Job Openings and Application Policy

Posting Job Openings

oDesk provides Buyers with two ways to list Assignments: fixed price or hourly. Any registered oDesk Buyer can post a job opening at any time and it will immediately be made available for review and application by oDesk Providers depending on the desired visibility. All job openings that are posted in the oDesk network are subject to review by oDesk. If an opening is deemed to be inappropriate for any reason, it may be removed immediately and may result in the suspension or even termination of the User’s account.

Listing Guidelines

By agreeing to the oDesk Marketplace User Agreement and included policies, you agree:

• Not to post seeking work as a provider
  
• Not to disclose direct contact information (email address, phone number, or chat ID) in your job posting, message board, or attachments.
• Not to request providers send their direct contact information (email address, phone number, or chat ID) in their cover letters.
• Not to accept any offers to work in exchange for payment using any method (Western Union, etc.) outside the oDesk billing & payment system.
• Not to request fees from Providers for applying or bidding on your assignments.
• Not to request work related to school projects.
• Not to offer payment using any method (Western Union, etc.) outside the oDesk billing & payment system.
  (For an exception, please see the Buy Out section in the Billing & Payments Policy)
• Not to included offensive language or content
• Not to request a clone of copyrighted material
• Not to intend any illegal activity
  
• Not to post jobs involving the use of spyware, spam-bots, viruses, or any other products with malicious intent
• Not to post advertisements for other businesses or products
• If the work listed involves adult content, the phrase, "(Adult Content)" must be included in the Job Description.

We additionally recommend that you follow these guidelines:

• Post Assignments with clear scope, well-defined deliverables and required time frames.
• Post thorough, detailed, and serious job openings.
• Cancel openings if there is no further intent to hire a provider.
• Either hire or reject interviewees after 7 business days.
• Carefully and thoughtfully make hire requests.
• Answer clarifying questions from Providers and update the Assignment description.
• Evaluate multiple proposals against criteria important to you, such as a Provider’s work experience, education, portfolio, certifications, references, feedback from prior Buyers, location, communication style, and cost.
• Accept a proposal only when it has a clear statement of work, well-defined deliverables and milestones, precise time frames and payment terms.

If you are unsure of whether or not your job opening is appropriate for the oDesk network, please feel free to submit a help ticket to discuss it with our staff.

Submitting Applications to Job Openings

As a Provider wishing to provide Services through oDesk, you must complete the Provider registration process, including the oDesk Readiness Test, and agree to the Marketplace User Agreement and the enclosed Policies herein. You agree to provide true, accurate, complete information and to update such information to maintain its truthfulness, accuracy and completeness. oDesk reserves the right, at any time commencing from initial registration and onward, to verify any and all information provided in your registration, profile, assignments or other available information contained within the oDesk site. oDesk may suspend or terminate your account upon the discovery that any information you provided or posted is incomplete, inaccurate or otherwise misleading.

Finding work through oDesk

oDesk strives to provide a trusted, rewarding, and challenging workplace for all Providers in the network where each Provider finds exciting work opportunities. However, as a marketplace, oDesk cannot and does not guarantee work to any Provider. Providers are encouraged to apply to job openings that meet their interests and let Buyers know their qualifications for the particular openings. The community forum is also a place where Providers may exchange ideas and information about finding, applying to, and working on any job openings.

Bidding or Applying to Job Openings

As a Provider of Services, you agree to:

• Never disclose direct contact information (email address, phone number, or chat ID) in your cover letters or job message board posts.
• Never misrepresent skills, experience, portfolio, or time estimates
• Only bid or apply to assignments for which you are truly qualified and which you can commit to completing within the Buyer’s requested time frame.
• Always submit a cover letter customized to address the specific requests and needs of the job opening.
• Request clarifications of scope, deliverables and due dates from Buyers, as needed.
• Submit an accurate bid or application proposal reflecting your understanding of the scope of the Assignment and the amount of time/effort you plan to commit in order to provide high Buyer satisfaction.
• Submit a new bid/proposal when needed to reflect any changes to price, delivery date or approach, prior to being hired.
• Inform the Buyer of your available and normal working hours, expected response times to communications and any planned or potential vacations, holidays or other known work outages.
• Not submit unreasonably low bids or test bids.
• Not submit proposals or bids that are made with the intent to commit fraud.
• Not submit boilerplate, placeholder or generic bids or otherwise spam Buyers and their listings.
• Not offer your Services in exchange for good feedback.
• Not accept payment using any method (Western Union, PayPal, etc.) outside the oDesk billing & payment system.
• Not offer to work in exchange for payment using any method (Western Union, etc.) outside the oDesk billing & payment system.
• Respond promptly and professionally to messages from the Buyer.

(subject to the oDesk Marketplace User Agreement)