Have You Used ODesk?

[Kirahster]

I just posted a job on ODesk this morning.

The job is an easy one that does not require a lot of technical knowledge, it is just tedious and I did not want to do it.

My question is for people that have hired from ODesk before.

Would you hire someone that was new to ODesk and is not rated?

Can I expect to get a lot of spammy replies?

In general what has your overall experience with ODesk been like?


Thanks,

Ciara

[David Chamberlain]

Hi

I think oDesk is amazing!

I use it quite often, for various tasks.

I tried to use people with good feedback...but I do that on all freelance sites!

The only thing you have to be careful with is that you pay by the hour, rather than on a 'job by job' basis, so just be specific in what you want doing!

I don't get many spammy replies, but not sure about anyone else?

It's a great resource to use...especially for the jobs you don't want to do!

Dave

[ashishthakkar]

Hi Ciara,

I have never used Odesk but the general rule on freelancing sites is not to use someone who has no feeback/rating.

If you have to use then make sure you use the escrow facility.


regards,
ASHISH THAKKAR

[Liquification]

I have used odesk and gotten great results. I usually pick someone who is rated but doesn't have to be the highest paid. I used it about 10 times and each person i have dealt with has been wonderful and quite accomodating. Plus the Tracking where you can see what they are doing on their desktop is quite amazing.

[phil.wheatley]

Hi there

I've used oDesk to hire a writer and a graphic artist. Both had feedback but what is more important, is to see sample of their work, and if you can be bothered, interview them, especially if it's writing so you can guage their level of English....note that although I'm English, mne is very bad lol

Phil

[TPFLegionaire]

Hi,

if it's a long term job,I do a two stage interview,

Depending on the number of applicants I will invite 10 to 15 to do a specific task(S) for free ( should not take them more than an hour)...About two third will refuse or fail to complete the task .

Those who can follow the simple instructions ,produce good results and meet deadlines are then invited for a 2 week paid job trial.

I promise all a good recommendation even if they are not selected in the end, I also incentivise them with a 10% raise should they be selected ( for
Phillipino workers I also add 1 month paid extra , paid pro rata every quarter)

Of course if someone fail or let you down during the trial you can stop it and not give a recommendation (or a bad one) if appropriate.

The advantage of this system is that you get a lot of work done quickly and that you can identify the person(S) that are very good and hence hire the best.

Takes a bit more effort to manage, but I now have a small (3 people) but very good team at Odesk.

Supply of workers is plentiful at Odesk, It's not difficult or expensive to hire the good ones.

I hope this helps.

[phil.wheatley]

..and something I learnt from ol' Reese, if they do good work, always give them a nice tip now and then, it goes a long way.

[misterwrecker]

Originally Posted by David Chamberlain

Hi

I think oDesk is amazing!

I use it quite often, for various tasks.

I tried to use people with good feedback...but I do that on all freelance sites!

The only thing you have to be careful with is that you pay by the hour, rather than on a 'job by job' basis, so just be specific in what you want doing!

I don't get many spammy replies, but not sure about anyone else?

It's a great resource to use...especially for the jobs you don't want to do!

Dave

You actually can pay now on a fixed price per job instead of hiring by the hour. You put in a price you think is fair and then they can bid your price or go lower or higher.


I have actually used people with no feedback and I had good experiences. Some people with no feedback will also do some work for you solely for feedback in return.



-John

[Steven Carl Kelly]

I've used oDesk plenty, with good success. If a project is simple and I get a good interview with a non-rated person, I'd give them a shot. However, I usually prefer to go with rated individuals.

[Kirahster]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. I just checked my inbox and there were about 20 people interested in the job already which is awesome and most of the candidates seem to be experienced with what I am looking for. Time to set up a few interviews!

I am really hoping that this works out well!

[reidcardwell]

I've used oDesk from the both sides of the equation: I am a freelance PHP/MySQL developer "by day", only just recently learning about IM. I have also hired out a couple of jobs to a developer that had no feedback. I started out with a VERY easy project and I was VERY pleased with the results. I've used this developer on several projects since.

[Evita]

I have used Odesk for a few jobs and was happy with the results.

I reckon the ad and the interview process along with the criteria of the one hiring would make all the difference in the world.

Evita

[Steven Carl Kelly]

Originally Posted by Evita

I reckon the ad and the interview process along with the criteria of the one hiring would make all the difference in the world.

This.

I have had my BEST success on oDesk when I am extremely explicit about exactly what I want. At times it's a pain in the butt to write out these long job descriptions, but it pays off in the end.

[Voasi]

Odesk has been good for me. I even hire people from around the US and tell them I'd like to pay them via Odesk so I can monitor what they're doing and make sure that if I'm paying for 8 hours of work, I get at least 7 (everyone goofs off online, it's called "cost of doing business).

As for hiring peeps, I've hired yes. You can expect a lot of people. It kinda depends on your task and what you're comfortable with. Usually when you outsource to out of the country, you have to walk them by the hand on every....single....situation, so it can be time consuming up-front, which some people may like or dislike. If that's not your cup of tea, then hire some locally in the states (or wherever) and it shouldn't be so "foreign" to them.

[Kevin McNally]

I have had some great workers from odesk, mostly data entry jobs and article writers. I have also hired people with no feedback on a fixed price basis who don't require a percentage up front so you have less risk and things have worked out ok.

90% of the jobs have been great although I did have one article writer who sent me 120 word articles when I asked for 300 words !

I think odesk is a great place and you can build a good team once you find the right guys who are reliable.

[Pokerlover]

Hi.. I am both an Odesk buyer and provider.. Based on experience, hiring someone with no rating and feedback yet is not that bad.. Those who don't have both are those that have just registered with Odesk.. It does not mean that they won't work well.. You can try to interview one and test his or her skills.. That way you would know if you would hire him or her or not.. What you should avoid are those that have the worse feedback..

[tamal]

I dont have the experience of odesk but had worked in eufreelance and get a freelancer.Dont use anyone without a feedback but if its necessary to use somebody new,then pay him via escrow.

[NBaller]

I'm actually a huge fan of oDesk. I used elance and guru before with mixed (primarily bad) results. However, oDesk has been excellent. I do my projects as specific projects and get qualified experts at low rates.

[Joe Mobley]

Ciara,

A couple of recommendations.

Use a non-primary e-mail address. My primary address is on gmail, but I have a "throwaway" e-mail address with Yahoo. In the interview, I give instructions to contact me at my primary e-mail address.

Have them stop at 1 hour for a review of their results. Tweak as needed and continue. I had to stop and Indian article writer. His dialect was not American English. I paid him for what he had done but stopped the project.

Use Jing. Or some other video software/service. You outsourcing life Will change for the better. This recommendation should have been first.

Hope this helps.

Joe

[mr.neel]

I am using the odesk as worker. Can u help me get one job link in data entry .because it is very hard for new to get one job...
Thank you.

[FaJeeb]

I work Mostly with oDesk, but I couldn't tell you why. Something about how easy it is to go from working through the site to Not working through the site and working through e-mails and making payments to them through PayPal (which is what I prefer, don't judge me monkey.)

[Danny Turner]

Odesk rocks!!!
RE: email addresses - if your concerned about this, there is no need to give it out - all the communication can be done directly through Odesk - they will forward any "posts" to you with a link to the thread in an email
very handy as it keeps a record of all communisations
you can add attachments .
One possible concern is posting your hosting/site details even on a secure site
one solution is
-to ftp a text file to your site (keep a copy on your computer in a folder with workers name))
- delete once the worker has it
-when assignment is finished you have a record of all passwords given out
retrieve the files and change all the passwords mmmm now that reminds me ......


@ mr.neel
welcome to the forum
sent you a pm- and please take some time to read the forum rules....
cheers
Danny

[sal64]

Yep, odesk is pretty good. Use it regularly and have built my team from it.

Only biatch as an Aussie is that go via credit card for payment.

This means paying foreign currency transaction fees all the time.

You'll get quite a few applicants, so it's worth checking out what their core skills are, for later reference.'


And... you can hire people on a part time basis without having to pay silly amounts in advance, as is the norm for hiring a VA.

[pyles]

Yes I use it on a weekly basis for projects and ideas I have to get quotes on prices etc. It's a great site. I prefer it to Elance/Guru due to the easy to use interface + user experience.

[FredJones]

So do you guys see, on an average, better quality of work done by an Odesk outsourcer as compared to other outsourcers such as Elance and Guru?

[Pixus]

Well, I tried Odesk, but it's too complicated IMO. Also, there are competitors doing "logotypes" for just a few bucks. For example, they bid 5 or 10$ bucks for a logo, it's ridiculous. I could not compete with them, so I left it.

[pyles]

Originally Posted by FredJones

So do you guys see, on an average, better quality of work done by an Odesk outsourcer as compared to other outsourcers such as Elance and Guru?

I wouldn't say "better" but I like the whole integration of payment and hour management. It is awesome to see your products and ideas being created via screen grabs and how they are working. I recommend you try it - and the others and see what you get best results with. So far, I am sticking with oDesk from my search.

[alby]

Odesk is a great resource, i would suggest that you always utilise people with good feedback. I have used the service several times and found that generally the feedback is useful and generally correct.

[Debbie Allen]

I hire from oDesk regularly - and in fact, I have a small team of people that I found through that service. I pay more attention to the tests the applicant has taken than anything else. I have found that how a person does with my projects has little to do with how he or she did on past projects, but if reviews are available I look for candidates with favorable ones. And like others have mentioned, I believe a lot depends on how well I explain what it is that I need done. Once hired, be sure you make yourself available for questions or concerns and touch bases to check on progress if necessary.

[mr.neel]

SIR,
I am new to odesk .I am in odesk as worker .If I am not bothering you too much Would you give suggestion for getting some simple data entry or link building jobs . I am not so much expert but my friends frequently do jobs in odesk that are easy to me also. But they have rating I haven't .so how can i show my skills by trial jobs ?.

Accept my apology for wasting your time.

Thank you
Mr.neel

[Ashley Wright]

Odesk is really useful I have hired many people on there and gotten great results I also tend to use those same people over and over! Always best to go with someone with Odesk experience rather than someone new but offering a low price!

[mr.neel]

odesk is a hard place for new worker. I Need some job links for easy jobs .Can any one help me out.
thank you

[pyles]

Originally Posted by FredJones

So do you guys see, on an average, better quality of work done by an Odesk outsourcer as compared to other outsourcers such as Elance and Guru?

I wouldn't say "better" but I like the whole integration of payment and hour management. It is awesome to see your products and ideas being created via screen grabs and how they are working. I recommend you try it - and the others and see what you get best results with. So far, I am sticking with oDesk from my search.

[pyles]

Originally Posted by mr.neel

odesk is a hard place for new worker. I Need some job links for easy jobs .Can any one help me out.
thank you

Work for cheap - do good work, explain your situation and build a reputation.

[mr.neel]

hi ,
I am as worker in odesk .I am very grateful to everyone in this forum.everyone is very friendly.Thanks for all supports and suggestions. I hope that all of my mates treat me as friend .
Thank you all

[mr.neel]

Thank you for the suggestion.I will try to pursue this .


Thanks

[mr.neel]

I am also new as you but I am trying to work in odesk.
I am very much agree with you.It is very difficult for someone as new as to get work in odesk. But I am very Hopeful about getting starting job for my career .
I have some problems in my work would you help me as a friend.

Thank you
mr.neel

[Rikki_Fawkes]

I hired a new, unrated oDesk member to create a small $10 graphic project for my web page design. The reason I picked him was because of his small but impressive portfolio and reasonable prices. I believe he was a college student at the time, and I did have to extend the deadline due to him getting terribly sick over one weekend, but I was highly impressed with the results. He created exactly what I wanted.

[mr.neel]

I am using odesk. But hard to get job for new comer .although I have passed some writing related tests in odesk.

[Billy Rey]

odesk is great.

Lots of great people that you can find there.