Hiring a trustworthy and qualified language professional is crucial for the success of your project; but evaluating the reliability of an online freelancer can seem like an impossible task the first time you set out to hire a linguist through the Internet.

Here are six key steps to ensure you find the right candidate:

Andrea Capuselli

We have written before about six steps to evaluate a new potential client, three steps to spot a potential scam and, more specifically, how the overpayment scam works on freelancers. In this post, we cover how this scam works and how to protect yourself from having your CV stolen or falling for a stolen CV. Resume theft has become increasingly widespread in the last years, and today it’s perhaps the second most common scam affecting both online freelancers and outsourcers. 

Andrea Capuselli

A Purchase Order (PO) --or Project Order-- is a commercial document issued by a buyer to a seller, indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller will provide to the buyer. Sending a project order to a supplier constitutes a legal offer to buy products or services. Acceptance of a project order by a seller usually forms a contract between the buyer and seller, so no contract exists until the project order is accepted.

On today's quick poll, freelancers are being asked whether they required a PO before starting a project or not.

Lucía Leszinsky

You already know what mistakes to avoid when posting a job and how to make the most of your searches with ProZ Find, as well as how to choose service providers based on their feedback and qualifications, but what if you need to ensure the confidentiality of a project?

Rocío Tempone

The overpayment scam may be the most active scam affecting online freelancers. This scheme is very simple, and many are entrapped with it.

You are offered a job with part of the payment coming in advance, but the scammer sends you a larger than agreed upon payment and asks for a partial refund. Or, a payment is made in advance and then the project is unexpectedly canceled.

Mike Donlin

As an online freelancer, you already know that you have to do your due diligence before accepting a new job. There are basic risk management measures that every professional offering their work on the Internet must take, and following them will allow you to spot a potentially problematic client. But do you know how to identify a potential scam? Here, we share three simple steps to tell a scammer from a legitimate new contact. 

Andrea Capuselli

OK, so you posted your job, sent private messages and now you have many quotes from potential service providers. The next step is choosing who you want to work with. Sounds easy enough, but how do you know who will be the best match, the most reliable language professional?

Here's what you should look for when choosing the best service provider:

Rocío Tempone