oDesk Community - Hired without even being invited to interview and can't end assignment without giving reason! - Comments

"hired without interview"

ssukhotinsky — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:58:48 -0800

blogstudios wrote:

...It would be nice to see an "other" option to fill in your own reason (i.e. hired without interview), instead of having to use the feedback option...

"hired without interview" in my opinion contradicts the marketplace agreement, so it should be discarded by oDesk on a provider's request through the ticket system.

When a provider ends an

blogstudios — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:50:42 -0800

When a provider ends an assignment, it asks for a reason for ending, just like it does the buyer...the only options given are: "assignment was completed successfully", "assignment was completed unsuccessfully", and "customer not responsive".

It would be nice to see an "other" option to fill in your own reason (i.e. hired without interview), instead of having to use the feedback option, which will not be seen if nothing is paid and 0 hours are logged.

Just my $0.02.

- Danalyn

Before you complain about rates, read all 4 parts of the oDesk Insider Blog's Make More Money series.

Hired by Jared

tlavandero — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:37:22 -0700

I was also hired by Jared without even going thru the usual interview process. I don't blame him for that. What I did instead is to send him a courteous email and inquired if he really intended to hire me. He answered in the affirmative and he hired me. Since then, I've been working for him and Jared is really a nice, considerate guy. In fact, in less than a month, I already got a bonus from him.

not true-bugs

nhansen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:12:15 -0700

doreenmartel wrote:

Granted you do still have to end the job but since you didn't work any hours it will not request you to leave feedback nor will the 'reason' for ending the job matter in fact.

For myself (as a provider), I too have received emails such as this and contact with the buyer has rectified the situation immediately. As a buyer, I like the option of being able to hire a provider directly that I've already worked for so I'd be loathe to stop that option.

I do however understand where you are coming from however as it has happened to me in the past. As for the 'time' issue, it is really only a few minutes of time to communicate with the buyer and cancel the job if you're not interested.

Actually, that is not true. It forced me to give a reason for cancelling the job and asked me for feedback as well, even though I hadn't worked at all. It took me at least 10-15 minutes of my time to find the cancellation and even the job description itself to know what I had even hired for and to get rid of it. These are actually multiple bugs in the oDesk system. My apologies to Jared as he seems to have been a victim as much of these bugs as I was. Such a bug could harm a buyer as well because the person he accidentally hires will have access to his team room and possibly sensitive information. Remember too that in hiring someone, the buyer is entering into a legal contract with the provider. I do not appreciate having a contract forced on me that I did not agree to either! No hiring should take place without consent of both parties for this reason alone.

For all you providers who

jpittenger — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:43:00 -0700

For all you providers who are wondering what happens when a buyer hits the hire button in your profile, this is the screen they are taken to:

It's impossible to hire someone this way for a Fixed Price job. The buyer doesn't have to go through this step if he hires you from his list of candidates for a job. If you've applied, it's assumed you want to be hired.

Jacqui Pittenger :: Forum Moderator
Need help? Visit the Help Center - http://www.odesk.com/help :: Are you oDesk Ready? Take the ORT today!

It happens

doreenmartel — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:41:14 -0700

nhansen wrote:

I just got an email saying I have been hired for a job that I didn't even get an invite to apply for! Why on earth did this happen??? I don't want this job and it has taken me 10 or 15 minutes to figure out how to end the job. Now I must give a reason for ending the job. How about not wanting the job in the first place???

And it is showing it as an assigned that was ended even though I never worked for this guy. And there is a link for me to give him feedback...What is that doing there?

Really, it would be nice if oDesk would block this kind of nonsense.
Otherwise, we should be compensated for our working time wasted by
these people who don't even have the courtesy to invite us before
hiring us.

By the way, the guilty party is a certain Jared Emin Consulting!

Nicole,

Occasionally it's easy to mix up the invite/hire in the menu that buyers are using. I am sure this buyer didn't intend to do this, I've done it myself.

I have also been hired for assignments without ever applying or interviewing and I have found the best way to deal with them is to send an email directly to the buyer (since hiring allows you direct contact) and advise them that you're not interested.

Granted you do still have to end the job but since you didn't work any hours it will not request you to leave feedback nor will the 'reason' for ending the job matter in fact.

One way to prevent this happening of course is to make your profile private - this way you don't show up in searches and you can then apply to jobs and make your profile available to the buyers.

Doreen

:)

scubajared — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:12:07 -0700

Tamara,

No problem I have been called worse Just never been attacked for trying to hire someone for a job. Ohh well, there is a first for everything

Have a nice day.

Jared

Sorry you got personally attacked there

tbentzur — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:07:19 -0700

Jared, I'm sorry that you were personally attacked by the buyer you accidentally hired without an interview. Since you're new to oDesk, I hope you won't let that leave a bad taste in your mouth.

I was hired the same way for one of my assignments, but thankfully it was one I would have applied for anyway. When I sent an email to the buyer, which perhaps this provider should have done to you, I asked if it had been a mistake because I hadn't received an invite to interview. His reply was that he saw my resume and felt that it would have been a waste of both of our time to go through the trouble. My situation worked out well.

But, if I'm not mistaken, if there are not hours logged, there is no option to leave any feedback for either the buyer or provider is there? And does the assignment even end up as an "ended assignment" if no hours were logged?

Good luck on future provider relations!

Tamara

sorry

scubajared — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:42:14 -0700

I do not think I would call myself a guilty party. I am new to Odesk and I was trying to interview you. I did not think you would be hired without you excepting my invitation first.

I am sorry this caused you so much grief!

Jared Emin

I am sorry about the

jpittenger — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:00:51 -0700

I am sorry about the inconvenience, this feature is designed to save time in situations where both parties have already agreed to work together. If a buyer hired you for a job you didn't want, you ought to leave him bad feedback and tell him that he was out of line. Do you think we should add something like a 'did not want this job' option to the end assignment reason list?

Buyers are instructed to only directly hire providers who are expecting and want to be hired (usually a repeat customer). The help content and hiring form both warn not hire providers out of the blue like that.

There has been talk previously about limiting the feature to only be accessible in repeat customer situations. I will forward this on to see if there's been an update on that.

Jacqui Pittenger :: Forum Moderator
Need help? Visit the Help Center - http://www.odesk.com/help :: Are you oDesk Ready? Take the ORT today!

Hired without even being invited to interview and can't end assignment without giving reason!

nhansen — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:26:44 -0700

And it is showing it as an assigned that was ended even though I never worked for this guy. And there is a link for me to give him feedback...What is that doing there?

By the way, the guilty party is a certain Jared Emin Consulting!