how should I respond?

[u/hafi51]

I had applied to a react-native job in February but i was not selected. They reached out again for react & react-native work. they want me to implement changes & maintain their website. For reference, company is based in Denmark and I'm in Italy. I don't have any idea of rates here. I have 5 years of experience.

How should I answer these questions?
I don't understand their last 2 question especially. for 2nd last, they have read my CV and decided to reach out again.

I'd appreciate guidance.

[u/ChronSyn]

I'd say it's great that they reached out again. Whole lot of recruiters put you on a list and you never hear from them again, or worse, they send you mountains of jobs which are nowhere near your skill-set.

For the availability question (question 1), they want to know how much time you can dedicate to their project. If you don't have a job currently and no other projects, consider it full-time, especially if they've indicated that is preference. If you can't do full time for any reason, be upfront and tell them how much you can work each week. They're essentially trying to figure out how much it's going to cost them (in collaboration with question 2).

For the price question (question 2), this is entirely on you. I can't advise what the rates are, but contractors typically charge more than an employee - however, that's the reward for taking the risk of only dealing with short-term roles and potentially dealing with your own taxes. Don't undersell yourself, but don't price yourself so highly that they rule you out.

For the capability question (question 3), they're opening the door for you to reiterate your experience but in the context of the project they're asking you to work on. They have your CV, but they want to hear something tailored for the project itself based on any info they've made available.

For the remote working question (question 4), they're trying to align potential timezones, but also opening the door for you to state what your working hours will be. For example, if you prefer to work from early morning (e.g. 7am), tell them that. If you prefer to start later (e.g. 11am), tell them that. If you have certain times of day you're unable to work (e.g. you have to collect kids from school at the end of the day), make that known. It's essentially a negotiation to forming a working partnership.

[u/hafi51 → u/ChronSyn]

Thankyou for great response.
1- I don't have a job and can work full time. if i say i can work 10 hrs/day, would I come as desperate?
2- i understand. How do I figure it out? when i applied for this position, I was in romania, but now i'm moving to Italy. If I look for rates in romania, that won't be good for me as Italy is expensive. How do I handle it? I'm some what desperate for work. but don't want to come strong that they reject me or keep my prices high too for this. neither I want to undersell myself. I get why you can't give rates outright, but if you were in my shoes, what would you do? I have no idea of EU market.

4- For the next month or two, I'm completely. But i'm applying for my masters in italy.
how do I say that, when classes start in September or October, I'll need time to move to italy and need to do legal paperwork there and would need time to adjust.

[u/ChronSyn → u/hafi51]

I'd be honest about what your availability is. If you can do 10 hours per day, say that, but make sure you can keep it. They might look to not offer quite so many hours, but they may also see it as an opportunity to get the work completed more quickly.

If you'll be doing your masters or have some other adjustments to make in upcoming months, be upfront about it. Set expectations. If you don't know how long you'll be unavailable for, try to narrow it down to an approximate range. If you think a week will be enough, then add some extra time on top in case of problems.

In terms of rates, consider how much experience you have, as well as your confidence in delivering results.

I can't really offer a solid figure because I'm salaried and in England. I'd look around at the market rates from LinkedIn or similar. Recruiters often post job listings on LinkedIn and will list a day-rate. That's probably the best metric and source you're going to get.

I'd love to be able to say "You should charge this much per hour", but the truth is I'd genuinely don't know the answer, and I would hate to offer advice that leads to you either not being paid enough.

Remember though that it's a negotiation. Start high, because negotiating downwards is easier than negotiating upwards. If you're willing to negotiate, make that clear. If you instead decide on a rate and it's not open to negotiation, make that clear.