Approximately 70% of Freelancers Feel Their "Evaluations Get Reset"!? Freelancer Challenges: Anxiety About Fair Pricing, Burden of Proving Achievements, Insufficient Transfer of Evaluations

CareerChain Inc. (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Yuki Sakagami) conducted a survey targeting freelancers regarding "The Reality of Mismatches in Freelancer Hiring and Project Acquisition, and the Validity of Skill Evaluations."

In recent years, the freelance work style has become widespread, and many individuals are acquiring projects by utilizing matching services and agents.

On the other hand, there are voices expressing challenges such as having to explain their background and achievements for each project, and past results and evaluations not being fully utilized when acquiring the next project.

Furthermore, some individuals feel anxious about determining fair pricing and conditions that match their skills and experience.

In an environment where past achievements and evaluations are not continuously accumulated and shared, it may become difficult to objectively demonstrate one's market value.

Amidst this situation, what kind of challenges do freelancers face in the process of acquiring projects?

Also, what kind of needs exist for a system that can accumulate achievements and evaluations and utilize them for future project acquisition?

Top Freelancer Project Acquisition Challenges: "Burden of Explaining Background" and "Not Knowing Fair Pricing"

First, when asked, "What are the stresses and challenges you currently feel when acquiring projects through matching services, etc.?", the most common answer was "Having to explain my background and available tasks from scratch in every interview (31.7%)", followed by "Not knowing the fair pricing and conditions commensurate with my past achievements and evaluations (29.7%)" and "Discrepancy between project information and actual work content (gap between job description and reality) (27.5%)".

This indicates that many individuals feel challenges related to the inadequate evaluation and sharing of their achievements and skills, as well as a lack of transparency in project information during project acquisition. Additionally, "Past achievements and evaluations not being carried over to the next project" was also listed as the 4th most common issue, suggesting a demand for a system that allows for the continuous utilization of evaluations and achievements gained through past work.

Next, when asked, "In the current market, do you feel you can grasp the fair pricing and conditions that match your skills and negotiate with confidence?", the most common answer was "I grasp them to some extent, but there are parts I'm not sure about, so I have anxiety about negotiation (57.3%)", significantly exceeding "I grasp them sufficiently and can negotiate with confidence (18.8%)".

From these results, it is clear that many people "grasp their skills to some extent" regarding fair pricing and conditions, but lack confidence in their judgment and feel anxious about negotiation. Furthermore, when combining "I don't grasp them well" and "I hardly grasp them at all," it amounts to about 20%, indicating that a certain number of people are not satisfied with their ability to determine fair pricing and conditions.

Could the lack of objective indicators for judging one's market value be a background factor for this situation? Additionally, in the previous question, some respondents cited the issue of past achievements and evaluations not being carried over to the next project acquisition. Therefore, we asked about the transfer status of evaluations and achievements when successful outcomes were achieved in projects.

Approximately 70% Face the Reality of "Evaluations Being Reset" Even After Achieving Results

We then asked about the transfer status of evaluations and achievements when high results were achieved in projects.

When asked, "Do you feel that your 'evaluations and achievements' are not sufficiently carried over to the next project acquisition even when you achieve high results in a project?", approximately 70% responded with "Strongly agree (feeling it's a waste as it's reset every time) (21.4%)" or "Somewhat agree (some are carried over, but it's insufficient) (51.5%)".

Many freelancers recognize that their achievements and evaluations are not sufficiently carried over.

Since those who feel they can continuously utilize past results and evaluations are a minority, it suggests that evaluations are fragmented for each project, and there is no system in place to leverage past achievements and trust gained from clients for future project acquisition.

So, if there were a system to accumulate evaluations and achievements from project outcomes as data and utilize them for future project acquisition to solve these challenges, what would freelancers think?

When asked, "If there were a system where 'fair evaluations and achievements' from projects were accumulated as data and carried over to the next project, would you want to use it?", the following responses were obtained:

"Definitely want to use it (e.g., to gain an advantage in project acquisition, improve hiring accuracy, etc.) (24.6%)"

"Somewhat want to use it (seems to have some benefits) (50.9%)"

"Cannot say either way (15.6%)"

"Not very willing to use it (6.7%)"

"Not willing to use it (do not feel the benefits) (2.2%)"

Approximately 70% responded with "Definitely want to use it" or "Somewhat want to use it," indicating a high level of interest in a system that can continuously accumulate and utilize evaluations and achievements. Given that a majority felt their evaluations and achievements were not sufficiently carried over in the previous question, it suggests that many wish to visualize their fragmented outcomes and trust to connect them to future project acquisition.

Now, what are their thoughts on an evaluation system for members with whom they collaborated on projects?

When asked, "After a project ends, if there were a system to leave official evaluations and comments for members with whom you collaborated on the project, would you want to use it?", approximately 60% responded with "Actively want to use it (20.0%)" or "Somewhat want to use it (43.2%)".

Approximately 60% expressed an intention to use a system that allows for evaluations and comments to be left for project collaborators after the project concludes. While the previous question revealed that many feel their own evaluations and achievements are not sufficiently carried over to future project acquisition, this result suggests that there is a certain level of demand not only for being evaluated but also for a system to evaluate the members they worked with.

So, in what form do they wish for evaluation information to be stored and managed?

When asked, "If third-party evaluations were accumulated as 'indelible digital data,' in what method or system would you feel the most value in accumulating them?", "A system where it is accumulated on the platform and can be managed and disclosed by myself (39.6%)" was the most common answer, followed by "Accumulation through completion certificates/qualification certificates from external organizations (industry associations, certification bodies, etc.) (29.1%)" and "A system that remains permanently in an unalterable form, like NFTs (17.0%)".

In the accumulation of third-party evaluations, while technical advancement and tamper resistance themselves are important, practicality that allows for self-management and utilization is valued even more. Additionally, about 30% of respondents valued accumulation through certification by external organizations, indicating a tendency to prioritize the reliability and objectivity of evaluation data. On the other hand, only 3.8% responded with "I am resistant to accumulating evaluation data itself," suggesting that resistance to the accumulation of evaluation information itself is relatively low.

[Summary] What Freelancers Want is a "System Where Achievements Are Accumulated as Assets"

This survey revealed that freelancers, in the process of acquiring projects, not only face challenges in finding work but also in how their achievements and evaluations are handled.

Challenges in project acquisition included responses such as "Having to explain my background and available tasks at every interview," "Not knowing the fair pricing and conditions," and "Past achievements and evaluations not being carried over to the next project," indicating a situation where it is difficult to continuously utilize the experience and results accumulated so far.

Furthermore, over half of respondents indicated that they "grasp their market value to some extent but lack confidence," showing that many freelancers feel a lack of information for decision-making in price negotiation and project selection. Additionally, approximately 70% responded that "even after achieving results, evaluations and achievements are not sufficiently carried over to the next project acquisition," highlighting the reality of fragmented evaluations for each project.

Approximately 70% expressed an intention to use a system that accumulates evaluations and achievements as data and utilizes them for future project acquisition. Moreover, about 60% expressed an intention to use a feature for evaluating and commenting on members with whom they collaborated after a project, indicating a certain level of demand for leaving third-party evaluations of one's work and results.

Furthermore, regarding the method of accumulating evaluation data, the "system that can be managed and disclosed by myself" received the most support. This suggests that practicality, allowing one's achievements and evaluations to be utilized in necessary situations, and reliability as objective proof are prioritized.

As the diversity of work styles progresses and the utilization of freelance talent expands, it is becoming increasingly difficult to fully convey an individual's abilities and achievements through traditional resumes and self-declarations alone. Moreover, with the rapid advancement of AI in recent years, the risk of tampering is increasing. In the future, creating an environment where evaluations and achievements gained from each project can be continuously accumulated, visualized, and utilized as reliable achievements will be crucial for realizing better talent matching.

CareerChain: A Career Platform that Visualizes the "Value" of Talent and Achieves Talent Matching Based on Highly Reliable Information

CareerChain Inc. (https://www.career-chain.jp/), which conducted the survey "The Reality of Mismatches in Freelancer Hiring and Project Acquisition, and the Validity of Skill Evaluations," offers the service "CareerChain," a new evaluation infrastructure that supports individual career development by accumulating and visualizing the previously unvisualized backgrounds and achievements of freelancers, and can be utilized for corporate hiring decisions.

What is "CareerChain"

CareerChain is a career platform that supports the career development of freelancers and side-job workers by accumulating achievements and evaluations on a project-by-project basis.

By organizing and accumulating achievements and evaluations that cannot be captured by traditional self-declaration-dependent resumes, it aims to improve matching accuracy and streamline the matching process for both companies and talent such as freelancers.

CareerChain https://www.career-chain.com/

Towards an era where individuals such as freelancers are the main players. Transform your career into an unalterable asset with NFT technology.

Inquiries: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSemp-EBaybofbwBAlgyRF5607kxPtG5k_42w9BbqYgJWFcSpQ/viewform

Survey Overview: Survey on "The Reality of Mismatches in Freelancer Hiring and Project Acquisition, and the Validity of Skill Evaluations"

[Survey Period] April 28, 2026 (Tue) - April 30, 2026 (Thu)

[Survey Method] Internet survey conducted by PRIZMA (https://www.prizma-link.com/press)

[Number of Respondents] 505 people

[Survey Target] Monitors who responded as freelancers at the time of the survey

[Survey Source] CareerChain Inc. (https://www.career-chain.com/)

[Monitor Provider] Sakurisa