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oDesk
(Image Credit: http://www.odesk.com)
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When I started out as a part-time online freelance worker around three years ago, there were numerous jobs available for anyone willing to sit in front of their computer for hours. These jobs paid well and a lot were able to make online freelance work their main source of income. Nowadays, there are still a lot of jobs posted online, but the pay is not as good as it was three years ago. In fact, the remuneration of some of the jobs is not enough to pay for the monthly internet and electricity bills, let alone the rent, food, and other expenses.
For people who aim to enter the world of online freelance work, I would recommend that you should choose the jobs well before you apply for them. Most of my online freelance work come from oDesk, one of the biggest online job sites in the world. The main reason why I look for online job opportunities at oDesk is the fact that it is quite user-friendly.
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Payment Method Not Verified
(Image Credit: http://www.odesk.com)
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One of the first things that I normally check when looking for a job on oDesk is whether payment method of the client is verified or not. When the payment method of the client is not verified, there is a chance that you may not be paid for the job. However, there are some good clients whose payment method shows that it is not verified simply because of a glitch in the system of their credit card company, so aside from checking whether the payment method is verified, it is also recommended that you should check when the client signed up at oDesk. If the client had signed up on oDesk a few days before you looked at the job and their payment method is not verified, it would be better to wait for it to be verified before you apply for the job. Or if you already applied, you can always ask the client to have his/her payment method verified before you start working on the project. Always keep in mind that an unverified payment method is not covered by the guaranteed payment system of oDesk.
Another thing that I check before I apply for a job on oDesk is the job description itself. You should make sure that you have the skills that meets the requirements of the client. Although you can easily Google some of the things that you need to know to get the job done, it will save a good amount of time if you already have the skills to accomplish the job posted by the client. You may also be able to impress the client when you finish the job well and before the deadline comes. When you look at the job description, make sure that the terms or the payment of the client is good enough for you. There are some jobs that basically have the same job description but the payments are different. This is important since you have to take into consideration the amount of time it will take you to finish the job. You may end up using a good amount of your time for a job that does not pay good enough to cover your internet and electricity bills.
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Good Feedback
(Image Credit: http://www.odesk.com)
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Once you are certain that you have the skills needed to complete the project, it is advisable to also check the feedback given to the client by the contractors. If the feedback is high and most if not all of the remarks were positive, then the job may be work applying for. However, you should also check the feedback given by the client to the contractors since there are some instances when the contractors give a positive feedback to the client, but the client will not give the same positive feedback to the contractor. Keep in mind that your chances of getting a job on oDesk will increase if the feedback given by previous clients were good. It would be disheartening to get a negative feedback if you were able to accomplish the job well and it was finished before the deadline. This may affect your chances of getting a job in the future. Read the remarks given by both the client and the contractor and try to see whether you are comfortable working for the client basing on the feedback given by the contractor and the client. The image on the left shows a client that has a high feedback from the contractors. It also shows that this particular client has already paid over $10,000 for work done on oDesk, which brings us to the next thing to keep in mind when you try to find a job on oDesk.
It is advisable to look for clients who have already paid a good amount for contractors on oDesk. This means that this client will have a smaller chance of not paying his/her contractors. I have not come across a client who has invested a good amount on oDesk and have not paid their contractors. There may be some but I think this may be more of an exception rather than the rule. A client who has paid a good amount of money for work done on oDesk will not want to tarnish his/her name by not paying his/her contractors.
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Competition
(Image Credit: http://www.odesk.com)
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Another thing I check when I apply for jobs on oDesk is the competition or the other contractors who applied for the job. It does not hurt to see whether or not you have the skills that can compete with the other applicants for the job. If you find one to three applicants who may have similar if not better skills than you, it may still be a good job to apply for since you only have a few people to compete against. It will normally boil down to who has the better portfolio or who is offering a competitive rate to the client based on the skills that you offer. However if there are four or more applicants who have similar or better skills than you, it may be advisable to think twice before applying for the job. But, in the end you will decide whether you should apply for the job, it does not hurt to try.
Although there may be a number of other things that you have to consider when you try to find a job on oDesk, these are just some of the recommendations that I can give to people who may want to apply for jobs on oDesk. At the end of the day, you will be the one to decide whether or not you will follow these recommendations when you start your life as an online freelance worker. Good luck.
