Christian Hernandez from Argentina has started with full-time employment and is getting step by step into freelancing. His dream is to become a full-time freelancer one day and to freely manage his time. At the moment he is working as external consultant for a company and freelancing at the same time. For him the quality and documentation of your work is the most important thing to be successful on a long-time basis…
1) Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
Hi my name is Christian Hernandez, I’m 31 years old and I’m from Tandil, a province of Buenos Aires (Argentina). I’ve started to study system engineering in Buenos Aires in 2003. And I will marry my girlfriend soon. I don’t have children yet but I want to. I would say that I am a friendly person with a good sense of humor. I like challenges and I am constantly searching for personal and professional development.
2) If you would search for your profile on Google, which are the three keywords you would type in the search bar?
Skills: good communication skills, creativity, responsibility
Technologies: Abap, Delphi, Java
Characteristics: good sense of humor, full of ideas, ability to adapt to situations easily
3) What was your inspiration and when did you actually decide to become a freelancer?
In 2010 I had my first working experience as software developer in a company which markets and develops a bovine management system. In 2012 I changed from a small company to a big firm. There I started as Abap Junior and today I am still working for them as experienced consultant. Although I’m still in a dependent relationship with them, I started to search for freelancing opportunities three month ago. It was always my dream to be my own boss and to manage my time. I really wish that I can become a full-time freelancer one day.
4) What kind of services have your clients asked you to provide?
At the moment I offer request analyses, design of the architecture that supports those requests and finally their development. I know the following technologies: SAP, Java, Delphi, Php, Android, SQL, basics in relational data and basics in NoSql data. I haven’t provided work in all of them given the short amount of time I am freelancing and due to the fact that I am still a part-time employee. But I possess knowledge that allows me to deal with projects based on any of the mentioned technologies.
5) Do you use other freelancers or companies to provide skills that you don’t possess?
Not at the moment, because I haven’t come across a project yet which has required other skills or professionals with more experience. But I don’t see a problem in recruiting the services of other freelancers.
6) Now tell us, how do you find new clients that are interested in your services?
Right now I am using my website together with Facebook and I also integrate LinkedIn as personal diffusion tool. Moreover I have published and distributed some leaflets in my home town. And for the moment it works out. In fact not on a huge scale, but I’m raising awareness.
7) What about freelancermap.com? Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with our IT-network?
With respect to the platform I can say that I’m obviously registered. I have my profile but I haven’t reached the stage yet that they are requesting my services. Maybe I’m not putting enough focus on my profile to be of interest for the clients. No offense – I am consulting the platform frequently and I try to keep my information up to date. The site is user-friendly and the search function is simple and effective. As a recommendation I would say that I would add more filter options: more technologies, the country of origin, clients or something like that.
8) How do you set yourself apart from your competitors? What makes you special?
In my opinion the quality of the delivered work is one of the most important aspects. Of course the fact that you realize something that actually works, matters. But it is as important that you have put in the necessary time for a design that is easy to maintain and that you provide a clear compression of what has been realized.
9) Last but not least, what are the top three books, blogs or magazines you read to stay up to date in the IT-market?
To be honest I’m not completely into the market. I always try to keep myself updated regarding to news, but I’m only browsing in the web and reading suggested articles.
19) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like to tell our readers?
Don’t hesitate to contact me for any requirement, consulting or service you wish for or you need advice with. I am striving to spread my activities and any consultation or comment is of great help for me.
You can find Christian here:
freelancermap.com profile
Personal website: www.eslou.com.ar
Skype: hcristian22
