If you’re looking to find the perfect freelancer for your next project, you may want to lean in when Ming D. Leung speaks about “stretchwork.”
Ming D. Leung is an Assistant Professor at the Hass School of Business on the University of California’s Berkeley campus. He specializes in economic sociology (and more specifically, the study of online labor markets). Ming has recently published an enlightening article outlining his findings in the area of stretchwork (in layman’s terms—the ever-so slightly broadening of a freelancer’s skillset and work experience to advance a career).
In the article, Ming reports that freelancers are more likely to get hired when having an incrementally expanding career path. For businesses who are hiring, one can deduce from the study that freelancers who “stretch” their skillsets are more-suited for immediate positions and long-term partnerships.
The benefits of incremental career growth
More precisely, the study suggests that freelancers are more successful when moving between similar, but not identical, types of jobs. The paper also concludes that despite conventional wisdom, if freelancers work exclusively on one specific type of job, they’re actually less likely to be hired.
A perfect example would be a graphic designer. If the freelancer worked solely on logo projects day in and day out, eventually the person will become pigeonholed as exclusively a logo designer. Hence this freelancer can become one dimensional and less desirable. But if the freelancer branches out to also design websites, brochures, and book covers, they’re more likely to be in-demand and worthy of hiring.
And important footnote is that the research suggests “incremental” stretching, not enormous leaps. “If the freelancer is a writer who also does tax preparation, that’s not going to help them,” said Ming.
It makes sense when you think about it
The underlying reason for this, as Assistant Professor Leung explains, appears to be two-fold:
1. When freelancers “stretch,” businesses see them as more committed to their careers and have more confidence in their abilities.
2. Entrepreneurs want to build ongoing and expanding relationships with freelancers who they’re comfortable working with. By seeing a broader range of skills in a background, potential clients can project using that freelancer in several various roles down the road.
To gather information for this study, Ming, an advisor to the online marketplace Elance, analyzed hundreds of thousands of job applications and tens of thousands of freelancer profiles on Elance. To take a closer look at his methodology and findings you can view his article, “Dilettante or Renaissance Person? How the Order of Job Experiences Affects Hiring in an External Labor Market,” published in the American Sociological Review.
Note that Ming is now building on the study, researching the role “online reputations” plays in the hiring mix. Stay tuned.