How to Become a Freelance Data Entry Specialist

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the UK recruitment industry, with the enforced ‘work from home’ approach being an unexpected opportunity for companies to experience how they can operate more safely, more efficiently and have more flexibility with employee contracts. 

With many companies seeing success through employing home based staff, this has opened up more opportunities for people who want to work from home. One role that this has seen an increase in demand, is freelance data entry specialists, which traditionally would have been restricted to working in the office. With advanced software now available and high-speed internet connection, this role can now easily be done from home.

If you are interested in becoming a freelance data entry specialist, here is what you can do to help you to get offered a role:

Qualifications

While not all companies will require applicants to have data entry qualifications, when you are applying against lots of other people, having a data entry qualification will improve your chances of being offered the role. The job market is very competitive right now, so it is likely that freelance data entry roles will receive high volumes of applications. 

If you can show on your CV that you have qualifications that are specific to data entry, you give yourself a head start over others. So, take a look at the range of Data Entry Courses that are available, such as CPD accredited courses that include key skills such as touch typing.

As well as having data entry qualifications, skills such as Microsoft Office and general IT skills will also give you an advantage over other applicants, so taking an online Microsoft Office course that covers Word, Excel, Access and Powerpoint would also be beneficial.

Practice your key skills

As part of the recruitment process, a lot of agencies or recruitment teams will ask candidates to complete an assessment, which can include assessing typing speed. In order to make sure that you impress in the assessment, you should practice your touch-typing skills to get faster and make sure that you are consistently accurate. 

Microsoft Access is one of the most commonly used types of software for data entry specialists, so it will also help you to become as familiar as possible with all of the features of this software. If you get to the interview stage, the interviewer may ask you specific questions about using Access, to check that your knowledge of the application is good.

Make sure your application and CV is top quality

When you are filling in your job application and uploading your CV, make sure you give yourself the best chance of success by taking the time to customise your CV to match the job specifications. 

Many people lose out on an interview place because they submit a generic CV that does not show the recruiter that they have all of the skills that they are looking for. Your CV should be tailored around the job requirements and show that you have done your research regarding what is required as part of the job.

One of the key skills required for data entry roles is attention to detail, so you must make sure that your application and CV have no grammatical errors, typos or spelling errors, as this will put recruiters off straight away. So, make sure you proofread your application and CV several times and get someone else to read it too, to get a second pair of eyes to check over for any mistakes you might have missed.

If you follow these tips, you should be able to build a successful career as a freelance data entry specialist.