Good Job is Slate’s advice column on work. Have a workplace problem big or small? Send it to Laura Helmuth and Doree Shafrir here. (It’s anonymous!)
Dear Good Job,
I’m a freelancer in a creative field, and I’m fairly new at it after some big life and relationship upheavals. I need advice on how to handle a potential client who’s maybe not the most stable person in the world.
I connected with her on a job board associated with a freelance society I pay a yearly fee to join. There were a few red flags: AI images passed off as real photographs, an interview where she asked me no questions and seemed upset when I tried to give her information about my work process, and an accent that she seemed to be actively hiding that didn’t match her backstory. But I work with creatives. They’re weird. She wouldn’t be the strangest one on my roster. I have a lot of clients who are strange and have, on paper, a whole field of red flags. They’re also nice, professional, good at their work, meet deadlines, and pay on time.
But I’m starting to get concerned about this woman.
She sent me a post to “familiarize myself with her work,” and not only was it stream-of-consciousness, hard to follow, and a little unbelievable, but the next post on the blog was about the freelancers she had contacted. It was posted three days after I had initially responded to her job posting. She blasts everyone who contacted her, basically saying we were all too small-time to work with her and are incapable of understanding her work. I have seen her sample work. It is being rejected by gatekeepers in the field because it doesn’t grasp the basic principles of the art form to the point of incoherence. The worst part is she quoted my email verbatim, as an example of a freelancer who was too small-time and stupid to understand how “big” her work could be, because I mentioned working with small organizations and independent artists.
This makes me angry, of course, but it also freaks me out. I am blunt in my commentary. My regular clients work with me because of this, and they appreciate it very much. I know it’s a style that doesn’t work for everyone, but I try to focus on the people it does work for.
Do I do something about this? Do I just hope she ghosts me and move on? Do I report her to the freelance society? Is that overkill? And if she doesn’t ghost me, how do I let her down gently? I know it’s half my fault by looking too much into her, but I usually check out potential clients’ websites to understand the general scope of their work. This is really freaking me out, and I depend on that job board for my livelihood. My friends say it will be fine, but since this is the first time something like this has happened, it does really have my hackles up. Am I overreacting?
—Looked Under the Iceberg
Dear Looked Under the Iceberg,
Yikes. Your client sounds scary. She’s dishonest (the AI images), hostile (calling peers stupid), and delusional (claiming her art is too big for gatekeepers). As a new freelancer, you probably don’t have much practice with firing clients. This is a good chance to learn how and when to do so. Even if you’re desperate for commissions, a client like this can make your working life miserable, and they can potentially harm your career by taking up too much of your time and energy, criticizing you publicly, lying about your work, or tarnishing your reputation by association. Freelance work, even more than salaried work, relies on trust. You can’t trust this client, and that’s reason enough to fire her. The next time she contacts you, reply professionally but crisply that, unfortunately, you won’t be able to continue working with her. If she asks for an explanation, do not reply.
To protect other freelancers, look at your professional society’s code of conduct and see if this client has violated it. She probably has, by quoting professional correspondence verbatim without permission, insulting other members of the organization, and abusing the jobs board. Contact the executive director of the professional organization, share your concerns confidentially, and ask if this client is violating the terms of membership. Let the society take it from there.
If your professional society doesn’t already have a clear code of conduct, encourage the executive director and/or the president of the board of advisors to adopt one. (Here’s a good model from the National Association of Science Writers.) Pushing for clear standards might be a good way for you to contribute to your new professional organization. Consider volunteering or running for the board as a way to improve the culture of your profession and get to know other people who care about the community.
—Laura
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