oDesk is a global service marketplace for small and medium sized business
to hire, manage, and pay remote freelancers or teams. If you're interested in starting
a career as a freelancer in oDesk, then this thread is the perfect place to seek help
for all your oDesk related inquiriesThe thread isn't done yet but feel free to look around and you might find something that
can help you out. Post an inquiry and oDesk contractors here in Symbianize would be
more than happy to help you. I'll try to have everything completed as soon as I have the time.
Preview of registration process
Registration Form
oDesk Log-in Page
oDesk Tests
Questions and Answers for oDesk Readiness Test
oDesk Skills Tests
oDesk offers hundreds of free skill tests to help you prove your skills to perspective employers.
Passing tests is also a way for new contractors to raise their job application quotas.
Try to take the test for every skill you listed in your profile and any others that sound relevant.
If you don't like your score, you can hide it and retake the test again in 30 days.
Generally, you should only make your most impressive test scores public.
Q: Can I start my own company on oDesk?
A: Yes! oDesk allows you to build and manage a team of workers, colleagues and collaborators.
You can even subcontract other workers on oDesk to other customers oDesk (and take a cut).
You can even subcontract other workers on oDesk to other customers oDesk (and take a cut).
Q: Which of the following actions are NOT allowed when applying to job openings?
A: All of the above
Q: ‘How does feedback work on oDesk?’
A: All of the above
Q: Which of the following is true of your oDesk timelog?
A: All of the above
Q: Which of the following break the oDesk user agreement?
A: All of the above
Q: Which of the following statements about the oDesk Team application are true?
A: All of the above
Q: What do you need to do to ensure guaranteed payment on hourly jobs?
A: All of the above
Q: If you have not done so please download and install the oDesk Team application.
With the client running right click on the oDesk Team icon in the system tray (or doc for Mac users).
Which of the following options is listed first?
A: TeamRoom..
Q: Which of the following statements are correct about oDesk fees?
A: All of the above
Q: Buyers set weekly limits on hourly assignments, how do these work?
A: All of the above
Q: How does oDesk’s dispute resolution policy for work?
A: All of the above
oDesk Skills Tests
oDesk offers hundreds of free skill tests to help you prove your skills to perspective employers.
Passing tests is also a way for new contractors to raise their job application quotas.
Try to take the test for every skill you listed in your profile and any others that sound relevant.
If you don't like your score, you can hide it and retake the test again in 30 days.
Generally, you should only make your most impressive test scores public.
Building Your Profile
A lot of people come to online sources because it's easy and convenient - but that doesn't mean that they want to completely give up the personal experience as well.
Your profile is what will introduce you as a person as well as an applicant to the people reviewing your cover letter. Make it count.
Overview - One of the most important parts of your profile is your overview. It should introduce you to the client and establish your objective.
Use this to set you apart from other contractors. "I write fast and can get the job done quickly." So what! Chances are, 90%-95% of the other applicants can, too.
So how are you any different? "I want to be the best provider to my clients." Again, so what!? This doesn't help you at all because everyone else says the same thing.
Not to mention - it should be a given that you want to provide the best service. Your overview should answer the question "why you should hire me over the other guy"
... If it doesn't answer that question, it's not a good overview.
Picture - After all, they speak a thousand words, right? It's not a requirement to have a picture, but it does help. Make sure you follow oDesk's identity policy when
choosing a picture to post - but in general, any picture of you with a smile on your face will do wonders for you. People like to put a face to a font... So give them one.
Hourly Rate - I hate to say it, but there are a lot of clients that will look at your hourly rate. I am not talking about whatever rate you bid on a project, but the rate
that is displayed on your profile. This rate should reflect the level and quality of work that you provide and should be a fair reflection of a going rate for the field / category
you are interested in working for. Is there a difference? Of course! Can you expect to get paid the same amount of money for site scraping as you can for writing articles?
Probably not unless you are the best darn web scraper in the world (and can back it up!). If you're not sure what to set your rate at, look through at other providers,
or go through the oConomy pages, figure out how much you would be paid for the exact same job at an office, or do a search to see if you can find out what the average
going rate is for that field and adjust that average to reflect your experience level.
Resume - Also important because your resume houses all of your skills. Are you a web designer? Great! Then post your CSS, PHP, Javascript, Drupal, Joomla!,
and Wordpress skills! A lot of clients search for providers based on these skills - how will they find you if you don't have them listed anywhere on your profile?
And your resume is the perfect place to showcase these skills because it allows you to also place a brief description of how you have used this skill in the past and
display how long you have been using it.
Sample Resume
Build a Portfolio - This may be easier for some than others... But a portfolio is a great way to display your work. If you build web sites - place some links in there
to web sites that you've built. If you're an artist, then throw together some logos and interface designs and place them up there. Writer? Post a link to your blog...
Anything that will show examples of your work without violating any terms of service is good. Also important, once it's up - keep it updated. Check the links to those web
sites to make sure they're still working and place up new examples of your work as you complete them.
Be Honest - If your English isn't a 5.0 - then don't rate it at 5.0... Clients will be able to figure it out and you will look like a liar. If you can't be honest about
something like how fluent you are in English, why should anyone believe that you're being honest about anything else?
Job Application
Bid often and Bid Reasonably Earlier I spoke about the hourly rate that is posted on your profile - now I'm talking about the hourly rate or fixed price rate
that you enter onto the little application form that will accompany your cover letter. This bid can be different from what's posted on your profile - but it
should still be reasonable. What do I mean by reasonable?
* Make sure it is worth your time
* Make sure it will cover your expenses (such as cost to withdraw)
* If it is fixed price, make sure it reflects the amount of time you will be working on that project
Remember, it looks bad if your hourly rate on your profile says that you charge $10 per hour if you then bid on a project at $1 per hour... And you shouldn't
let a client's budget dictate the level and quality of professionalism that you can provide.
And bid often! I still continue to fill out my quota of 20 applications per week. If a client is not responding to my application after a couple of weeks,
I withdraw that application so I can apply to another job. The only time I slow down on my bidding is if I am beginning to get overloaded with projects.
Don't send out just 2-3 applications and then get disheartened that neither one has accepted you yet.
This doesn't mean sit down and apply to 20 jobs all in one day - spread them out. I read through just about every hourly job posted (I always filter out the fixed price jobs),
but I probably apply to only 4-5 jobs every day, if that many. Be discerning - if the job isn't worth your time, wait a couple more hours and see what new jobs
have been posted. It won't do you any good to apply to a job that you're only semi-interested in only to find a great job that you would love to work on
but can't apply because you've reached your limit already.
You can browse job posts in 2 ways:
Browse Jobs by Category
Browse Jobs by Skills
Preview of list of available jobs for Data Entry
Job Application Quota
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.
How can I increase my quota?
Once you become oDesk Ready, your quota is earned based on the number of tests you've taken (for new contractors) or your feedback score (once you have one).
- If you do not yet have a feedback score, take more tests to increase your quota.
- If you have a feedback score, the only way to increase your quota is to increase your score.
Which job applications count against my quota?
- Active, contractor-initiated application that are 7 days old (or less) count against your quota.
- Applications that are inactive, employer-initiated or more than 7 days old do not count against your quota.
When does my quota refresh?
- Your job applications, tests and feedback are evaluated twice per day to calculate your available quota. This means it can take up to 12 hours for your quota to refresh
after a job application is withdrawn, rejected or aged out of your quota.
- For new users who take tests to increase their quota, the same refresh cycle applies. It can take up to 12 hours after passing tests for your quota to increase to the next level.
The only exception is the oDesk Readiness Test. Passing this test will immediately raise your quota to the applicable oDesk Ready level.
Preview of the Job Application Form
This is where you can check the list of Job Applications you have sent,
Active Candidacies and Invitations for Interview. I currently have none 
Cover Letter
Once your profile is set, then it's time to sell yourself to the clients. And by sell yourself, I don't mean pay them for the privilege of working for them. I mean convince them
that they should hire you and pay you what you want. So, how do you do this? Cover Letters. Write a cover letter that proves you know what you're talking about,
proves that you've read the job description and explains your costs and terms. And for goodness sake - don't send the same cover letter to each and every job posting.
The clients always know. You aren't fooling anyone - so just stop.
Never beg for a job... It makes you look desperate, not professional. Never lower your hourly rate to a ridiculous amount in hopes of landing a job (or worse, offering to work for free).
Again, it makes you look desperate and gives the impression that you don't deserve whatever amount you have posted on your profile.
Sample of my Cover Letters
Basic Guidelines About What to Include (and what not to)
- Don't include your contact information in your cover letter (your email address, chat ID, etc.). This is a violation of oDesk policy and makes you
an easy target for an unscrupulous employer. When you are invited to an interview, then you are free to share whatever contact info you wish.
- Don't start with a "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Sir" greeting. Neither adds any value and they may even offend some employers.
If you do include a greeting, find a gender-neutral way to say hello, say "Dear Hiring Manager" or use the employer's name (if they've mentioned it).
- Don't copy and paste the same cover letter over and over again, even if you 'fill in the blanks' with specifics for the job at hand. Just as you can tell
when an employer posts a template job description, an employer can tell you're using a form cover letter. If you don't put in the effort to write a custom letter,
they are unlikely to take the time to interview you.
- Do try to use the same keywords the employer did. This shows you were paying attention to their job post.
- Do answer specific questions or include special keywords the employer put in the job description to prove you can follow directions. That is, unless the employer
is asking for your contact info or otherwise violating oDesk policy - in that case you should flag the job as inappropriate.
- Do link directly to some relevant examples of your work whenever possible. Make sure you've added them in your portfolio as well.
- Do state your availability (when and how much you can work) and explain what kind of commitments you have to any other oDesk contracts, regular employers, etc.
Sample of what I think is a good and bad Cover Letter
Job Description
Bad Cover Letter
I consider this a bad cover letter simply because not once did the contractor mention
anything about the job and why he is qualified for it. He kept on stating a lot of information
which were not relevant to the job. This is a good example of what a spam cover letter is.
Good Cover Letter
Not only did this contractor informed the employer about her background, she also focused
on letting the employer know how interested and qualified she was for the job.
Work History, Feedbacks and Contracts
My Work History and Feedbacks
Preview of my Active and Ended Contracts
Preview of my Active and Ended Contracts
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Earnings
I only earned $58.28 during my first month in oDesk. It's a small amount but I was really happy since I never thought it was really possible to earn online.
I knew I can earn more as long as I worked harder, and that's exactly what I did. There was not a week that I didn't have a project.
Every month my earnings got bigger and that really got me pumped up. There was even a month I earned almost P70,000.
I've been active on oDesk for 11 months now and I earned more than P300,000 and I've been earning an average of P40,000 for the past few months.
Here are my weekly earnings now.
Earnings
I knew I can earn more as long as I worked harder, and that's exactly what I did. There was not a week that I didn't have a project.
Every month my earnings got bigger and that really got me pumped up. There was even a month I earned almost P70,000.
I've been active on oDesk for 11 months now and I earned more than P300,000 and I've been earning an average of P40,000 for the past few months.
Here are my weekly earnings now.
Earnings
I only earned $58.28 during my first month in oDesk. It's a small amount but I was really happy since I never thought it was really possible to earn online.
I knew I can earn more as long as I worked harder, and that's exactly what I did. There was not a week that I didn't have a project.
Every month my earnings got bigger and that really got me pumped up. There was even a month I earned almost P70,000.
I've been active on oDesk for 11 months now and I earned more than P300,000 and I've been earning an average of P40,000 for the past few months.
Here are my weekly earnings now.
Sign Up A New Account
I knew I can earn more as long as I worked harder, and that's exactly what I did. There was not a week that I didn't have a project.
Every month my earnings got bigger and that really got me pumped up. There was even a month I earned almost P70,000.
I've been active on oDesk for 11 months now and I earned more than P300,000 and I've been earning an average of P40,000 for the past few months.
Here are my weekly earnings now.
Sign Up A New Account