Candidacies
Loading
About Candidacies
When you apply to a job you become a candidate. We keep all the information about your applications and all the actions you might perform as a candidate together in one convenient location. Your candidacies list contains all the jobs you've ever applied or been invited to. We keep your candidacies in three separate lists, based on the actions you can perform:
- Active: Current, open applications, including current interviews. You can change rate or end your candidacy for jobs in this list.
- Invitations: Pending interview invitations sent by buyers for jobs you have not applied to. You need to accept or decline these invitations.
- Inactive: Past applications, including those you ended, declined or were rejected from and all your assignments. You can only look at information about jobs in this list, there are no actions to perform.
You can use the table headings to sort the lists and click on the job titles to see your applications.
Staffing managers have the ability to control your affiliated contractors' candidacies and interviews. The affiliated contractors can see their lists, end candidacies and accept/decline interview invitations. However, they cannot see or change their rates.
All the job titles in your candidacies lists are linked to their individual applications. Your application includes all your candidacy-specific information (like your cover letter, rate, etc.) as well as the job post itself (including the job description, list of other candidates and whether or not the buyer's payment method is verified).
This information is especially helpful if you're considering ending the candidacy, wondering if you should accept the job or curious how things worked out after your candidacy ended. It's the place to look if you want to know:
- What did I say in my cover letter?
- Did the buyer verify their payment method?
- How many other candidates am I competing against?
- What's the buyer's time zone?
- How's the buyer's history (and feedback score)?
- Who got the job (and how much were they paid)?
oDesk lets you know how many users have added you to their lists of favorite providers. We can't tell you who added you to their list for privacy reasons. There's no way to know why the user favorited you - but it's generally a good thing. So please just take it as a compliment. The information is there purely as an ego-booster.
oDesk sets a limit, known as a quota, on the number of job applications you can submit. Remember that the quota is the maximum number of jobs you can apply to, not a requirement that you must fulfill! (Read more about how we calculate your quota.)
The inactive candidacies list can actually be quite useful for tracking your history. Use it to spot rejection-reason trends or to check your old applications. Ever want to know who won that job you were fighting for or see the original job post for your current assignment? No problem. Just click on the job title in your inactive candidacies.
Managing Candidacies
Just like mailing your cover letter to an offline business, you can't make changes after you send in your cover letter. So it's imperative that you carefully proof-read, spell-check and edit your cover letter before submitting an application. You can check out our blog for some great cover letter tips. Yes, it can be tough when you realize you made a mistake. Learn from the experience and do better next time. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
You can change your application's rate anytime before you're hired. Your rate is not restricted to the buyer's stated budget and you may change it, as necessary, during your candidacy. Generally, we only advise you change your rate to reflect new terms you negotiate with the buyer during an interview.
- Go to My Jobs > Candidacies.
- Find the relevant job in the list of Active Candidacies.
- Select Change Rate in the Actions column. Or click on the job's title if you want to look at your application first. There's also a Change Rate button at the top of that page.
- Enter the New Rate. This is the amount you will receive. The form will calculate and add the oDesk fee on top of this rate. Check the total New Charge Rate. Adjust the rate you entered as needed.
- When you're ready, click the Change Rate button. You can come back and change your rate again, if necessary.
After hiring, only the buyer can increase the assignment's rate and only the provider can decrease it.
Staffing managers can manage all their affiliated contractors' candidacies. Before Step 2 above, you'll need to choose the relevant team name at the top of the page. Then you can select the correct affiliated contractor from the list.
Affiliated contractors cannot change (or even see) their applications' rates. They must have a staffing manager make any changes for them.
Affiliated contractors cannot change (or even see) their applications' rates. They must have a staffing manager make any changes for them.
You can change your application's price anytime before you're hired. Your price is not restricted to the buyer's stated budget and you may change it, as necessary, during your candidacy. Generally, we only advise you change your price to reflect new terms you negotiate with the buyer during an interview.
- Go to My Jobs > Candidacies.
- Find the relevant job in the list of Active Candidacies.
- Select Change Bid in the Actions column. Or click on the job's title if you want to look at your application first. There's also a Change Bid button at the top of that page.
- Enter the New Bid. This is the amount you will receive. The form will calculate and add the oDesk fee on top of your price. Check the total New Charge Amount. Adjust the price you entered as needed.
- [Optional] If you require Upfront Payment, enter the percentage of your price the buyer will need to pay upfront. The form will calculate and show you the Dollars you would receive upfront based on this percentage. Asking for upfront payment is optional. It helps lessen the risk of fixed-price work for providers, but increases the risk for buyers.
- When you're ready, click the Change Bid button. You can come back and change your price again, if necessary.
Staffing managers can manage all their affiliated contractors' candidacies. Before Step 2 above, you'll need to choose the relevant team name at the top of the page. Then you can select the correct affiliated contractor from the list.
Affiliated contractors cannot change (or even see) their applications' prices. They must have a staffing manager make any changes for them.
Affiliated contractors cannot change (or even see) their applications' prices. They must have a staffing manager make any changes for them.
Payment for fixed-price work is not guaranteed. Upon hiring, you will receive any upfront payment you specified. But if, when and how much to pay after that is totally at the buyer's discretion. It could be more or less than the accepted price.
You can end your candidacy anytime before you're hired. You are never obligated to accept a position you do not want. oDesk does not penalize you for ending candidacies.
- Go to My Jobs > Candidacies.
- Find the relevant job in the list of Active Candidacies.
- Click on the job's title in the Job Title (ID) column to view your application. Clicking one of the links in the Info column will take you to the same page.
- Press the End Candidacy button at the top of the page.
- Select a Reason. Choose Other if you'd like to write a custom or more detailed message. The buyer will be notified that you have withdrawn your application and given the reason.
- When you're ready, click the End Candidacy button. This cannot be undone. You cannot reapply to the same job unless the buyer sends you an invitation to interview.
Applications count against your quota for only 7 days, but as a courtesy to the buyer and your fellow candidates, we urge you to end your candidacy as soon as you decide that you are no longer interested in the job or that it's not a good fit.
Staffing managers can manage all their affiliated contractors' candidacies. Before Step 2 above, you'll need to choose the relevant team name at the top of the page. Then you can select the correct affiliated contractor from the list.
Affiliated contractors can end their own candidacies. We recommend staffing managers discuss with them whether or not they should be doing that for themselves.
Affiliated contractors can end their own candidacies. We recommend staffing managers discuss with them whether or not they should be doing that for themselves.
If your candidacy ended without you doing anything, it's either because the buyer has rejected you or because oDesk had to close the job. You cannot reapply to the same job unless the buyer sends you an invitation to interview (it's rare, but they do change their minds sometimes). When rejecting a candidate, here are the choices the buyer sees:
Occasionally, you may receive a rejection notification with the reason: "Job opening was inappropriate". This indicates that the buyer or the job itself, violated oDesk policy, so oDesk closed the job. It does not mean that you have done anything wrong. If the buyer tries to remain in contact after the job was ended as inappropriate, please report it to our support team.
If you are an affiliated contractor, your staffing manager may have ended your candidacy for you. Please contact them with any questions.
If you have any information on potential policy violations or suspicious activity, please let us know. It is impossible for oDesk alone to find all inappropriate posts and behaviors without your help!
It's especially important to report buyers who:
- Want you to pay money to get a job. This includes 'reimbursable site registration fees' and 'assurance deposits'. Do not fall for these scams!
- Ask you to contact them directly (via email, chat, etc.) before your candidacy status changes to 'interview'.
- Ask for your contact info (email address, chat ID, etc.) before your candidacy status changes to 'interview'.
- Offer to pay you directly via PayPal, Western Union, etc. instead of through oDesk.
- Tell you to start work before hiring you in oDesk. You can see if you've really been hired in My Jobs > Assignments.
What about buyers who want custom samples or unpaid test work?
This one is a judgement call because it's normal for a buyer to need to see your portfolio. But oDesk doesn't think you should be giving your work away for free. Ask yourself, "If the buyer asked every interviewee to submit this kind of 'sample', would there be any point in hiring someone?" If the answer is no, report the buyer. If the 'test' seems appropriate, but is going to take a significant amount of time, ask the buyer to hire you for a small trial assignment (test drive) instead.
This one is a judgement call because it's normal for a buyer to need to see your portfolio. But oDesk doesn't think you should be giving your work away for free. Ask yourself, "If the buyer asked every interviewee to submit this kind of 'sample', would there be any point in hiring someone?" If the answer is no, report the buyer. If the 'test' seems appropriate, but is going to take a significant amount of time, ask the buyer to hire you for a small trial assignment (test drive) instead.
Interviews
You will be notified when you receive an invitation to interview. If you didn't already apply to the job, the pending invitation will appear at the top of your Candidacies page, pending your response. You should accept or decline these invitations as soon as possible. What if I did already apply to the job?
- Go to My Jobs > Candidacies.
- Find the relevant job in the list of Invites to Interview.
- Click on the job's title to review the job post and buyer's message.
- Click on the Accept or Decline button at the top of the page. The same buttons are also available on the main Candidacies page.
- If you accept, you'll need to fill out an application (including a cover letter), then press the Accept Interview button. If you decline, select a reason (writing a comment is optional), then press the Decline Interview button.
- If you accepted, proceed to your Message Center Inbox to reply to the buyer's message.
If you already applied to the job, the system automatically accepts the invitation for you (you will not be asked to accept or decline). Just find the job in your list of active candidacies to check the details of your application. An interview message should be waiting for you in the Message Center.
Affiliated contractors can accept or decline invitations, but they are not asked for a rate or price on their applications (the application is automatically assigned the profile rate or buyer's budget amount). A staffing manager can change the rate or price afterwards, if necessary. But we recommend staffing managers discuss with their affiliated contractors whether or not they should be accepting and declining for themselves.
Staffing managers can also accept or decline their affiliated contractors' invitations. They are asked to enter a rate or price on the applications.
Staffing managers can also accept or decline their affiliated contractors' invitations. They are asked to enter a rate or price on the applications.
Interviews begin inside oDesk. Buyers can communicate with interviewees through the oDesk Message Center Inbox until both parties feel comfortable enough to share their contact information (email address, chat ID, etc.). For privacy reasons, oDesk does not share contact info at the interview stage. But you're free to move your interview out of the Message Center - to email, chat, voice or even phone - if you wish.
Generally, buyers will give you instructions on how to proceed in the personal message sent with the interview invitation or they will send you a separate message (also in the Message Center) right away. You should reply to their message. Be sure to let the buyer know your availability and answer their questions. Contact the buyer as soon as possible, but keep in mind that the buyer may be in a distant time-zone (check the application if they don't mention a time-zone in their message). Only the buyer can initiate contact (there's no way to contact a buyer who hasn't send you a message yet).
For a 'live' interview, some buyers want to set up a specific time, while others will simply ask you to send a message (aka IM or ping) whenever you can catch them online. Either way, it is polite to send an email or oDesk message confirming when you'll be available, as well as the chat service/ID you will use to contact them. If voice or video chat is an option for you, make sure you let them know.
Check out our blog for some interviewing tips! SavvyLancer and oDesk Insider also offer some great advice.
Staffing managers often interview on behalf of their affiliated contractors. This is not required and not all buyers will agree to hire without an interview with the specific user who would be doing the work as well. Staffing managers are carbon-copied (cc'd) on interview messages from the buyer as follows:
- Buyer-initiated candidacies: All staffing managers are cc'd.
- Affiliated contractor-initiated candidacies: All staffing managers are cc'd.
- Staffing manager-initiated candidacies: Submitting staffing manager and company owner are CC'd.
You're always free to decide you don't want a job. All you need to do is end your candidacy. If you've interviewed for the job, we recommend you send the buyer a note first. It's the polite thing to do - and it's very important if you would like the buyer to consider you for future jobs.
If you decide you don't want the job, but the buyer already hired you, you'll need to end the assignment.
Congratulations! Here's what you need to do:
- Confirm that you've really been hired in My Jobs > Assignments. If it's an hourly job, remember that you can't log time until the start date.
- Send the buyer a message to say thanks and find out how to get started. oDesk doesn't have any information about the actual work you need to do. The buyer's in charge of managing and coordinating the assignment. You'll need to work together to make it a success.
- Make sure you're familiar with the oDesk Team application, team room, work diary, reports, weekly schedule, withdrawal methods and policies.
- Get to work!
