was awesome. This was explicit permission to step out of the “interviewee” role and just be a person.

We chatted about fashion, my interests and goals, and why I liked the website. She asked me if my bag was Chanel. It was a white vintage bag I loved dearly. It had cost next to nothing at Salvation Army.

“It’s vintage”, I said proudly, and she smiled. I felt validated just being me, the girl who’d been wearing vintage and second-hand since middle school—and that was a hard feeling to come by as a newbie in the fashion world.

I wasn’t asked to produce a premeditated list of reasons I was hire-able. She leveled the playing field by treating me like an equal and letting me by myself. The idea that I deserved to have the floor to share my honest ideas and opinions during an interview blew my mind.

I got the internship, and would later be hired as a copywriter. It was at this internship that I discovered my love of professional writing and begin to hone the skills I still use in my career today.

This experience taught me something crucial that I was able to utilize over and over in the years to come.

 

 

The hiring process at Refinery29 is far more complex these days (I applied again years later without success, in fact, after I was told I wasn’t excited enough about the role!) but this experience unveiled some major wisdom:

In order to level the playing field with a potential client, you must…

 

Reframe the interview into a conversation

 

The R29 interview was reframed by the editor in chief. She decided that was how she would screen talent. I didn’t even know that was a viable way to begin a professional relationship, but you can bet it opened my eyes from then on.

I share this long story with you now because, shortly after, I dove into the freelance world.

Unlike my peers who were hoping to be employees for the long term, I was a rogue freelance writer looking for brands to collaborate with.

Freelancing wasn’t trendy or popular. There weren’t any cool online groups to join or places to get tips (like this website—you’re welcome!) so I was winging it.

This little mindset shift gave me an edge, though. And perhaps a bit of audacity.

During “interviews”, I took it upon myself to reframe the meeting—even when it was a corporate gig—and speak to the hiring manager like a business owner bringing a service to the table.

Despite a lack of long-term experience, this allowed me to land freelance roles with some of the biggest fashion brands in the world.

(That also meant I had to jump in and swim in the deep end, which meant turning into a problem solver, but not before falling on my face a few times.)

It became clear to me that I could better represent myself with this level playing field strategy.

I saw that job interviews are really just conversations between someone seeking a solution and someone offering a solution. That conversation is a chance for them both to decide whether the collaboration would be ideal.

In your case?

That means you’re no longer a job seeker speaking to a hiring manager or “potential boss”.

You’re a problem-solver (freelance writing service provider) bringing value to a problem-holder (business who needs your services to reach an end goal).

Got it?

Try this:

Scribble the word “interview” out of your vocabulary. Replace it with the word “conversation”.

In the corporate world, “interview” suggests a situation where one person sits above the other, collecting data as they slide their pen down a checklist.

“Conversation”, however, evokes a two-way exchange and a chance for both parties to share information. It gives the equal shares of power back to you, which extinguishes the whole scrape-for-clients mentality.

That desperate-for-clients vibe, by the way? It’s hurting you. Big time. Especially if it’s seeping out during interviews.

Remember that the employer’s focus is what’s best for the company, not whether or not the person they’re interviewing will be able to pay their rent next month.

That frantic job-seeker mentality and the proactive problem-solver mentality are polar opposites and will yield very different results.

Which brings me to my next (and last) point!

 

 

Your goal is NOT to impress clients

 

It’s a little counter-intuitive, but stay with me.

Your goal is actually to determine whether you want to work with the person sitting in front of you (or speaking to you over the phone).

Going back to those freelance writer groups, I’ve seen some really unsettling instances of writers lowering their rates, begging for clients with 5+ emails, and using other unprofessional, nose-to-the-dirt behaviors to try and “win” work.

Here’s the deal:

You’re not a desperate amateur. And even if you are, you can’t act like one and expect to enter into successful collaborations with good clients.

You can’t show up like you’re starving for work and will do anything to get it.

It’s time to reframe the scenario and show up as a professional with a service to provide: solutions, creativity, value.

You’re not just a potential employee, so your goal is not to impress someone else who happens to need a writer. You’re a freelance business owner. Your goal is to determine whether the collaboration is a good business move.

Yes, say it with me: You’re a freelance business owner. 

Suddenly you have the advantage.

Pretty awesome, isn’t it?

As I’ve worked up the ranks as a fashion copywriter I’ve seen the word “interview” slowly drop off from my correspondence. Now I have conversations, calls, and meetings. I’m on the same level as the person sitting in front of me.

In fact, one of my highest paying collaborations came after the marketing director of a major fashion label requested to have a “conversation” with me via Linkedin.

This shift can turn what feels like a desperate situation into an empowered one.

So, let’s review:

When it’s time to get on the phone or head into an office and investigate a new opportunity, reframe your role.

Stop thinking about yourself as someone being “interviewed”. Ditch the checklists, the nervous rehearsed answers, and the whole idea that anyone has the power to make you or break you.

Get real about the solutions you bring to the table. You’ve got something big to offer. You’re there to save the day.

But first, you’re there to have a conversation.

Consider this your official permission to start showing up like a boss.

You’ve got this.

 

Have you ever used this technique during an interview? Drop us a comment below—we would love to hear from you!

 

This post originally appeared on Day Job Optional in December 2017. It has been edited for Freelance Writing Cafe.