Crowdsourcing: Do you think 'interview = dangerous'? What a writer with 6 years of experience wants to share

Hello, this is sayu✨

When you start working on crowdsourcing platforms,
after applying for a job,
you might be asked,
'Could we have an interview?'

At times like that,
what do you think?

Especially for beginners,

'Interviews seem scary...'
'What if it's a pitch for a school?'
'Isn't this a scam?'

You feel anxious, right?

Since you might see information on social media saying 'interview = dangerous',
I completely understand why you would be cautious.
However, as a writer with 6 years of experience, what I want to tell you is,


there is no need to be afraid of the interview itself.Of course, there are jobs you should be wary of, but

just because there is an interview,
avoiding it is a huge waste.
This time, based on my own experience,

I will talk about interviews in crowdsourcing.

Good jobs usually 'have' interviews

In the 5 years since I started as a writer,

looking back at the clients I have worked with continuously,
and the high-paying jobs I've had,
almost without exception, there were interviews.
The content of the interviews is usually like this.

・Aligning expectations
・Discussing rates
・Confirming the scope of work, etc.

Conversely, regarding jobs without interviews,
my impression is that there were many
relatively low-paying, one-off jobs.

Of course, there are exceptions, but
for jobs where you are only asked to write
a few articles of several thousand characters,
it is not uncommon for them not to bother
setting aside time for an interview.

On the other hand, for jobs that assume a long-term contract,
or where they want to place orders every month,
the client also wants to know
'what kind of person you are'.

This is the same for the writer side, right?

'What kind of company is this?'
'What kind of person is the contact person?'

In almost all cases, interviews are set up as a time for both parties to work with peace of mind.

In other words, having an interview itself
is actually quite natural.

There is no need to be more guarded than necessary.

If you encounter a 'solicitation-style interview'

That said,
it is a fact that 'solicitation-style interviews' exist.

These are cases where at the end of the interview,

they try to sell you something like
'Why don't you join our school?'

'Why don't you buy our teaching materials?'

If you happen to encounter such an interview,
the answer is very simple.

It is fine to just clearly decline.

You don't have to keep listening to them,
and you don't have to feel obligated to sign a contract.

'I will decline this time.'

This one sentence is enough.

You are there to look for work,
not to join a school.
If you feel something is off,

it is fine to end it right there.

It is riskier to avoid interviews for fear of 'solicitation-style interviews'

Among beginners,

there are some who say,
'I don't want to be solicited, so

I won't apply for jobs that have interviews.'

But,
I think this is more of a waste.

Because, as I mentioned earlier,
the better the job, the more likely it is
that they will conduct an interview.

Continuing to avoid interviews means

・High-paying jobs
・Long-term continuous jobs
・Meeting reliable clients

You might also be letting go of these chances
at the same time.

If you think it's suspicious during the interview,
there is no problem with just declining.

If you decide that 'interview = dangerous',
you will miss out on good jobs
that you could have otherwise found.

Don't just look at the risks,
try to look at the opportunities you can gain as well.

If you get an offer for an 'interview', just move forward

I myself
have had many online interviews.

And,
there are many clients with whom I have had
long-lasting relationships because of those interviews.

The 800,000 yen I earned in my first year as a writer
was from a job on a crowdsourcing platform,
and of course, there was an interview.

I will say it again,
if it's a solicitation, you just have to decline.
It's absurd to pay money when you're trying to get work!
That is why, when you get an interview offer,

instead of being afraid and declining from the start,
please try moving forward once.
If you feel something is wrong, you can just decline then.

I think it's just right to approach it with that mindset.