Odesk is not a good place to find a job

It is well known that many of the tests are a joke, but I believe that they are trying to fix that. If you have any professional certifications to add to your profile, that helps.

I am not one of the ones who earns thousands, but oDesk is a good supplementary income!

PS - Not the UK's fault - the British generally use the US management model!

Did you know that as of Nov 07, 2007, there are a total of 36,900 providers from the US alone, it was followed by India with a total provider population of 27,350 and on the third spot is the Philippines with 13,500 Providers.

So, what does that mean, everyone can make it here, there is no special route, just patience, perseverance and apply for as may assignments as you can (most of the time more than you can handle), because at the end of the day, you may not get hired to any of them yet, but don't give up. I spent my first one and a half month just pullling on my hair, the only good thing about it, is that it happens six months ago.

Or oodd... or whatever...?

You've put no time and effort into your profile and you're blaming oDesk because you're not succeeding?  Remember something: Any freelancer has to *WORK* to get work.  If you're not willing to commit the time, energy and effort into making sure you're selling yourself don't expect oDesk or anyone else to do it for you.

Doreen

So far, i think oDesk's not bad. I have registered as oDesk provider since september 2nd 08 and not too long, in 14 days i get my first job although it's just a fixed price job (cheap price anyway) .. 

oDesk, could i get a hourly job and when..?? it's just joke question, so ignore please..

I have been here less than a week. I start my first job through oDesk on monday. Maybe you guys should take more time to boost your resume's and pass the tests. Add some brainbench.com tests to your profile, those allways look good. Remember in a job you have to sell yourself, so polish up your cover letters!

Don't give up, if I can do it so can you!

Regards,

Charles R Cagle II

hi i would love to know how u did it, its amazing u ve worked every single week

u r saying if a idiot like u, i dont think so,ur prfoile is just amazing i must say im impressed. im a new odesk provider ie mainly blogs/forum/online research, writing etc. i was wondering is seo/word press for computer prof or can a layman like me do it?

As I pointed out, I didn't have very much experience in the web-development industry before I came to Odesk.  I had only had one job where I was laid off because it was costing the company money to train someone who didn't have enough skills to give enough assignments to.

I basically started my career on Odesk, as everything I learned before Odesk, besides the one job I had at jukeboxalive.com, has been entirely self-taught.  It's true, I do have a fairly strong profile because I've managed to build a strong skill set. It isn't something that happened overnight. It has been a matter of doing a wide variety of assignments (right here on Odesk).

The way I got my first assignment was very simple:  I made a list of as many assignments as I could that I thought I could do (at the time I only knew HTML, CSS, and some PHP).  I sent a very similar cover-letter to each one, offering my services at "less than normal rates", because I was "seeking to get established here, to gain a strong rating".  I got one assignment out of the first 20 that I applied to.  I worked as hard as I could at it, whenever I had a question about what I was doing (remember I was pretty much a newbie), I clocked off so that I wouldn't be charging for research.  This way, I was being as cost-effective as possible to the buyer.  I finished as fast as I could, and submitted it to the buyer.  He was happy, and gave me 5 stars.  He even hired me sometime later to do something else for him.

After I had some stars next to my name, I reached out again.  This time, my cover letter said "I have a positive rating on Odesk, and am seeking to gain more positive reviews, by working at a reduced rate".  I kept my rate low, and it worked.  Pretty soon I was able to scrape out a living by working at a reduced rate.  Fortunately, for me, I already knew how to make layouts with CSS, and no tables, which gave me a bit of an edge.  My programming experience as a hobbiest helped me a lot, as I started to learn more about JavaScript and PHP.

Then, in April, four months after I started on Odesk, I got hired by someone who wanted to use me on a regular basis.  We are still working together today.  He wanted me to learn more about technologies that were important to him, and based on the code samples I gave him (almost all gathered from assignments on Odesk), he trusted that I would be smart enough to learn them.  He gave me a BIG assignment, working on a website for a multi-million dollar real-estate super-complex in Dallas, TX.  I was a little scared at first, because there were challenges I had never had before, but I did the same thing for him that I did for the very first assignment that I had ever had:  I didn't charge for research, and clocked off if I had any significant questions about the technology we were using.

Once I built my first database-driven, interactive site, more followed, and soon I was able to attract part time side-work at a higher rate.  Eventually, my main guy saw what I was doing on the side, and offered me a raise to keep me steady with him.  I got a raise from another client also, and now I work at a much higher rate.

I've been here just less than a year.  The only time I haven't worked is when I went on vacation in the Spring.

thanks for sharing your story... its very inspiring to odeskers just starting out

When I first started nearly two years ago it took me a while to get my first job.  That one came and went and then another dry spell.  I realized two things that helped me.  First since I was new and did not have many hours I was being over looked because of the amount of hourly wage I had asked.  I made a decision to drop it a little, hey I can raise it again at anytime.  Then I also realized I needed more hours on oDesk.  I started bidding for jobs that were lower than I really wanted, but thought they will get me noticed.

 My decisions worked for me.  That one or two jobs at low rates got me noticed and I have had many job offers since. I have actually turned down more jobs probably than I have done and my hours have increased over the last year.

Now I am not making tons of money here, because I do this on the side as I am a Soldier in the US Army, but it keeps me busy and earns me some extra cash.

So, if you are having a difficult time here maybe it is time to rethink your strategy, but don't just throw up your hands and quit.

Take it from an old Soldier dedication and spirit will get you what you want.

i think its amazing, ur story is inspiring for new odeskers

Hi Tammy,

After this week's blast of this-site-sucks posts by newbies in the forums, it's refreshing to see someone with a positive outlook. 

As for your profile, I think it's great!  There are a couple of weird characters in your resume (usually from copying/pasting from Word) that I would remove if I were you.

I really don't have many recommendations for your profile other than a couple of small grammatical errors in your overview/objective, and rearranging the objective.  I think your objective is a bit long, but then again, so is mine...and there really isn't much that I would suggest taking out of yours.

First, I think you should move this whole part from the bottom to the beginning of the second paragraph (note correction in red) - it puts the important information up at the top (i.e. the reasons the buyer should hire you):

"With my knack for numbers, a willingness to adapt, systemize, and be highly organized, I feel I would be a very valuable asset to any company I work for. I take pride in my strong work ethics, my positive attitude, and my willingness to be a team player."

Also, this part in the 2nd paragraph should read:

"As an employee with a proven track record [...]"

This sentence could probably be taken out completely:

"I have much needed experience and am always looking for opportunities to increase my knowledge and personal growth."

I would also remove the last "thank you" at the end, since you already say "I thank you for your time" earlier.  In fact, all of the thank you's can probably be taken out...just say thank you in your cover letters, but let them read your profile as your sales brochure.

Other than those minor things, I think you have a great profile.  Just remember to write targeted cover letters on every application - I usually use a semi-formal tone in my cover letters...this way 1) it doesn't sound canned, 2) buyers know from the start that I'm not "stuffy", but 3) it's not so informal that it reads like a chat transcript.

- Danalyn

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

Thank you so much Danalyn!  I will be making those changes shortly.  It was nice of you to take the time to review my profile and I really appreciate it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Tammy

You ought to be putting that time and energy into filling out your profile/portfolio and taking tests.

Buyers have to make their decisions based on what the can see - if your profile is empty, why should they hire you when they can view other provider profiles who have clearly laid everything out in front of them?  I'm willing to bet that for every person that applies with a blank profile, there are 10 others with a complete profile showcasing their experience, skills, and most importantly: SAMPLES IN THEIR PORTFOLIO.

Every interview I've had in the last 2 months the buyer invited me to.  They would never have been able to find me if my profile was blank.  In two months I have applied to one job, and that was just last night because I was interested in a change (but I know full well that there's a 99% chance the buyer won't hire me because it's outside my niche...but I digress).

Fill out your profile.  If buyers see something the need and want, they'll hire you.  If it's blank, they'll hire someone else who has something they want.

- Danalyn

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

You can't possibly expect anyone to hire you with no way to review your skills.

...updating your profile and taking some tests.

You are headed in the right direction and if you need some help with your profile, just asked the oDesk community for some help.

Regards