Work from Home and Make Money Online with oDesk

Work from Home and Make Money Online with oDesk

ODesk is one of the largest online marketplaces where freelance providers (freelance writers, web developers, data entry specialists, virtual assistants) can search for online or part time jobs, and buyers can choose from thousands of providers worldwide. The jobs are as wild and as varied as the myths and legends about the late King of Pop, and to say that there is something for everyone is bordering on an understatement. If you’re looking for a way to augment your present income by working at home and making money on the internet, oDesk is a good place to scout for opportunities. Similarly, thousands of people around the world make a living solely on writing for oDesk, or rather, writing for buyers in oDesk.

At present, there are more than 1,000,000 freelancers registered with oDesk, and probably growing by the minute. But there are also hundreds of thousands of possible freelance jobs posted everyday so there is much to be gained from joining oDesk.

Signing up for oDesk is free

To join oDesk for free, you simply have to go to www.oDesk.com and create an account. As with any other site, you need an existing email to confirm your account. So if you don’t have one yet, create one now and remember your username and password.

oDesk allows for different types of membership, all of which are free. You can sign up as buyer, freelance provider or as a provider company. Our interest is becoming a freelance provider so tick that:

After that you will be taken to the standard form which you have to fill-up with your name (can be real or made up), email address, username and password. You will also be asked to pose a security question with an answer. Remember this security question and answer, because you will need it when you want to make monetary transactions in the future, ie, withdrawing your earnings from oDesk to your bank (to be discussed in another post). You will need to confirm your account through the link sent to your email.

You need to complete your profile and complete some tests before you can bid on any project.

Take your time in completing your oDesk profile

Many providers are discouraged from joining oDesk because of the relatively comprehensive profile requirements needed to be completed before you can have your profile displayed in oDesk’s roster of providers. There are four steps you need to complete:

   1.   Verify your email address

   2. Fill out contact information

   3. Complete your oDesk Profile

   4. Accept the oDesk Marketplace User Agreement

After completing these four steps, your profile will be displayed. This only means that, say, a provider searches for “writer”, your profile will be shown together with the hundred others who expressed competencies in writing.

You don’t need to complete your profile in one sitting. You can do a little every now and then – it may take a few hours or several weeks. Remember to go for the quality of your profile, rather than aiming to finish it in one hour. But you can always edit your profile, so whatever works for you is fine.

But this does not mean that you can bid for jobs – yet.

Take tests to bid for jobs

Another thing that sometimes discourages would-be providers is the necessity to take test for eligibility. Taking tests actually have multiple positive effects:

· It increases your application limit. Taking and passing more tests will enable you to bid for more jobs at any given time. If you believe in probabilities, more bids mean a bigger chance of getting hired. Simply put:

• It serves as a pre-qualification requirement. Buyers usually specify what they want a provider to be. They will limit their job opening to those who have passed certain qualifications, in this case, tests and certifications. This "filtering" service is provided by the marketplace, and buyers will get notes on whether a candidate meets the qualifications or not.

• It boosts your profile. Buyers will naturally pay more attention to a provider who has taken several tests compared to one whose profile is so bare. So make sure that you get tests related to the field you want to specialize in. Especially if you ace a certain test, you will have a medal, as an indicator that you have placed high in the test.

The one test that is mandatory for all oDesk providers is the oDesk Readiness Test for Independent Contractors and Company Managers. Even if you take dozens of test, you still cannot bid on anything if you haven’t passed this particular test yet. Which is understandable, because the oDesk readiness test ensures that you understand the way oDesk works.

Apply for jobs and earn money!

Now that you have completed your profile and taken the necessary tests, go apply for jobs and earn money! Depending on your appetite for work (and for income), you can maximize your allowable applications at any given time. There is no specified turn-around time for buyers to hire. This means that one buyer can hire within the day of his job posting while others will wait for the last day to hire (a job posting lasts for 30 days, and then it automatically expires).

Think hard about the rate you will ask for. You can change your rate anytime – you can increase it and you can also lower it. You are also allowed to specify your rate for every single bid, your hourly rate is only an indication of how much you will be asking for.

Lastly, make sure to get a positive feedback from your buyers. Feedback is almost always the first thing buyers look at so make sure that yours is good.

Good luck!

ODesk is one of the largest online marketplaces where freelance providers (freelance writers, web developers, data entry specialists, virtual assistants) can search for online or part time jobs, and buyers can choose from thousands of providers worldwide. The jobs are as wild and as varied as the myths and legends about the late King of Pop, and to say that there is something for everyone is bordering on an understatement. If you’re looking for a way to augment your present income by working at home and making money on the internet, oDesk is a good place to scout for opportunities. Similarly, thousands of people around the world make a living solely on writing for oDesk, or rather, writing for buyers in oDesk.

At present, there are more than 1,000,000 freelancers registered with oDesk, and probably growing by the minute. But there are also hundreds of thousands of possible freelance jobs posted everyday so there is much to be gained from joining oDesk.

Signing up for oDesk is free

To join oDesk for free, you simply have to go to www.oDesk.com and create an account. As with any other site, you need an existing email to confirm your account. So if you don’t have one yet, create one now and remember your username and password.

oDesk allows for different types of membership, all of which are free. You can sign up as buyer, freelance provider or as a provider company. Our interest is becoming a freelance provider so tick that:

After that you will be taken to the standard form which you have to fill-up with your name (can be real or made up), email address, username and password. You will also be asked to pose a security question with an answer. Remember this security question and answer, because you will need it when you want to make monetary transactions in the future, ie, withdrawing your earnings from oDesk to your bank (to be discussed in another post). You will need to confirm your account through the link sent to your email.

You need to complete your profile and complete some tests before you can bid on any project.

Take your time in completing your oDesk profile

Many providers are discouraged from joining oDesk because of the relatively comprehensive profile requirements needed to be completed before you can have your profile displayed in oDesk’s roster of providers. There are four steps you need to complete:

   1.   Verify your email address

   2. Fill out contact information

   3. Complete your oDesk Profile

   4. Accept the oDesk Marketplace User Agreement

After completing these four steps, your profile will be displayed. This only means that, say, a provider searches for “writer”, your profile will be shown together with the hundred others who expressed competencies in writing.

You don’t need to complete your profile in one sitting. You can do a little every now and then – it may take a few hours or several weeks. Remember to go for the quality of your profile, rather than aiming to finish it in one hour. But you can always edit your profile, so whatever works for you is fine.

But this does not mean that you can bid for jobs – yet.

Take tests to bid for jobs

Another thing that sometimes discourages would-be providers is the necessity to take test for eligibility. Taking tests actually have multiple positive effects:

· It increases your application limit. Taking and passing more tests will enable you to bid for more jobs at any given time. If you believe in probabilities, more bids mean a bigger chance of getting hired. Simply put:

• It serves as a pre-qualification requirement. Buyers usually specify what they want a provider to be. They will limit their job opening to those who have passed certain qualifications, in this case, tests and certifications. This "filtering" service is provided by the marketplace, and buyers will get notes on whether a candidate meets the qualifications or not.

• It boosts your profile. Buyers will naturally pay more attention to a provider who has taken several tests compared to one whose profile is so bare. So make sure that you get tests related to the field you want to specialize in. Especially if you ace a certain test, you will have a medal, as an indicator that you have placed high in the test.

The one test that is mandatory for all oDesk providers is the oDesk Readiness Test for Independent Contractors and Company Managers. Even if you take dozens of test, you still cannot bid on anything if you haven’t passed this particular test yet. Which is understandable, because the oDesk readiness test ensures that you understand the way oDesk works.

Apply for jobs and earn money!

Now that you have completed your profile and taken the necessary tests, go apply for jobs and earn money! Depending on your appetite for work (and for income), you can maximize your allowable applications at any given time. There is no specified turn-around time for buyers to hire. This means that one buyer can hire within the day of his job posting while others will wait for the last day to hire (a job posting lasts for 30 days, and then it automatically expires).

Think hard about the rate you will ask for. You can change your rate anytime – you can increase it and you can also lower it. You are also allowed to specify your rate for every single bid, your hourly rate is only an indication of how much you will be asking for.

Lastly, make sure to get a positive feedback from your buyers. Feedback is almost always the first thing buyers look at so make sure that yours is good.

Good luck!