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
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