Here’s an easy way to learn new skills if you have ZERO Freelancing Experience (Using Job Posts)

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Are you thinking of freelancing as a side hustle? If yes, you might be wondering how to start if you have little to ZERO experience.

Sure, there are gazillion courses offered everywhere. In fact, a lot of them are free stuff you can easily find on Udemy or EDX: How to be a Full-Stack Web Developer. Digital Marketing 101. How to be a Social Media Marketer in 60 Days.

Here’s the Spoiler Alert:

Most of the time, you don’t need to study an entire course to learn something new to open a new income stream.

Oftentimes, all you need are “micro skills” to get you started. Small bits of info to gain enough experience and most importantly: just to get the job done.

From there it’s up to you to decide whether you’ll broaden the skill or focus on something else.

Ditch the Courses. Build Your Own Personalized Learning Path

Let’s say you want to build websites. It’s tempting to just look for courses on Web Development or web design. Besides, that’s the learning path they recommend you take!

Instead of learning from broad subjects like web development or social media marketing, try to build “micro skills” that will help you land a gig instead.

Gigs might not sound fancy. Sure, it won’t take your freelancing career to greater heights. But one-time projects are a good way for you to get a better sense of how important the end product of your labor is.

Your first project delivered, your first few dollars, your first portfolio item…

These are the dopamine boosts you’ll need to stick to learning something new and cultivating a skill.

Entry level jobs are great for beginners because they allow you to build up your portfolio of completed work and get used to the platform.

So instead of enrolling in that shiny new course on web development, why not check out small in-demand projects? Why not learn to build an Elementor page or start small with a simple UI/UX mockup for a company website?

So you might be asking “where do I get ideas?”

Glad you asked!

If you’re new to freelancing and want to build your personalized “learning path” to build your skills, then you’re sitting on an untapped goldmine: Upwork Job Posts.

There’s a new job post on Upwork every 1–2 minutes.

This is a treasure trove of ideas for your learning path!

Not only that, but Upwork can also be a great resource for seeing what demand there is for different skills and what those skills pay.

Remember: Not all skills are worth your time.

Browsing job posts can help you know which jobs pay more or less than others in similar categories of work.

It also helps you determine what specific “micro skill” you need to focus on first to get you started with your own “learn by doing” path.

The Proof is in the P̶u̶d̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ Upwork Search Bar

I call this part “market research”.

Is there really a market for the skill you’re interested in? Ask yourself: What micro skills are the people in my market looking for?

Find jobs that match your interests. If you have skills from your current job that you find interesting and want to do more on the side, try to see if there’s a gig for it.

If you’re looking for something specific, try searching for your desired skill in the Upwork search bar.

For example: if I wanted to learn how to code HTML/CSS, I would type “HTML/CSS” into my browser’s address bar and see those results pop up!

You can also use this same method when looking for freelance opportunities that interest you. Type in whatever field(s) is most appealing (i.e., marketing or graphic design) and filter by entry level.

Most entry level projects are small one-time projects (a.k.a GIGS!).

Research the jobs you find interesting.

Know what’s required of you to complete the work (tech stack, knowledge, skills).

Read through the job details carefully — you don’t want to miss any important information.

If you want to be a web developer and are interested in building websites from scratch, then look for jobs where they ask for a simple landing page.

Keep in mind that this method won’t work if the job requires too much time and effort from your end so don’t waste precious hours trying.

Remember: people don’t hire the ones with the most credentials. They hire people who can deliver!

Start with One Job Category

I know it can be tempting to surf the job pages and “hoard” skills, especially if you’re motivated by the hourly rates. Yet, we can only learn too little if we want results fast.

All we need is a trickle from a possible income stream, a glimmer of hope that it can be done. And it can only happen if we start small and focus on a single skill or job category.

A trickle is better than nothing! Quit daydreaming about learning massive skills and start welcoming opportunities, no matter how small, by next week!

For example: if I want my first client project as a web designer/developer to be user interface design (UI), then I’ll focus on learning how UI works before moving onto another category like frontend development or back end development — but not both at once!

Once I finish learning UI and deliver my first UI entry level project, then I have both the portfolio and skills learned from the experience.

This way my skills remain strong across all areas rather than being spread out over multiple projects with different requirements.

Why Entry Level

If you’re just starting out with freelancing and don’t have much experience, it’s best to start with entry level jobs.

If you are able to successfully complete an entry level job within Upwork, then it will be easier for them (and yourself) when trying other types of work later on down the line.

There aren’t many people who want or need these projects because most of the seasoned ones are looking to fill company positions or long-term projects. This means there aren’t that many to compete with!

Gigs are the lowest hanging fruit for anyone who wishes to prove to themselves they can do it.

Since these jobs require less complex skill and duration, it makes sense why most people don’t try these types first.

People are always attracted to a more stable income. You’re different. You’re here to focus on growth, not stability. Stability comes once you’ve cultivated skills to keep you relevant.

Check out the hourly rates

This will tell you if a specific skill set is worth pursuing and whether it aligns with your interests.

But don’t get motivated by money alone! There are other factors involved in choosing which type of job listings to pursue. You don’t want to be an expert in a skill with unrewarding pay. Over time, low-paying jobs are going to sap your energy and make you doubt if you’re good enough.

Look for small jobs that can grow into full careers.

“Mock Work” on the Project

Now here’s the practical learning part…

The most critical step to our custom “learn by doing” path is to do the project as if you’re working for the client. This will help you gain experience on the task, and it may even be possible to find a mentor or get support in place.

Active learning is a lot better than passive learning. We learn skills faster if we’re faced with problems that we need to solve ourselves than reading about them in books or by watching videos.

Most job posts will usually outline the specifications of what they need. Most of them are also very good with describing what they want:

• “Setup my salespage with a sign up form connected to Mailchimp.”
• “Research content to publish on my website for the next 30 days and design a social media post image for each on Canva.”
• “Write product descriptions for my streetwear website.”

From this list alone, you will learn the following skills (with proven demand):

• Email marketing setup
• Wordpress setup
• Landing page design
• Content research
• Social media posts design
• Canva
• Ecom Product copywriting

Build your confidence and keep an open mind.

It’s important to remember that you are not alone in this. The truth is, even experts struggle with learning new skills or technologies.

When you first start out freelancing, you may feel like there’s no way you can compete with the big-name freelancers who have been doing it for years!

But don’t worry — there are ways to build your confidence. The first one is to build your portfolio and next is to overcome the challenges.

Keep an open mind so that you can learn as much as possible without becoming overwhelmed.

Don’t compare yourself with anyone else on Upwork; this will only make things worse for both of your psyches! Instead, use their profiles to guide you on your path.

Check out their reviews. What did the clients like about working with them? Master these soft and hard skills as you go through your freelancing journey. Every successful person is a blueprint laid out for you to follow.

Do research, enroll in relevant courses and study through Youtube videos

By the time you’ve finished practicing your skills, you might feel ready to broaden your knowledge.

The first step is to do some research and find out what courses are available. If you’re looking for something specific, like how to write an article or build a website from scratch, Udemy and Skillshare are two popular platforms for building your portfolio. Most of their courses encourage you to submit sample work.

I started many years ago getting enrolled in a course called “How To Create Your First Professional Website”.

It’s been helpful because I’ve been able to see examples of other people’s work throughout the course and understand how they went about creating their own websites. I always thought it was a better time investment than the “How to learn Web Design” course offered by another website.

I also came across problems that helped me discover my limitations. When you’re in the middle of the project, you have no choice but to learn those new skills in a short amount of time. Most of them don’t need you to study an entire curriculum — just some bits to get the job done.

Believe me, knowing you aren’t good at something and solving a problem related to it is very rewarding. You’d want to take on more of these challenges and outgrow your limits. And you can only get more of these life-transforming roadblocks through exposure and experience.

Check to see if you already have relevant skills in other areas of your life.

If you’re in a new job, it’s possible that your skills are not being used to their full potential. This could be due to lack of experience or knowledge about the industry, but it could also be due to a lack of training.

If you have ever worked as a waiter or waitress at a restaurant or bar, for example, then there is probably something valuable that could be gained from using this experience for freelance work.

In addition to knowing how customers like their food and drinks prepared (and how they want them served), having worked as an employee will give you insight into what type of communication skills are required during meetings with clients and colleagues alike.

Your strong communication skills can be “transformed” into related jobs like customer support and sales.

You can use Upwork job posts to find out what to learn next!

Learning is a continuous process. You can use your new skills to build up your portfolio, which will give you more opportunities to earn money.

The marketplace may change over time. What’s demanding now might not be relevant in 6 months. See this as an opportunity to grow your skills and your portfolio. If you think your new skills are worth pushing to a career, start learning from coaches or full courses.

Key Takeaways:

• You don’t need to enroll in huge courses and wait months to validate your new side hustle
• You don’t need to learn the entire field. Sometimes you just need skills to get the job done
• Small projects are rewarding when delivered and you want to use that to gain momentum
• Creating your own learning path is better than fitting into a curriculum that bores you
• Reading and observing is good. Practice is better.

If you love what I wrote, please consider following me on Medium! I will be writing more articles on authentic marketing, high-converting web design and productivity for work-at-home people.