10 Polite Ways To Say, “Sorry. I Don’t Work For Free.”
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Working for free is often part of the deal when you’re new to any industry. Internships and apprenticeships are pretty standard when you’re just starting out. Or what about mentorships? A mentor might have you do certain tasks, for which you don’t get paid money – you get paid in knowledge. Maybe you get paid in contacts or something you can put on your resume. That’s certainly valuable at one time in your career. So if working for free is an inevitable part of starting out, it can be difficult to know when you get to stop working for free. It can be even harder to communicate that to others.
Do try to remember, when you’re considering taking a gig that pays nothing, that you wouldn’t ask others to do the same. You don’t question it when your therapist hands you a bill. You don’t raise an eyebrow when you get an invoice from a graphic designer. It’s not odd when your personal trainer sends you a Venmo request. Services were rendered. Products were sold. And now it’s time to pay up. So why are we so hesitant to state our rates? Or to say that, yes, in fact, we do charge a rate? Is it something specific to women?
Actually, the myth that women ask for raises less than men do has been debunked. So that’s not it. Maybe it’s the fact that, while men get ahead in their careers by being disagreeable, women don’t seem to enjoy the same treatment. But if being agreeable means not getting paid…is it worth it? Nope. So, here are polite ways to say, “Sorry. I don’t work for free.”
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Inform them of a new accreditation
If this contact met you at a time when you were brand new in your field, they may still see you as a rookie. But informing them of a new accreditation – like having received your doctorate, having become certified in a specialty skill, or even having been profiled in a professional publication – is an indirect but efficient way of saying, “I’m one of the big dogs now, and the big dogs don’t work for free.” It doesn’t have to sound cocky. It can be as simple as, “Thanks so much for reaching out! SO much has changed since we last spoke. I’m actually now a licensed insert profession here and am offering my services at insert rate here.” While someone may ask someone who is good at math do their finances for free, they wouldn’t ask a licensed CPA to work for nothing.
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Give a pro-bono referral
“I understand you’re unable to pay for this project. So the best fit for you would be someone who works pro-bono. I can give you a referral.” This may lose you the business, or it may be the polite nudge that simply tells them, “I don’t work for free so if you want me specifically for this, I will be charging you. Others may not, but I do.” Never worry that someone will ask why you charge. You don’t ask your plumber why he charges, do you? (By the way, you can say that to someone who asks you why you charge).
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Say you’re over-booked on pro-bono work
“My pro-bono workload is currently fully booked up and I cannot afford to take on any more unpaid projects at this time.” That’s an excellent way of reminding this person that A) what they are asking for is essentially volunteer work from you. If they have a budget for your services, they should be a little embarrassed for asking for it for free. It also says that B) you do have to make money, and can only take on so much unpaid work. (You may secretly not do pro-bono work. That’s none of their business…)
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List the standard rate
Sometimes it can be good to remind someone what the standard rate is for the service or good that they’re asking for free from you. That way, they can understand just how much they’re low-balling you without you having to actually tell them, “You’re low-balling me.” You can simply say something like, “Thanks for getting in touch. I understand your budget is small for this. The industry-standard rate for this type of service is insert rate here. We can certainly discuss working something out that fits into your budget. Let me know if you’d like to move forward.”
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Just state your fee
Never feel bad about stating your fee. You completely understand that other professionals charge, right? It’s called work because it’s work. It’s not philanthropy. It’s not charity work. It’s not a hobby. It’s skillset and sweat and time expenditure. Everyone involved in the transaction should be giving something over. Naturally, the client or customer would be giving over money. You can just say, “My fee is insert fee here. Let me know if that works for you.” Never be ashamed to be upfront about what you need so that you don’t get taken advantage of and no one’s time gets wasted.
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I’ve graduated from interning
It’s possible that this person met you when you were an intern, and does not realize that you’re now a paid professional — with bills to pay. Or they just think they can take advantage of you because of the pre-established relationship. But you’re well within your right to change that relationship and say, “Thanks so much for thinking of me! Since we last spoke, I actually graduated from interning at insert job here and am a staffed employee as the insert role here. If you’d like to discuss my rates for this type of thing, let me know!”
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Tell them you have bills to pay
Nobody should have to be reminded of this, but sometimes people forget: just like them, you have to pay rent/a mortgage, utility bills, buy groceries, car payments, insurance premiums, and so on and so forth. And unfortunately, the power company doesn’t accept “experience” or “exposure” as payment – even if that’s what a client is offering to pay you instead of money. You need money, plain and simple, just like the person requesting your services doesn’t work for free to pay their bills with dust. You can even say, “I wish I could pay for my car with exposure…but Toyota prefers cash.”
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Recommend a student
Recommending a student for the job makes you look helpful, possibly throws a bone to a student who needs experience, and reminds this person that, if they want an experienced professional to get the job done, they’re going to need to pay professional rates. It also says, “I’m not a young kid anymore but I know one! Let me get you in touch with them while I go somewhere and get paid for my work.” Students are willing to work for the experience, so this reminds this client or individual that, “Hey, when you want advanced skills, you pay advanced prices.”
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Surely, someone in your office can handle it
“It won’t take long.” “It’s really easy.” “It’s super simple and doesn’t really require much expertise.” These are things people will say to you when they’re trying to convince you to work for free. When looking to respond to that, you can say, “Totally understand. Well, then it sounds like you should easily be able to find someone on your team who can complete the task if it’s so easy.” (Translation: if it were so easy, you wouldn’t be coming to me, and you definitely wouldn’t pay whoever you would go to peanuts for helping you out.)
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Direct them to a workshop or class
If someone really wants a professional to handle something, but also really doesn’t want to pay, directing them to a class or workshop where they can learn the skill themselves can be an eye-opener. Often people just don’t realize how much time (and money) you spent on becoming skilled in your field. Often people don’t realize that, no, they couldn’t “just do it themselves.” When you direct them to the $2,000, 12-week class you had to take to learn your skill, they may see that simply paying you $300 for the job is far more affordable than them learning it themselves.
