A new service for freelancers with Viadeo Freelance2 min read

At Viadeo, the French professional network, they understand networking is critical to career success.

A couple of months after the launch of Let’s Meet, Viadeo enhanced the networking mobile app with Rooms. With this new feature, users have a more advanced experience with the possibility to join one of the six Rooms offered among General, Recruitment, Entrepreneurs, Freelancers, Interns and Afterwork.

In 2014, there were over 700,000 freelancers in France which represents an increase of 85% between 2004 and 2013. With these figures in mind, Viadeo decided to launch a new service to help freelancers and employers get in touch: Viadeo Freelance was born. Since September 7, 2015, employers looking for contractors can post their jobs for free on Viadeo. About 550,000 freelancers are currently registered on the platform and will be able to access the job ads on the professional network.

“The number of freelancers has skyrocketed in the past few years and Viadeo Freelance is an answer to such a growing trend”, says Anne-Laure Meens, Strategic Marketing Manager at Viadeo. “We want to help freelance workers find as many opportunities as possible and achieve quality assignments. At the same time, we want to help project managers and employers select recognized professionals that can be easily identified on our network. Viadeo Freelance is the future of entrepreneurship and relies on networking which is our core business”, she adds.

With Viadeo Freelance, freelancers can advertise their skills on the platform and identify the projects that best match their profiles for no charge. However, if they want to get more details about the assignments advertised, get in touch with potential clients or research prospects, they need to pay a monthly subscription of 19.90 euros or yearly subscription of 189 euros. Seems pretty expensive for workers with no stable job and salary who need to invest both time and money to get hired, right?

According to Julien Janson, Product Manager at Viadeo, their main asset is the database of 10 million members which represents a great potential of contractors and clients for Viadeo Freelance’s users. Once freelance workers get a first new client, they can start expanding their network online with Viadeo’s features such as the search engine, the recommendations and portfolio.

“Companies typically favor word-of-mouth when it comes to recruiting a freelance worker”, says Julien Janson. “With Viadeo Freelance, a freelancer can put up recommendations from previous employers on their profile which guarantees credibility and helps building trust. This is the main strength of our network at Viadeo”, he concludes.

Author: Chloé Delolme