oDesk Newsletter: 10 Ways to Give Yourself a Raise

THE oDESK PERSPECTIVE:

10 Ways to Give Yourself a Raise

The global economic downturn has everyone nervous, but outsourcing (and oDesk) continue to grow. If you've already established yourself in our global marketplace, there are ways you can continue to thrive -- even raise your rates -- in the midst of a staggering economy. Here's a sample of the 10 ways to keep going up while everything else seems to be falling down:

• Round up the rate your buyer pays.
• Certify your skills.
• Make your resume sizzle.
• Increase your Internet presence.
• Check out the full list!

SUCCESS STORIES:

6th Sense Analytics

We talk to Todd Olson, cofounder and president of software maker 6th Sense Analytics. He came to oDesk looking for a provider with skills so rare he didn't think he'd ever find 'em -- but he did, and he continues to turn to oDesk providers for the programming skills no small company can keep in-house.

Q:  At this point, are you regularly relying on the same providers, or do you find yourself hiring from scratch as each project arises?

A:  Honestly, hiring from scratch. We go after specialists, not generalists, so we need to find new folks often.

Q:  What advice do you have for providers looking to continue their freelance success in the face of the current downturn?

A:  Continue to work hard on broadening and deepening skill sets. It's absolutely survival of the fittest. I think most customers want the absolute best possible resource. Being just another PHP developer or something is not as attractive as being one who has a larger variety of skills, strong certifications, etc.

Read Todd's thoughts on the economy, the technology of remote work, and what buyers do to find the best providers, in the full interview.

New Features

We've rolled out a few great new features this month. Here's two of them:

Message Center Preferences

No need to flood your email inbox with messages you want in your message center; you can opt to have most notifications sent exclusively to your oDesk Message Center! Customize your Message Center Preferences now!

iPhone and osCommerce Tests

We've added iPhone development and osCommerce qualification tests -- two of our most highly in-demand skills!

Round of Applause

743 providers from 57 countries, including Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, and Sri Lanka got their first jobs last month. These 743 providers have already racked up 30,674 oDesk hours and over $342,158 in just one month. Congrats to the providers who landed their first jobs in September and October!

A special round of applause to the top new providers by total earnings:

Jason S, Vishnu B, Richard C, Christian H, Jeff B, Michael B, Alexander G, Harry L, Dmitry A, Mukesh S

Want to see your name listed here next month? Get oDesk Ready and apply to job openings!

Provider Spotlight

	Andrew N Web developer (PHP/mySQL, Javascript, AJAX, Smarty, streaming media) Provider Company: ASM Group Total oDesk Hours: 60 Feedback: 5.0 Comments: "A Pleasure to work with. Really knows his stuff!!! The project was done fast and exactly how I needed it."
	Megan O Great Secretary Total oDesk Hours: 112 Feedback: 4.7 Comments: "Megan is great -- -competent and professional all the way. I highly recommend her when you need to dig in and find out information about something."
	Raeed R Joomla expert, Web Designer, Email Designer (HTML\CSS\XML) Total oDesk Hours: 0 Feedback: 5.0 Comments: "Raeed did an excellent job. Very skilled and patient with me. Very cooperative and always available when I was"
	Ruth S Experienced Writer - Editor - Researcher Total oDesk Hours: 383 Feedback: 4.7 Comments: "Ruth was a great asset. I would recommend her for any technical writing requirements."

Buzzworthy

Our favorite blog this month was John Cow's description of his first ventures onto oDesk. For a neophyte buyer, he sure has an intuitive understanding of the process. His first post (stay tuned for more) describes posting jobs, interviewing and using small test gigs to find the best programmer for a longer-term job. Wisely, he knows better than to merely seek the cheapest provider:

I will then cross check the cost per hour, quality and time to come up with my best candidate... The winner may not be the cheapest or fastest, but instead will be the person that has the best balance of all three.

Welcome aboard, John! Kudos to our other favorite bloggers: providers Kate Lister and Tiara Mejos, and top IDC tech analyst Michael Fauscette. Catch all the winning buzz on the oBlog, and send your own oDesk-related blog links to us at Buzz@oDesk.com!

Vote Result

Score: 10.0, Votes: 2