Freelancer interview questions and answers

I ask five things before I talk about price. What problem are they trying to solve, and what happens if they do nothing? What does success look like in numbers, like more leads or faster load times? What is the deadline, and is it fixed? Who approves the work and pays the invoice? And what budget range have they planned? I also ask what they did not like about past freelancers, because that tells me what to avoid. I end the call by summarising what I heard and promise a written proposal within two working days.

My scope lists exact deliverables with numbers, for example “a five-page website: home, about, services, blog listing and contact”, not “a website”. I state how many revision rounds are included, usually two, and what counts as a revision versus a new request. I add an “out of scope” section, such as copywriting, stock photos or hosting. I also list what I need from the client and by when, because delays on their side move the deadline. Anything new goes into a short change request with its own price and timeline, which the client approves in writing before I start.

It depends on how clear the work is. For well-defined projects, like a landing page or a logo, I charge a fixed fee, because clients like knowing the cost and I am rewarded for working efficiently. For open-ended work, like ongoing bug fixes or consulting, I charge a daily or hourly rate with a monthly cap that we agree in advance. For long-term clients I offer a monthly retainer for a set number of hours. I calculate every fixed quote from my estimated hours plus a buffer of about twenty percent for revisions and communication.

I never share NDA work, even privately, because the agency will assume I would do the same with their clients. Instead, I prepare anonymised case studies: the industry, the problem, my process and the result, like “reduced checkout drop-off for a mid-size fashion e-commerce brand”, without names or screens. Where the client has allowed it, I show redrawn or blurred versions. I also keep two or three personal projects that show the same skills openly. And I offer references from past clients who agreed to take a short call, which often convinces an agency more than screenshots.

For new clients I ask for a fifty percent advance before starting and the balance on delivery, before I hand over final files or source code. For projects longer than a month, I split payments into milestones, like 30-40-30. Invoices are due in fifteen days, and the contract says work pauses if a payment is more than fifteen days late. When a payment is late, I send a friendly reminder on the due date, a firmer one after a week, and then a call. So far every client has paid, because the terms were agreed at the start.

I never take on more than three active projects at a time, and I block my calendar by client, usually full mornings for deep work and afternoons for calls and small tasks. Every project has a shared board in Trello or Notion with deadlines, so clients can see progress without chasing me. I reply to messages within one working day and tell clients this at the start. Before accepting a new project, I check my calendar honestly for the next six weeks. If I cannot fit it, I offer a later start date or refer it to a trusted freelancer.

On day one I want access sorted: Slack, the project board, shared drives and any brand guidelines. I read the existing brief, past work for the client and the agency’s process documents before asking questions. By day two I send a short note to the project manager confirming what I understand the deliverables and deadlines to be, so we catch misunderstandings early. I follow the agency’s file naming, templates and check-in times. By the end of the week I aim to deliver something small but real, like the first draft of one screen, so they can see my quality early.

I issue a numbered invoice for every payment from a simple accounting tool, with my PAN, the client’s details, the scope and the payment terms. I track my turnover monthly, and I registered for GST once I expected to cross the registration threshold, so Indian business clients can claim input credit. For clients abroad, the work counts as an export of services, so I file a Letter of Undertaking and invoice without charging GST, and I receive payment in foreign currency through my bank. I pay advance tax each quarter and keep a CA for my annual return.

I would show you three projects I built for real situations, even if they were unpaid: a booking website for my uncle’s clinic, a redesign of a local NGO’s donation page and a college project. For each, I can show the brief, the timeline and what changed after launch, like the clinic getting online bookings. I would propose a small first milestone, such as the homepage in one week, with payment only after you approve it. That way you see my work and communication before committing to the full project. I would also send weekly progress updates every Friday.

I treat it as the first real project. I read the brief carefully and send any questions within a few hours, instead of guessing. I confirm the deadline and the format they want, like Figma links or Google Docs. I deliver a day early if I can, with a short note explaining my main decisions and one alternative I considered. If they give feedback, I revise quickly and without arguing. I also track my time on it, which helps me price future tasks for them accurately. I would say yes to an unpaid test only if it is very short.

For communication I use whatever the client uses, most often Slack, WhatsApp for quick updates with small businesses, and Google Meet or Zoom for calls. I keep project files in a shared Google Drive folder with a clear structure, and design work in Figma with view access for the client. I track time with Toggl, even on fixed-price projects, so I know if my estimates are right. Proposals and invoices go through Zoho Invoice. I use a shared Trello board for tasks. I am flexible, and I can learn a new tool like Asana or Jira in a day or two.

A restaurant client changed the menu design direction three times in the first two weeks. After the third change I asked for a thirty-minute call, not an email. I showed the three versions side by side and asked which problem each change was trying to fix. It turned out the owner and his partner disagreed, and each was sending me feedback. We agreed that the partner would be the single approver, and I confirmed the final direction in writing. I charged for the third concept as a change request, which he accepted. The project finished a week later than planned, but on good terms.

Early on, I delivered a full website to a startup with only a small advance, and the balance of ₹40,000 went unpaid for six weeks. I sent polite reminders, then called the founder. He said funds were tight. I proposed two instalments over a month, confirmed by email, and kept the site on my staging server until the first instalment arrived. He paid both. I lost nothing in the end, but it taught me to change my terms: fifty percent advance, milestone payments and handover of files only after final payment. I have not had a serious late payment since.

A large retailer offered me a three-month app project at a good rate while I was already committed to two clients. The timeline needed around forty hours a week from me, and I only had about twenty free. Taking it would have meant late work for everyone. I explained this honestly, offered to start six weeks later, and suggested a developer I trust who could begin immediately. They went with her, and she later referred a client to me in return. The retailer came back to me the following year for a smaller project, partly because I had been straight with them.

I quoted two weeks for an e-commerce site, not realising the client’s payment gateway needed a custom integration. By day eight I knew I needed another week. I told the client that day, explained the cause with a screenshot of the gateway documentation, and offered two options: launch on time without that payment option, or launch a week late with it. They chose to wait. I did not charge extra, because the estimate was my mistake. Since then I ask for API or integration details on the discovery call, and I add a buffer for anything I have not built before.

I made a list of twenty local businesses near my home in Indore that had outdated or no websites, mostly clinics and coaching centres. I visited five in person with a one-page mock-up of how their homepage could look on a phone. A physiotherapy clinic said yes to a simple site for ₹15,000, half in advance. I delivered it in ten days and asked the owner to refer me if she was happy. She introduced me to two other clinics. From that I learned that showing a specific idea works far better than sending a generic portfolio link.

I worked with a UK agency on a four-month contract, with a four-and-a-half-hour time difference. We had only two overlapping hours, so I proposed that I post a written update at the end of my day, listing what I finished, what was blocked and what I needed from them. They could reply in their morning, and I found the answers when I started. I joined their stand-up at two in the afternoon my time. I recorded short Loom videos to explain design decisions instead of long emails. The project finished on schedule, and they extended my contract twice.

For this project, based on the scope we discussed, my fee is ₹1.2 lakh, paid in three milestones. That is based on about eighty hours of work at my usual rate of ₹1,500 an hour. My rate itself is firm, because it reflects my experience and the results I have delivered. But the total is flexible if we adjust the scope. For example, if we drop the blog section and use your existing photos, it comes to around ₹95,000. I can also offer a small discount if you commit to a three-month retainer for updates after launch.

I can commit twenty-five hours a week for the next three months, with a fixed overlap of 11 am to 4 pm on weekdays for calls and quick responses. I have one other ongoing client, a healthcare startup, which takes the remaining hours. I am not working with any company in your market, and I would tell you immediately if a competitor approached me. I am happy to sign a non-compete limited to your direct competitors for the length of our contract. If you need more hours later, I can increase them once my current project ends next month.

I would consider it seriously. I chose freelancing for variety and flexible hours, but I am open to a full-time role with the right team, especially one where I can own a product long term instead of handing it over after launch. My main questions would be about remote or hybrid working, the growth path, and whether the role keeps me hands-on. I would not want to switch in the middle of a contract, though. Let us see how the first three months go, and if both sides feel it is working, I would be glad to discuss it.