Competition is fierce. Apparently the perfect jobs for me are perfect for everyone or at least 50+ other candidates. Catch 22 is trying to get hired for an ODesk job with no ODesk experience. Most buyers want some clocked hours and feedback ratings.

I am concerned that buyers who had bad experiences with so called ODesk veterans they will be less likely to try someone new. Plus, I refuse to work for less than $15 per hour because I am worth way more than that. Even if I am working in my pajamas:) ? I have applied to 4 jobs and got 1 interview lined up with a buyer who wants someone local to do some phone/customer service work. He was initially offering a lower rate that I have posted for my salary range. We shall see what happens. I am almost willing to do charity jobs just to get a rating. Not there yet!

I thought scoring high on the skills tests may help me land more jobs but I have not heard any of the buyers mention the significance.

Is it possible to test a programmer during the interview process to see if they have the qualifications?

I hope ODesk refines its process to make more buyers happy so I can get working! Buyers who want to hire me for a long term assignment, are welcome to check my references.

A lot of the oDesk projects ask an incredible amount for a pittance and then get surprised when the work is shoddy.

I kind of have mixed feelings about the stop showing provider “earnings” in public profiles. It is important to note that charging x on a long term relation i.e. 6+ months and charging 2x on a specific consulting assignment is really different.

So both the hourly rate + the hours + feedback per job are an important piece of information to show. Which pretty much gives total earning .

My 2 cents include some info about me:

- I am one of the third world providers on odesk

- I charge about 3 times many low cost providers, and 1.5/2 times the average

- The difference on service I have given when combining productivity/results/quality/reliability is clearly bigger than the different in hourly rates

And some personal tips for you (both buyer/provider):

- Project risk must be mitigated to keep all of us happy (both providers and buyers). An important aspect of this is embracing the weekly nature of odesk — we must show progress every week we load hours on!. Also applies to the client, review what is being delivered each week so we can all rest assured that the product Is taking the shape that you need.

- Limit the scope of your project as most as possible keeping the focus on the main features (if you can’t do this only expect high level providers to help you on this), other features can be added later — use this more manageable scope to really understand the budget and whether it makes sense to proceed with the project at all.

- Get a plan that makes sense on what is to be delivered on the first couple of weeks, and keep a close eye on it.

- Have someone reliable make a code review early (usually on the first 2 week deliverables), don’t proceed with a poorly written system … odds are that someone will have to rebuild plenty of it to close all the security holes and to be able to add new features (without having to spend the same time doing each change on 40 places)

- Understand what you have with your current code base. A really bad code base means it is best to write it new (given you can commit the time of someone that knows the processes very well) or do a gradual rewrite (with the overall effort usually taking about 2-4 times of making it new … makes sense if you are covering only small pieces of it).

- When we are on different projects, personal time is specially hard to manage, as not only any project can complicate but one does have personal stuff to do as well that can complicate (usually does in the country I am from ). This doesn’t denies the need to be clear on time available and to communicate any special situation affecting it i.e. we had to drop someone of the team because was being too unreliable, granted 2/3 of the times the person got sick But it wasn’t a something that prevented him from telling right away so we could handle the situation with the client (instead of saying after 2 weeks each of the times – forcing the rest of us to do a lot of extra efforts to keep the results going for the clients).

So, lets all remember that complexity is one of the biggest cause of failure in software projects (outsourced or not). Always avoid extra complexity and structure project in such a way we can validate results early.

Big success and best luck to everyone

But I’ve been invited to interview half a dozen times by Buyers – then never heard from them again. What’s up with that?? If you’re too busy to screen and interview for a position – don’t post it until you are ready.

I’ve also been hired by a Buyer who, unbeknownst to me, hired about 30 people that same day, (telling us all we needed to start immediately) posting ads – we all worked the day and then the job was “canceled” that same evening – no notice, no reason, no warning – and NO feedback. (doesn’t look good on the old profile)

I once accepted a “fixed rate” job – worked 90 hours! for this “Buyer” and never got a cent from him. Needless to say, I no longer bid on Fixed Rate jobs, because as we know, oDesk doesn’t guarantee payment for same.

My point is that, there are pros and cons with outsourcing online for Buyers AND Providers alike. As with anything, improvements can be make on both sides. oDesk is usually very good about listening to our gripes and concerns and meeting us somewhere in the middle…both Provider and Buyer.

I’ve been trying to get them to stop showing Provider “earnings” in public profiles. It is acceptable to show a Buyer the hourly rate I charge for work I’ve done, but not my total income. That is personal information, in my opinion. They are trying to work out a solution, as it seems many Providers feel the same.

D. MacKenzie

https://url.odesk.com/53vv1

What employers should know, though, is that most excellent providers stay on these sites only for a while and then they work for their regulars off the job site. It’s a matter of trust (and keeping someone who shows consistently good results).

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We’d love to help you as well.

Jason, I would like to know where you need help. Maybe I can help?

Wherever you go, it is up to the buyer to check profiles. Elance does confirm credentials and also has tests providers can take–though they are online and (in the writing area) not especially helpful. Programming tests seem to be different.

Look for individual providers or businesses with good feedback and a long-ish history. Visit their Profile to see what others have had to say about them. Look at their percentage of repeat earnings and repeat customers.

Use the Escrow feature. It assures the provider you won’t run off without paying, and you don’t release funds until milestones are met to your satisfaction.

The match-up sites provide a great service, but it is still up to you, the buyer, to do your due dilligence.

Nicki

Writing Partner at HarperCo

Thanks keep us updated on how this ends up working for you.