Getting Hired on oDesk Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Whenever people find out that I work from home and that I work through oDesk, their first question is always how I got hired. It's not an easy task, nor is it easy to explain. Let me give you more details why.

First of all, I got my first job on oDesk after months and months of applying. I went through tons of rejected applications due to the fact that I did not have any feedback on my profile, and I guess some clients just didn't like the thought of working with a newbie. So what did I do?

You should make sure to write a killer cover letter. State in your cover letter why you'd be a good fit for the job as well as any related experience you may have for the job, or any special skills you can put to use. It's also a good idea to attach samples of related work, or offer to create a sample, especially if you're applying for a writing job.

I think one of the things you have to keep in mind is that you should apply for jobs you actually like doing, as well as jobs you know you'll be good at. You shouldn't apply for writing jobs if you're not into writing, and so on. You'll want to build your online reputation and doing things you can and like doing is the best way to go.

Patience and perseverance also comes into play. You'll get rejected a lot of times, but then there's a chance that someone in the far side of the globe will take the risk and hire you. Once that person does hire you, make sure to give it your best so that they won't look for another contractor and keep giving you all of their projects.

That's pretty much all I can think of as of this time with regards to how you can get hired on oDesk. Feel free to leave a comment below in case you have any ideas or suggestions you'd like to share.

oDesk Contractor Appreciation Day 2012 Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Today I was supposed to be at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman for the oDesk Contractor Appreciation Day. However, yesterday was also my scheduled visit to the doctor for a vaccine. I thought my arm wouldn't hurt as much from the vaccine and I could still make it, but now I can barely move my arm. :/

From reading the emails sent plus other blogs and tweets about the oDesk Contractor Appreciation Day, I realized that the invitations were only sent to the highest earning contractors active within the last 6 months. Ugh. So I was very lucky to have received an invitation but I couldn't make it. :(

I also got an invitation for the oDesk Meet and Greet last 2011, and I also did not attend. Ho ho ho. I'm terrible at attending events. I really do hope that oDesk will be back in the Philippines sometime next year, and that time I'll make sure to attend.

My oDesk Experience Monday, March 19, 2012

I joined oDesk back in May 30, 2009 and to date, I never looked back.

In 2009 I had a job as a Quality Assurance Specialist in a call center, and had almost 5 years of working as a call center agent under my belt. This job was my main source of income, and I liked how I get paid regularly. This was very important for me since I had two kids and a lot of dogs who were counting on me. Of course, not to mention the bills to pay that waited every single month too.

While my husband and I worked, my mom in law took care of my kids. So, when she migrated to Hawaii, I didn't have a choice but to stay at home. By then, I was already keeping this blog and writing my thoughts in it, but I never thought I could actually make money online.

Like most people, I was very skeptical with the thought of making money online. I couldn't imagine how a client would want to hire someone halfway across the globe and then actually pay for the work. I mean, it's a piece of cake to just disappear online and not pay what's due, right? So I had my doubts, like everyone did. But I wasn't going to stay at home and not do anything either. With life and the economy as tough as it is now, only one person in the family working just wouldn't cut it. So I Googled and came across oDesk a few months before my mom in law left and before I officially resigned from work.

I applied to literally hundreds of jobs and got declined hundreds of times as well. I used up my weekly limit of 20 job applications every week, and got very disheartening emails about how my application was denied or rejected. But that didn't stop me, as I was determined to find work while I was at home. I worked on improving my oDesk profile and I made sure to include samples of relevant work whenever I applied.

Just a little background on myself, I was the Editor in Chief of my high school newspaper, and writing has always been one of my hobbies. So I made a bunch of sample articles on topics that ranged from everything under the sun to parenting, travel, etc. and submitted those along with my applications. I finally got my first job two (2) months after I joined oDesk. The wait was well worth it.

I was very decided to get a 5 star rating from my client, so I did everything exactly as they wanted, and submitted articles way before the deadline. I wanted to work, and I wanted to be great at this new venture, so I really gave it my best. That same client who first hired me kept re-hiring me because she was so pleased with my work, and the new assignments added valuable feedback to my profile. Soon enough, I was getting hired in most of my applications and I was able to make money out of my online efforts.

About a year later I received a job interview to work as an email support specialist. I passed the exam and interview, and I was working 20 hours a week. I wanted to keep this job, so I did my best. My boss was very happy with my performance and gave me a full time position - I was working 40 hours a week. I was very happy and I wanted to make my boss happy, so I worked even harder. Now, I'm their customer care supervisor and I train new email support specialists. I have unlimited hours of work each week, I work my mornings, and I get paid the hourly rate I want. I was making more than enough to the point that I let go of my other clients who didn't pay as high, and skip other job interviews.

Why am I sharing this to you? For starters, you shouldn't be discouraged - nothing is easy to begin with. But when you get the hang of things mixed with perseverance and a desire to do good, you'll be able to succeed. That's my oDesk experience. :)

You can view my oDesk profile here: https://www.odesk.com/users/~~278f49d6e1640e14

September Online Earnings Sunday, October 10, 2010

I am so late in making this post...like 10 days late! Ugh. Here's my online earnings for September, amounting to Php 94,998.61, besting all my personal bests for the previous months. Unfortunately, this also comes with a price - I won't be making this much in the coming weeks because one of my assignments ended recently and worse, without notice. The client was very apologetic and said it wasn't my fault and in fact, he ended all contracts with the providers he was working with. I'm hoping he will keep his word about hiring me again when he has the chance.

Why A Lot of People Don't Succeed in oDesk Monday, September 06, 2010

I was reading the comments on oDesk's FaceBook page, and I got really disheartened by some of them. I am sad to hear that there are a lot of providers/contractors out there having a hard time landing jobs, and because of that a lot of them resort to calling oDesk a scam. Believe me, oDesk has been my main income source, and a good one at that. My whole month's salary from working in a call center doesn't even come close to the amount I earn in a week's full of work.

One of the things I noticed is the fact that they complained about something similar - how hard it was to start. Well, nothing's easy at the beginning and I clearly recall how I almost gave up on oDesk myself last year, because all of the jobs I applied for got declined. I knew I couldn't beat other people who had great feedback and built their reputation already, so the only edge I had while I applied for article writing jobs was to make great examples of my work to submit to clients during my application. True enough, one buyer liked my sample and hired me. I gave my best on that first job and eagerly awaited my first feedback, which was 5 out of 5 stars. From then on, she kept re-hiring me for other projects of hers and I built my feedback from there and applied to other jobs too. Now, with over 1,000 oDesk hours and over 40 assignments, I am turning offers down because they do not fit my current work schedule. Plus, I have also retained clients whom I've been working with close to a year now.

Another thing I read which was one of their complaints was the pay. I know there are a lot of providers who charge even less than a dollar per hour, and it is but natural for any client to want to save as much as they can when paying wages. When I started out, I accepted articles of 500 words in length for $1. I saw this as a way for me to prove my writing skills and to build feedback which will help me in the long run, and it did. Now, I get paid $1/100 words, and that's not so bad. Think of oDesk like any other job in the office - you have to start somewhere, and you're not automatically the next CEO upon joining. As you prove your worth to your clients, you can ask for a raise or even bonuses along the way. One of my clients gave me a whopping $500 as a birthday bonus, and even gave me the day off, too!

A blank profile will not get you anywhere. One of the things clients do when going over their list of applicants is to check out your profile. If all that's in there is your name, your hourly rate, and maybe a picture of you, then that's not going to get you anywhere. Take as many oDesk tests you can (don't forget the oDesk Readiness Test so you can apply to 20 jobs a week), and attach relevant samples of your work to your profile. Fill it up with as many pertinent information as you can and when applying, include samples of your work even if the client doesn't ask for it. 

One thing I can say is that oDesk is definitely not a place for the lazy. If you really want to succeed, then you have to make sure you apply for jobs which are relevant to your skill, have patience and perseverance, and see the declined applications as a challenge. It isn't easy but it does get a whole lot better with time and hard work. Trust me, I know. I make 5 figures in a week.

August's Online Earnings Sunday, August 29, 2010

For this month, I've decided to post not only a screenshot of my PayPal account, but also a screenshot of the local bank in the Philippines where I withdraw my online earnings, Unionbank. For me, it's the best bank to use with PayPal as I've never had any problems with it. This month, I made a total of Php88,638.89 ($1,898.09 but the exchange rate varies on the days I made the withdrawals from PayPal to Unionbank). Yey! I also had a blast with my 27th birthday. This has been a really great month for me. :)

July's Online Earnings Monday, August 02, 2010

Well, July wasn't really a good month for my online earnings for this year. I only made a total of Php48,543.11 which is a whole lot lower compared to the amounts I made the previous months. Half of me was distracted with the fact that it was my eldest daughter Keisha's mid quarter exams at school, so I wasn't able to concentrate as much as I wanted to with work. I also got sick for a few days, so I wasn't able to work my usual hours at the time. In any case, I have a feeling August will be a totally different story. ^_^

New oDesk Terms to Learn Wednesday, July 07, 2010

I've been with oDesk since May 2009, and recently they've made some changes not only to the site layout (which was something they also did recently), they changed some of the most commonly used terms.

For example, providers like me who get hired and do the work are now called contractors, and the buyers or the people who provide the jobs and pay providers are now called employers. I think calling buyers as employers pretty much clears everything up and makes that particular term a whole lot easier to understand. The assignment you are working on or the project you are currently hired and part of are now called contracts.

For a full list of the old and new terms, check out this link here. And don't forget to check out my oDesk contractor profile here. Plus, the video below is something you should really watch if you want to know more about oDesk.

June's Online Earnings Thursday, July 01, 2010

June wasn't a pretty bad month for me and my online earnings. When I thought my online earnings for April was the highest, in June I earned Php 79,779.07. I earned Php 8,652.60 more for this month. Hopefully with more hard work, I can earn even more.

oDesk and PayPal are Back to Normal Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A few days ago, an oDesk friend of mine asked me if I was aware of the issue PayPal and oDesk had, an issue I was unaware of (thanks Jasmine!). oDesk providers could not withdraw their earnings to PayPal, and a lot of users complained about this being the only withdrawal method they use. Like me, I rely solely on PayPal to withdraw my oDesk earnings, especially since my oDesk Payoneer card never arrived in the mail.

I am happy to say that oDesk and PayPal are now back to normal, and I was able to withdraw my earnings with no problems at all. I had about 2 weeks worth of earnings stuck while I waited for the issue to be resolved, and I am very thankful it is. With bills to pay and a whole new school year to start for my kid, this news bit was something I was very relieved to hear.

My First Ever Donator Friday, June 04, 2010

I just wanted to share that today I received my first ever donation in the almost three years of this blog's existence  in the amount of $20 (the amount in the picture is different though, because of the PayPal fee).

When I put the PayPal donate button on my blogs, I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever get one, although I did hope for it in the back of my mind. My thanks go out to Robin Durham, a friend I made at oDesk. I will always remember my first ever donator and will always be thankful for her kind heart and generosity. Thanks again!

May's Online Earnings Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Including the bank transfer from PayPal I just made earlier today, I made a total of Php 62,145.81. It's a bit lower than the 71k I made last month, but it's a pretty good amount for someone who just sits in front of a laptop and works from home. :-)

Telesales with Base Pay of 15k over Skype? I don't think so. Saturday, May 15, 2010

The other day I declined a job interview over at oDesk, not because I was too busy or because the buyer was new, but because the pay as I estimated it was too low and that I felt that if I got hired, this would become a problem.

Here's what the guy offered: a base pay of Php 15k monthly, work is from 8am - 4pm with a 1 hour lunch break, fast PC and internet for Skype calls, and "up to" Php 15k commissions. Anyway, for those who have an oDesk account and would like to see this job opening, you can read more about it by clicking this link.

Now, the major reason why I declined is the fact that this job was posted as an hourly job, which means to log in and count your hours, you would need to log into the oDesk time tracking tool. What I was concerned about is the fact that my hourly rate is $8/hour, and if I was to work for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week as in the job description, I would make a whole lot more than the Php 15k budget the buyer had. Now my question is, how would they hire me without paying me my real hourly rate and logging into the oDesk time tracking tool? I somehow had this bad feeling about the job wherein either my hours will not be logged properly, or they won't get paid at all. I don't know about you guys, but a second opinion wouldn't hurt.

Writing a Cover Letter for oDesk Saturday, May 08, 2010

When applying for jobs at oDesk, you will be required to write a cover letter together with your application and your bid for the job. A lot of people who know I work at oDesk ask me what they should write in the cover letter, and here's my response:

• Express your interest for the position. You should write in your cover letter that you are interested in the job, like a line or two that states your interest and willingness to perform the job at hand.
• State any relevant experience for the opening. If you are applying for a customer service job, an article rewriting position, or perhaps a web content writer, state what experience you have in this field. In this way, the potential buyer will become aware that you know what the job at hand entails.
• Recommend that the buyer review your profile. You can do this by making sure that your profile has samples of your work attached to it, or provide the links to them. If you already have feedback built on the site, ask them to review it as well so that the buyers are aware that you deliver quality work.
• Set a time frame for the completion of the project. This is particularly true for fixed price jobs. If you can complete it within a week or less than a month, state it in the cover letter as this information will be very useful for buyers who need a certain project completed as soon as possible.
• Don't forget to thank the buyer. At the conclusion of your cover letter, do not forget to thank the potential buyer for the time they spent reviewing your application. This not only goes to show that you are interested in the opening, you also have good manners.

These are just some of the things I do include in my cover letters, but if you would like to add anything else to it, feel free to do so.

Why I Don't Recommend Data Entry Jobs Saturday, May 08, 2010

A lot of my former officemates in the call center I used to work for as well as old college and high school friends I get reconnected with over at Facebook have been asking me what I do to make money online.

Writing is the main thing I do over at oDesk, and I make a considerable amount out of it. However, I really feel awkward when telling someone what I do when I know that they do not speak/write English very well, which is perfectly understandable since it's not our first language.

One of our neighbors popped by and asked me if I knew of anything she could do online to make money (my mother in law and my husband had their fair share of telling the neighbors what I did and why the only time I go out of the house is to buy an energy drink from the store). I asked her to rate her English skills honestly as the work I did entailed a lot of writing, and I would have been more than happy to have her write some of the articles I needed done. Unfortunately, her self-assessed English skilled were, let's say not so well, and she asked me about data entry.

I've seen a lot of openings for data entry jobs over at oDesk, but this is definitely a path I will not tread. The pay is extremely low (like a couple of cents for an hour's work) and it's a no-brainer job. I have always viewed work as something you enjoy and learn from at the same time, and if it's not any of the two I mentioned above, then it's not worth it.

Sure, data entry jobs are easy, but come on! Who wants to spend all day clicking CTRL + C and CTRL +V? It's a hilariously redundant job, and there's no challenge and fulfillment in it.

One of the things why I love writing online is the fact that I get to learn and research when writing articles. Before we bought this netbook I'm using, I wrote an article about LED lights, and I of course became aware of the many benefits of LED lights, particularly energy-efficiency. When the guy we bought my netbook from informed me that the screen was made up of LED lights, I told him I was taking it while my husband gave me a puzzled look. I then explained what LED lights were (and the sales guy was pretty impressed) which made my husband nod in agreement.

There are many other things when the topics I've researched and written about came to be of use in real life, like when we chose an LCD TV to buy, mobile phone applications, and even digital cameras. I like how I can learn and earn at the same time, which is why I really do not recommend data entry jobs. These are just the type of jobs you won't learn anything from.

oDesk April Earnings Saturday, May 01, 2010

I'm back again for another post on how much I made online on April 2010. This month is by far my best month for the year 2010 as I made a total of Php 71,126.47. I'm making these posts not to brag or show off that I'm doing well online, but to prove and inspire others that this can be done. Making money online is not all a scam, especially if you have a skill like writing. There are plenty of other things you can do online, like translation for example. There's a lot of things you can do online to supplement your income, and perhaps like me, focus on working full time online so that you can spend time with your family and kids like I do.

oDesk March Earnings Friday, April 30, 2010

Here's a screenshot of my online earnings for the month of March 2010. I am actually posting this to prove to those who are doubtful that people can actually earn online, especially for those who think earning online is one big scam. This is something I wish I had done sooner so that I didn't have to spend days and nights away from my kids when I could actually earn three to four times more than my call center job. For this month, I made a total of Php 56,285.19.

oDesk February Earnings Thursday, April 29, 2010

As promised, here's the screenshot of my oDesk earnings for February. For this month, I made a total of Php 31,020.17, a bit more than last month's earnings.

I'll be posting March's earnings tomorrow.

oDesk January Earnings Wednesday, April 28, 2010

I've decided to post a screenshot of my oDesk earnings for January 2010. The month was kinda slow for me, but I managed to earn a total of Php 28,295.55. Here's the screenshot.

I'll be posting the rest of my earnings up to April in the succeeding posts. If you want to sign up for oDesk, click the banner below.

An Invitation to Rent a Coder Friday, March 19, 2010

I was logged in on one of my hourly jobs over at oDesk when I received an email from Nicole from Rent A Coder. It's a site similar to oDesk and other freelancing sites, and there were certain points raised by Nicole which makes their site "better" than oDesk. Before you start reading the rest of this entry, I suggest you visit my post entitled oDesk February Earnings where the comment was left (which also reminds me that I need to post a screenshot of my earnings for March!). For reading purposes, here's what her comment was as it appears on the post I stated above:

Hi, this is Nicole from Rent a Coder. I'd like to congratulate your success as a virtual worker. I’d also like to invite you to try Rent a Coder because there are some important differences between our service and Odesk that could save you money and better guarantee your paychecks.” Rentacoder provides access to programming, writing, illustration, even data entry jobs. You can get a sense of the broad scope of work available here:

http://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/SoftwareCoders/BrowseWork.asp

First, oDesk requires workers to move their mouse/keyboard every minute or two, or they don't guarantee to pay you. This can be very difficult (or impossible), when you're doing things like planning, design or other mental work. To protect yourself, you have to try to remember to constantly jiggle your mouse (which can be like "trying to talk and chew bubble gum at the same time"), or choose to forego the guarantee. Rent a Coder pays you for this sort of work without requiring you to do this. In addition, Odesk only guarantees to pay you for the first eight hours in a day. If you're working hard on a project for a buyer and have to go over that time, you do it at your own risk. At Rentacoder, every hour is guaranteed.

Second, as chubskulit suggested, workers on Odesk cannot place more than 2 bids a month unless they take certain Odesk tests, or receive feedback on a certain number of projects. Experience tells us that it takes many bids to land just one job. With limited opportunities, you may not be successful with a service that limits your ability to bid. That's why Rent a Coder offers free and unlimited bidding so that you could earn even more than what you're earning now.

Third, on pay-for-deliverables projects, Rent a coder requires the buyer to escrow 100% of the funds upfront and protects your money with arbitration (and will force a malicious buyer to pay you). We will even go so far as to test the deliverables if necessary to prove you met the contract. But Odesk doesn't do any of these things. So you can do all the work and end up not getting paid a cent.

One more thing you should note is how our services differ in the way we handle arbitration. In short, oDesk's limited arbitration could prevent you from getting rightfully paid for the work you do. And they won't test your work to make sure it meets contract requirements. At Rentacoder, We offer arbitration on all projects free of charge. We also prevent abusive buyers from stalling the start of arbitration. As a result, 45% of our arbitrations are completed under a day. 75% under a week. We additionally publicize the detailed rules of how our arbitrators make their decisions.

There are other differences as well. I invite you and everyone to compare the 7 major services through this link to learn even more:

http://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/DotNet/misc/CompetitorInformation/WhyRentACoder_ForSellers.aspx

If you have any questions, please let me know. You can also call in to talk to a facilitator 7 days a week, or email us. 
(see http://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/misc/Feedback.asp).

Nicole

www.rentacoder.com

So that's her comment about working with oDesk versus working with Rent A Coder. I started working with oDesk back in May 2009, and I can say that I know the site fairly well including the many policies as I have been victim of bogus buyers as well as buyers who violate policies. Plus, since I spend more than half of my entire day with oDesk and often chatting with Customer Support for some questions I might have, I can say I already know a lot. Plus, as the saying goes, experience is the best teacher which is why I would like to point out some clarifications on Nicole's comment.

• First, oDesk requires workers to move their mouse/keyboard every minute or two, or they don't guarantee to pay you. This can be very difficult (or impossible), when you're doing things like planning, design or other mental work. To protect yourself, you have to try to remember to constantly jiggle your mouse (which can be like "trying to talk and chew bubble gum at the same time"), or choose to forego the guarantee. Rent a Coder pays you for this sort of work without requiring you to do this. In addition, Odesk only guarantees to pay you for the first eight hours in a day. If you're working hard on a project for a buyer and have to go over that time, you do it at your own risk. At Rentacoder, every hour is guaranteed.

This I would have to disagree on. When you are logged into an hourly job on oDesk, you do not have to click your mouse or hit the spacebar or any other keys on your keyboard constantly just for that hour to be billed. oDesk measures the activity level of your keyboard and mouse in an hour for it to be considered billable. I've been working on hourly jobs for a long time now and I do not spend an hour for mental work not touching my PC or my mouse. Even if I research, I am still bound to press keys on my keyboard and on my mouse when reading, so that's still an activity and that gets paid. Plus, I work more than 12 hours a day and all my hours are paid for, so I am not sure where you got the idea that oDesk only guarantees payment for the first 8 hours in a day.

Now, there is a thing that allows buyers to set weekly limits, especially if the buyer is on a budget to follow. The buyer can set a weekly limit for the project, like 5 hours a week for example. If you go over 5 hours a week, that's overtime and the buyer won't be billed for it. The oDesk time tracking tool constantly reminds you if you are over your weekly limit and if you need to log out - you can't miss it as this reminder is quite annoying and doesn't go away unless you close it yourself, making it impossible to miss. Common sense would guide you to stop logging time if you are over the weekly limit, or ask the buyer first if he/she would want the work done ASAP or if it can wait next week for the weekly limit to reset. At that point, you can request a bonus payment from the buyer or just wait until Monday when the weekly limit is reset.

• Second, as chubskulit suggested, workers on Odesk cannot place more than 2 bids a month unless they take certain Odesk tests, or receive feedback on a certain number of projects. Experience tells us that it takes many bids to land just one job. With limited opportunities, you may not be successful with a service that limits your ability to bid. That's why Rent a Coder offers free and unlimited bidding so that you could earn even more than what you're earning now.

Before you can even bid and get hired on projects, you will need to pass the oDesk Readiness Test. I am at 20 bids a week which is more than enough, as I can imagine how hard it would be to meet deadlines if you got hired for all of the 20 jobs you placed bids for. This limit is actually in favor of the providers in my opinion, so that you don't bite off more than what you can chew and get swamped with more work than you can handle. Bids for projects at oDesk are free, as well as keeping and maintaining a profile. I noticed in Rent A Coder you guys charge $2 for every PayPal withdrawal...oDesk only charges $1.

• Third, on pay-for-deliverables projects, Rent a coder requires the buyer to escrow 100% of the funds upfront and protects your money with arbitration (and will force a malicious buyer to pay you). We will even go so far as to test the deliverables if necessary to prove you met the contract. But Odesk doesn't do any of these things. So you can do all the work and end up not getting paid a cent.

Again I would have to disagree. oDesk might not have an escrow system, but it does offer an option for upfront payments wherein you can request for full or half of the payment or any other amount even before you begin working. I did experience a bogus buyer before, but that was my mistake, to not ask for anything upfront. However, if you ask for an upfront payment for $1 or more and the buyer doesn't pay, you can end the assignment yourself and leave the worst possible feedback for the buyer that everybody who views their profile will see. You can curse all you want and other people will be able to read it and will definitely think twice about working with that buyer. Even though oDesk does not mediate in fixed price projects, there are ways you can protect yourself as a provider.

For arbitration, I don't think there's a need to when it comes to hourly jobs. You get paid for every single hour you worked for following oDesk's payment schedule. For fixed price jobs, oDesk sends out reminders to both the buyer and the provider if the assignment is still active beyond the agreed time frame. Again, you always have the option to end the assignment yourself and leave the worst possible feedback whenever a buyer suddenly doesn't communicate with you, especially for fixed price jobs.

I might take a deeper look into Rent A Coder, but not in 2-3 months. I am very, very busy as it is and I am very happy with how much I am  earning. I feel I am earning what I deserve already. But thanks anyway.