What is your favorite website for hiring freelance workers?

11 years ago

I've consistently used odesk for just about everything - I enjoy the ability to really VET and pre screen my applicants, I always put some sort of qualifier in my listings like "respond with X header" as it immediately weeds out 75% of people who just mass apply to jobs. On top of that they make bookkeeping a breeze!

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JennySweets

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Bent SEO

I've consistently used odesk for just about everything - I enjoy the ability to really VET and pre screen my applicants, I always put some sort of qualifier in my listings like "respond with X header" as it immediately weeds out 75% of people who just mass apply to jobs. On top of that they make bookkeeping a breeze!

It is really amazing how few people who respond on Any of the freelance sites actually include the project requirement line. I usually put mine somewhere that they would actually have to read Through it not just skim the beginning and end. It really does weed out like 75 % of the people - mind boggling

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chg

11 years ago

Originally Posted by JennySweets

It is really amazing how few people who respond on Any of the freelance sites actually include the project requirement line. I usually put mine somewhere that they would actually have to read Through it not just skim the beginning and end. It really does weed out like 75 % of the people - mind boggling

It is sad...Even with actual job listings that we have put in the past asking for specific information with a cover letter, we would get applicants who would completely ignore all requests and just send their resume over. Shows great initiative! lol

I have had good success with odesk but I've also had surprisingly very good success with Elance.

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Michael Rosmer

11 years ago

Originally Posted by chg

It is sad...Even with actual job listings that we have put in the past asking for specific information with a cover letter, we would get applicants who would completely ignore all requests and just send their resume over. Shows great initiative! lol

I have had good success with odesk but I've also had surprisingly very good success with Elance.

This isn't any different from hiring offline. I don't bother expecting them to read my post in detail you have to put yourself in their shoes. 100+ people often apply for jobs and only 1 will get hired, most will never receive a response or never know how to improve (same as offline jobs) so it isn't an effective use of time to read each of the posts, it's a numbers game. I don't believe you get better candidates by having doing some of the screening suggested in this thread instead it makes much more sense to go by work history, portfolio, having them provide some sample work, going by feedback ratings, etc.

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Resale Rights Ninja

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Michael Rosmer

This isn't any different from hiring offline. I don't bother expecting them to read my post in detail you have to put yourself in their shoes. 100+ people often apply for jobs and only 1 will get hired, most will never receive a response or never know how to improve (same as offline jobs) so it isn't an effective use of time to read each of the posts, it's a numbers game. I don't believe you get better candidates by having doing some of the screening suggested in this thread instead it makes much more sense to go by work history, portfolio, having them provide some sample work, going by feedback ratings, etc.

I absolutely agree. Especially about going by work history, portfolio, and sample work.

You have to be careful with feedback because unfortunately their are those who don't play the game straight and they get fake feedback. They open multiple accounts and send money back and forth between accounts. It happens more often than you would imagine. I have been burned by guys that have done that on elance, odesk, and freelancer.

That is why once you find someone that is good you hang on to them. I have guys that have worked for me for years because I don't want to lose them.

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Michael Rosmer

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Resale Rights Ninja

That is why once you find someone that is good you hang on to them. I have guys that have worked for me for years because I don't want to lose them.

100% if you're going to do any volume of work it's worth it to invest the money up front to find great people and then keep them with you for ages afterwards. I spent probably $500-$1000 just running small scale trials to end up with the team of web designers I have now and keep them busy pretty much full time. Similar for various graphic design tasks, I generally advise people spend $25-$30 hiring 5-6 designers on Fiverr for logos, etc. to compare them and when you find someone you like just reuse them over and over again, it's totally worthwhile in the long run.

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NeshSab

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Michael Rosmer

I generally advise people spend $25-$30 hiring 5-6 designers on Fiverr for logos, etc. to compare them and when you find someone you like just reuse them over and over again, it's totally worthwhile in the long run.

100% Agree.

I personally use Fiverr for logos and banners (mainly graphical) and oDesk for everything else (mainly programming).

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sidneyng 11 years ago

Definitely Odesk.
I like the Work Calandar feature - where they take screenshots and track typing patterns - so you just pay for what it's worth.

Plus, nice user interface...
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Bent SEO

11 years ago

Originally Posted by JennySweets

It is really amazing how few people who respond on Any of the freelance sites actually include the project requirement line. I usually put mine somewhere that they would actually have to read Through it not just skim the beginning and end. It really does weed out like 75 % of the people - mind boggling

Ya no doubt - I put mine about halfway through as well - great little productivity tip, and I've never had a bad experience with oDesk accordingly - but spending time vetting your workers as well as being OVERLY descriptive with TONS of examples is very important.

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KishanS

11 years ago

Like the other two poster above, I have also had good experience with odesk.

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ATAC

11 years ago

I use Odesk and hire a coder and also elancer and never had a problem along with fiverr and youker....

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Resale Rights Ninja

11 years ago

Odesk is my favorite. I have had mostly good experiences with them. I think it also really depends on what tasks you want done and the quality of work you want.

A high quality V.A. can cost as much as $25 per hour. On the other hand you could get a low quality V.A. for $2 per hour. I would recommend paying more rather than less.

If you are looking for a mid range priced and very high quality I would recommend my guy who is top notch. He can do anything you need done but you would be looking at $15 per hour. You can PM me if your interested.

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Michael Rosmer

11 years ago

It depends for what as mentioned by others Odesk is great and getting better, but it's not the best for everything. For example for designing logos, business cards, brochures, etc. I find Fiverr is much better value for the money. It's easier to browse work history, the costs are generally lower (very tough to hire someone to do anything for $5 on Odesk, whereas you can get a nice logo on Fiverr for $5 if you pick the right person and direct them accordingly). I use both services depending on the needs.

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vedremo

Banned 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Michael Rosmer

It depends for what as mentioned by others Odesk is great and getting better, but it's not the best for everything. For example for designing logos, business cards, brochures, etc. I find Fiverr is much better value for the money. It's easier to browse work history, the costs are generally lower (very tough to hire someone to do anything for $5 on Odesk, whereas you can get a nice logo on Fiverr for $5 if you pick the right person and direct them accordingly). I use both services depending on the needs.

This.

oDesk is one of the best freelance sites. But there are those who are just resellers. E.g. you pay them, they get someone on Fiverr (or Warriors for Hire etc) to do the work, they pocket the difference.

oDesk charges a premium, but the site is mostly good.

Conduct interview over Skype, especially if it's a 5 figure project. Make sure the contractor can understand instructions and start with a test project. E.g. if you want them to do the graphics for an app, start with them creating the app icon. If they can't do that well and within 48 hours - pay them for their time - find someone else, you just saved yourself a truckload of paracetamol.

Don't go to Freelancer /Shutters. Google it if you're considering it.

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Chris Zemdegs 11 years ago

I have been using both oDesk and Elance recently for a number of research and graphics design tasks.

Consistently receive responses on oDesk that fail to acknowledge the actual job being posted in any way and have taken to specifying response criteria as an easy way to filter out those who can't follow basic direction (eg. I wanted someone to do some research on the desktop printer industry and got plenty of responses from people who were all too eager to tell me about their PHP, SQL etc. skills via a pro forma response). That being said, I eventually found a couple of good research folks via oDesk at a really good price.

I have found Elance slightly more expensive, but as a broad generalisation it seems a slightly higher quality response rate overall, and those freelancers that I have used (this time for some some graphic design) have been professional in their work with me.

Agree with one of the other posters, test tasks can be a good way to trial both the ability of the applicants plus it will show how well you and they interact. I have no problem paying for a small trial task to weed out/shortlist some potentials and try and find the right person - the investment will likely pay you back over time if you know you've got a safe pair of hands for a certain type of task.

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GeorgiaB

11 years ago

Yes oDesk is my favorite too.

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laurencewins

11 years ago

Why hasn't anybody suggested our very own Warriors for Hire section?
You generally get good quality people and you can usually see what they're like before hiring them by asking around.

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jessiem

11 years ago

Definitely Odesk is the best, I've used it for a try and I love their service.

However, I found Staff.com perfect for hiring full time employees. They have recruiters who can help you find the best freelancer to hire for your business.

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writeaway

11 years ago

I use Fiverr for graphics freelancers. So far, so good.

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seobro

11 years ago

I use to use micro workers years ago. Well, not any more. Most of the time it is FIVERR now. Quality is good and price is nice. Fiverr clones are also good, but you can usually find what you need on FIVERR more. Other websites such as elancer are too expensive. I do not rec guru. There are freelancers here on warrior forum and I have had good experiences.

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JamesBorg 11 years ago

I've had too many bad experiences with the sites dedicated to writing, so next time I outsource content, I'll probably go through the services sections of IM forums. Or I'll just pay for rewrites/spins, which is basically what I've gotten when I've asked for fresh content (I don't really blame the writers for cutting corners, given the sweatshop rates).

I'd advise others not to trust any integrated plagiarism/dupe checkers of these services (Copyscape apparently still uses an easily fooled shingle algorithm, and there's no way the PhDs and uber-nerds at Google would rely on such an algorithm). With some careful Google searching, I was able to find the pre-spun/rewritten sources of 90% or more of the articles I paid top rates for (top rates on those sites, that is).

On the other hand, I've used RAC (now freelancer.com via vWorker) and Fiverr for graphics work, and I've been extremely pleased. I'd expect other freelance sites would be good places to get graphics as well.
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Moneymaker2012

11 years ago

Odesk and LinkedIn are really good sites for hiring freelance workers, but I always prefer warrior for hire section first,

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Ghoster

11 years ago

Odesk has the edge over Elance, I think. I've never used any other site.

Odesk just makes everything easier. Elance is a bit shadier, too. Their "mediation" is a joke.