Around a
month ago, I asked a fellow freelancer working here at
The Tide to critique my
work and give suggestions on the things I can do to improve my blog. I provided
links to some of my posts and I received some good insights on the things I can
work on. One of the things she suggested was to create a list of free online
job sites where an aspiring
online freelance worker can find good jobs to start
his or her online freelance career.
The online
jobs sites I will list down are the ones I am familiar with or have signed up
for. It is essential to sign up for more
than one online job site since there may be instances when changes happen in
one site and an online freelance worker may end up holding an empty bag.
Whenever contracts end, it is not always easy to find a job particularly for
those who have just started their career. Anyway here’s the list:
 |
Essays.ph
|
Essay.ph
Essays.ph is
a Filipino-owned job site for freelance writers. It was established in 2008 by
Paul Agabin, a blogger and reverse internet marketer. Essays.ph is
headquartered somewhere in Makati. While I signed up for this site way back in
2010, I never tried getting a job through the site. I first heard about the
site while searching the net for a good online job site. I came across a blog
reviewing the site. What piqued my interest in the blog (aside from the fact
that it was another online job site I can use) was the fact that she learned
how to create SEO-friendly articles by writing for the company. After signing
up, they asked me to create an article incorporating some key words at least
once. This was the first time I got acquainted to SEO writing.
Freelancers
basically browse through the list of available jobs and “claim” the project
they want to complete. After claiming the project, they were given 24 hours to
complete it. Once the project is complete, they should send it back to editors,
who check the work. If the project meets the standard of the company,
freelancers get paid. It is important to take note that the funds are kept
within the company. Freelancers can have the funds sent to their bank accounts
anytime. Even as the company had a list of banks they can send the fund to
during the time when I signed up, I am not sure if they still have the same
policy up to this date. Each project normally requires writers to finish at
least ten 500-word articles. If they feel they are unable to pass the project
within the 24-hour period, the company allows them to ask for a 24-hour extension.
But, I online freelance writers can only ask for the 24-hour extension once a
month. Writers also have the opportunity to accumulate points. The more points
they accumulate, the wider the range of projects they can select from.
I basically
used the site as a learning tool since it had a forum where members shared
their experiences while working. The site also provided tutorials on how to
write SEO-friendly articles. One thing I noted was that since the site accepts
all kinds of projects, all members working on at least one article had to
accept at least one project for “sex enhancing tools.” But, I’m not sure if
this still holds until today. So for any holier-than-thou online freelance
workers, it may be advisable for them to proceed with some caution. A number of
writers use the site as a source of funds for luxury expenses, but some also
use the site as their main source of income. The rates are not quite high
compared to other online job sites. I think their rate was P300 for ten
original articles and P150 for ten rewritten articles. In my opinion, Essays
.ph is a good site for budding online freelance workers to start off their
online careers. You can sign up for an Essays.ph account by clicking on the
following
link.
 |
| Staff.com |
Staff.com
One of the
newcomers in the online freelance world is Staff.com. Staff.com is an Australian-owned company
established in 2012. Its job list includes writing jobs, web development jobs,
programming job and marketing jobs, among others. Its clients come from
numerous companies around the world, particularly from the US, Canada, the UK
and of course, Australia. I became acquainted with the site after I received an
email invitation for the official launch of the company here in the Queen City
of the South last May 23. The event was held at the function room of the Castle
Peak Hotel and was attended by a good number of the successful online freelance
workers based in the city. Aside from promoting the site, the managing director
of the company also introduced another product of the company, timedoctor.com.
For the
moment, I have yet to apply for a job through the site. Since it was
established only three years ago, it is understandable for the site to have a
limited number of available jobs listed. In fact, at the time this post was written,
the site only had a total of 113 active jobs.
For online freelance workers based in the Queen City of the South, this
site is a good site to look for jobs since the managing director is lives here.
She is quite friendly and approachable, and if you encounter any issues that
cannot be resolved through the customer support personnel on the site, you can
actually text her and ask for her assistance.
Online freelance workers have the option of choosing full-time,
part-time or occasional jobs and salaries can go up to US$4,000 per month
depending, of course, on the type of job required. According to the site, the
companies that post jobs on the site are evaluated and it is extremely rare for
online freelance workers not to receive their salary.
Since I have
not yet applied for a job on Staff.com, I may not be able to give a more
thorough review of the site. But, I think this is still a good place for online
freelance workers to look for their first job, especially those based in the
Queen City of the South. One thing to remember, though, the company evaluates
everyone who signs up on the site, so it is important to provide all the
necessary information in order for your account to be activated. You can sign
up for an account by clicking on the following
link.
 |
| Freelancer.com |
Freelancer.com
When I
started my career as an online freelance worker, Freelancer.com was one of the
sites I signed up for in 2009. It was called getafreelancer.com back then. During
this time, the site appeared quite basic without much images on the site
itself. Due to this, I did not really get to explore the site itself since I
did not feel comfortable getting jobs through a site that did not give much
attention on how it looked. However, after it was acquired by Freelancer.com,
it went through a drastic transformation and now it looks way much better when
I signed up in 2009.
The rates
offered through Freelancer.com during that time were quite low, and other
freelancers would try to outbid others by lowering their bids. With the cost of
living here at the Pearl of the Orient, it will not be easy to go up against
online freelance workers from other countries, particularly from countries with
a low cost of living. Recently I got wind of some bad experiences from other
online freelance workers from one of the Facebook groups I joined. One online
freelance worker was paid by the client but he could not withdraw his earnings
since his account was suspended for no apparent reason. But, I’ll give the site
the benefit of the doubt since it may be possible that the online freelance
worker may have inadvertently violated a policy of the site. This is normally
reason why accounts are suspended.
Aside from
jobs, the site also conducts contests for online freelance workers. Anyone
registered at the site can join these contests, and prizes can range from $10
to $100 depending on the type of contest they will join. You can sign up for an
account by clicking on the following
link.
 |
| Elance.com |
Elance.com
During the
course of my career as an online freelance worker, I got wind of Elance.com
from one of the freelancer Facebook groups I joined.
I did some
research on the job site and found out that there was a representative or sorts
based in the Queen City of the South. I
contacted him and set up a meeting. After a couple of hours, I learned that
Elance.com was similar to Odesk/Upwork but offered higher rates. I signed up
for the site and started applying for jobs. It did not take me long to find a
job on Elance, and it did offer higher rates compared to Odesk.
The only
thing I noted on the job site was the fact that it did not have as many jobs
listed as Odesk. Online freelance workers also are also limited to two
specializations, which further limits the jobs they can apply for. Despite
this, it should be noted that the rates are actually higher compared to Odesk.
I think I was able to get my first job on my fifth or sixth application, which
is actually faster compared to when I applied for a job at Odesk. However, I
did not concentrate on this job site due to the limited number of available
jobs. Despite this, this job site is a good place to look for high-paying jobs,
that is, if you already have a good amount of experience with working as an
online freelance worker. It should be noted though that Elance already merged
with Odesk.com to form Upwork.com. So when you log into your Elance account, it
will direct you to Upwork.com.
There are
two types of jobs on Elance.com – Hourly and Fixed Price. Hourly job rates start
at $3 per hour and can go up to $25 or higher depending on the kind of work you
can offer to the client. On the other hand, Fixed Price jobs start at $5 and can
go up to $1,000 depending on the project you will work on for the client. You
can sign up for an Elance.com account by clicking on the following
link.
 |
| Upwork.com |
Upwork.com
Upwork.com
(formerly
Odesk.com) is the online job site I got most of my jobs from. When I
first signed up for the site, it was still Odesk.com. It was established by Odysseas
Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis in 2003. Odysseas came with the idea of starting
the site and got in touch with Stratis to set it up. Former Odesk CEO Gary
Swart came in nearly two years after the site was established and was able to raise
$6 million in funding from venture capitalists. In June 2015, Upwork was formed
after Odesk merged with Elance.com, another online job site, making it the
biggest online workplace in the world.
I actually
got the idea of working online after catching the interview of a lady online
freelance worker in one of the local TV channels. The lady was actually an SEO
expert and was making more than enough to allow her to go on trips every month
or so around the country. In fact, her earnings were more than enough to allow
her to go on trips around the world. After watching the program, I searched for
the site where she gets her projects and signed for it. At the start, I was
working part-time since I still had a day job as a teacher in one of the most
exclusive schools here in the Queen City of the South. My income from my
part-time job nearly equaled my salary as a teacher, and three years after I
decided to become a full-time online freelance worker.
One thing I
can advise aspiring online freelance workers is that they should be patient
when they try to land their first job at Upwork. I was able to land my first
job on my 40th, yes, that’s FORTIETH application. The job was quite easy to do
after I was able to get the hang of it. The rate was not that high, but it was
more than twice the minimum wage at that time.
Since Upwork
.com is the product of the merger between Odesk and Elance, the rates at Upwork
are the same as the ones found on Elance.com.
There are two types of jobs on Upwork.com –
Hourly and Fixed Price. Hourly job rates start at $3 per hour and can go up to
$25 or higher depending on the kind of work you can offer to the client. On the
other hand, Fixed Price jobs start at $5 and can go up to $1,000 depending on
the project you will work on for the client. You can sign up for an Upwork.com account
by clicking on the following
link.
These are
just five of the online job sites aspiring online freelance workers can look
into when they want to start their career.
I am hoping that this review will help you, yes YOU, when you want to
start a career as an
online freelance worker.
