Beyond attitude and ambition, there is an important baseline to every High-Flyer’s success that comes with the understanding of the difference between a client and an employer. When you start a task here on Minite, you’ll notice we always call your company contact person a client instead of an employer, and that’s because we want to emphasize the differences that exist between freelancing and a traditional job, or internship. As a student freelancer, you’ve been put on a project to save a company time and add value through your ability to perform tasks which other team members lack the skill of doing. Accordingly, your impact is immense, and you’re going to be taking far more initiative and responsibility than at any other stable job. That’s part of the challenge, but it’s also an immense source of excitement and valuable experience!

You’ve certainly already heard of some High-Flyer success stories here at Minite, and now that you’ve landed a task, you might be wondering what the magic touch is to maximizing your High-Flyer experience. Don’t worry, we’ll let you in on the secret-- beyond attitude and ambition, here are the five things our top High-Flyers do differently that you can start implementing now, too, and fly even higher than before.

1. Be persistent.

Just like we’ve mentioned, as a High-Flyer, you won’t be an intern-- instead of constant guidance, you’ll be courageously equipped with lots of independence. Your goals are less defined by your client than they are by yourself. Accordingly, you need to know how to push back when there isn’t any communication coming from your client. In order to work successfully as a High-Flyer, it is impossible to be passive. Your work is in your hands, and if something isn’t clear or there is a problem, you don’t give up-- you have the persistence to find a solution that proposes an alternative post and is more efficient for everyone. And should you ever be given unrealistic expectations, you persist in finding the higher ground above submission or anger: look for the “why” behind the what-- finding purpose and clarity in all of your work and tasks will fuel your planning, too.

2. Align with your client’s expectations.

Freelancing can sometimes leave you very detached from your company’s inner works and plans, and this especially when it comes to startups. Where structure is loose, communication is especially important, and it’s always better to clarify ahead of time. When you have meetings with your client to go over your work and what’s up next, do your research and make sure you’re prepared for your meeting so that you can make the most efficient use possible of your time.

3. Take ownership.

Your task, your ownership! There are many exciting things that come with a successfully run project, but you’ve got to help your client out. Schedule meetings regularly and define your own goals to avoid feeling lost. Keep track of your personal progress and work completed by logging your hours-- you can implement a reminder via your calendar or phone to always, at the end of your work, record what you did and for how long. Otherwise, chaos erupts rather quickly… and neither you nor your client will be on the same page about your progress and performance.

The name of the High-Flyer game is proactivity and autonomy… a good High-Flyer creates work for themselves.

4. Plan ahead.

Alright, you’ve scored a task. Have you planned your work for the week? Do you know what you’ll be doing next week, and beyond that? With a loose company structure, it’s critical to at least have implemented a structure for yourself personally. Our best High-Flyers plan their work days and what they’ll be doing up to three weeks in advance so that they’ll never be low on work when their client is too busy and forgets to assign them any new tasks.

5. Take initiative.

Have some extra hours left in the week? Use them to make suggestions and come up with new action plans! The name of the High-Flyer game is proactivity and autonomy… a good High-Flyer creates work for themselves. You don’t need to be provided with ideas, you bring them. You don’t need an extra push to start working, you push yourself. You don’t rely on an external solution, you strategize and speed up the process on your own. Taking initiative is of utmost importance in a start-up environment: your client needs new ways to grow and is looking to you to innovate and integrate a new path towards the end goal… or perhaps, even inspiring a better, bigger end-goal.

So with all that being said, why not seize the initiative yourself and sign up today to join the High-Flyer yellow and differentiate yourself from the competition!

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