What is the biggest signal of quality in a job opening?
on Fri, 2008-03-14 05:26. Consultant
I KNOW THE BUYER ALTIMATELY THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT, WORKING ON FIX HOURS BASIS IS NEGOTIABLE CAN BE OFFERED THE ASSIGNMENT OR COMPLETION BASIS.
IF BUYER OFFER THE DETAILS WORK OFFER CAN BE QUOTED MOST COMPETETIVELY.
BY PRAKASH
It's actually a toss between
It's actually a toss between skills requested and detailed job description for me. 
I really like buyers who know exactly what they want and can communicate it well to their providers esp at the very beginning of the working relationship.
I know this is not exactly what is being asked here but someone here on the forum mentioned elsewhere that she uses a template for the agreements reached at the beginning of a project (e.g. deadline, deliverables, project milestones). It might be a good idea to make that part of the oDesk system so that everything is in "black and white" once someone (or a group of providers) has (have) already been hired. That way, it can minimize the confusion and communication problems later on. This template or form can also serve as a basis for oDesk mediation should any dispute occur in the future. Like in my case, I had no idea that the buyer was going to compute the average number of hours it took for team members to finish 1 batch of data output and use that as the basis of their "deadline" per batch.
What do you guys think?
It's actually a toss between skills requested and detailed job
As mainly a buyer, I perfectly agree with this and the next comment.
I spend time to try to make the best description in detailed job part because I think it's the key for a good understanding and also to have an idea of how long the buyer is able to present, then manage the work.
There you can see (our may be able to see) what's the job and how much the buyer is clear or not. But some buyers don't want to give "too much" information before a clear deal about confidential matters.
It's not so easy for us to make a choice in the skills because, for example in matter of graphic works, both first and second level list definitions are (too) general. Then, we often need further complementary skills. But it's quite important to show them in the right order.
Finally, if you act as a buyer by looking for a PHP developer that can also make real good Flash animations and top graphics.. It can be better to make 3 requests. It's the buyer's job to well know and manage/dispatch it's work.
What I could see at this time is that, even if you make a detailled offer with clear request and explanations, timing and so on, you get a lot of answers (crazy) and in these only a few are matching what you described.
I still thinking the detailled job description is the key. We have to complete it in the best way possible and providers have to.. read it!
It's right that it could be interesting for both buyers and providers if we had to complete some more pre-formated informations such as:
- Is this part of a team job or a complete work?
- Did you already plan the timing of the job or is it an estimation?
and so on.. that match with your listing (e.g. deadline, deliverables, project milestones) and others like "do you provide an analysis or some other material? Witch one? (type / format)".
Detailed Job Description
My experience in the IT industry that any client that has money on the table but can't explain to you what he or she wants to spend it on is going to be unsatisfied with what ever comes out of the project. That is part of why proper life-cycle development is important, and that gets incorporated into any bids that I put on a poorly defined project.
It is also the reason I require 30% in advance on fixed cost jobs. That pays for me to take the time to work out with the customer what it is they want me to do for them. At the end of that process, we might conclude we can't work together for whatever reason. But I have something in my pocket to cover my time in writing the project description for him.
--Michel (Independent oDesk Provider since February 2008)
It's a toss-up between
on Fri, 2008-03-14 14:42.It's a toss-up between feedback score and total number of hours for me. So I chose total hours. Personally, I'd be wary of buyer who didn't satisfy ALL of the criteria listed in the poll. But my personal ranking is:
1. Feedback
2. Total Hours
3. Detailed Job Description
4. Skills Requested
5. Type of Job
6. Duration of Assignment.
The success of a software
The success of a software project is directly related to the accuracy of the software requirements IMHO. Badly defined requirements lead to increased cost/time and decreased quality/satisfaction with the software almost every time.
Savvy buyer
A buyer that doesn't know what they need is a waste of time and huge liability. They keep changing their mind, will make technically non-feasible demands and might eventually just back out on you, who has the time and patience for that?
Commitment and Your Persecution
Theresa Schlott - When the criteria calls for your originality and deep thinking and persuasiveness, finding your feet and working over sentences until you feel you are using the right work, and a steady grasp of knowledge coming from it begins to make sense throughout the whole article, I find a great deal of persecution will teach a writer til he masters English will become a better writer and thereby receiving the better criticism of the buyer.
Data entry On Internet marketing
Did anyone out there give a try to Wide Circles or WideCircles. They are new word of mouth advertising platform, apparently they can push massive amount of messages through social network mediums like forums,blogs,wiki's and so on. They say that they only bill for posts active for minimum of 5 days and price seems pretty affordable. I am going to give Wide Circles aka WideCircles a try since I am tired of PPC fraud. http://widecircles.com
Persecution
As a professional writer and as a person I would never work for anyone who persecuted me. Active, systematic mistreatment would make me run as fast as I could and take my expertise with me. It is an ugly word and an even uglier way to do business.
We were new once too
While I understand that as a provider that buyers need a certain comfort level before they hire us, they do have the advantage of us having tests completed, a hopefully honest resume and in most cases some sort of a portfolio. So the buyer has some comfort about what they are getting from us initially.
On the other hand, if we have NOTHING to base our decisions as to whether to post for a job on (i.e. no buyer feedback) - especially on fixed rate jobs - we are sitting out there with no clear idea of how this buyer is going to treat a person.
I know that we have to take some risks, but for me this is a big qualifier today - I do admit that the one or two times I have decided to overlook 'slightly negative' feedback I've been disappointed with the buyers communication and other aspects of the working relationship and this is what drives my vote for feedback!
I agree that a solid job description helps as do some of the other things but overall I have to admit to feeling more comfortable if I see good, positive feedback from other oDesk users.
Doreen