Just Learned This On Accident {10 sec} outsourcing trick

15 replies
here's what happened,

I posted a job on oDesk.....I post A LOT of jobs there.

And I accidentally found a cool little trick that cuts interviewing time down to nothing.

As everyone should know you want to put somewhere in your job description copy reply with the word "banana" in your application. (you can use whatever word you want)

So if you are needing a general job done. I.E. Virtual Assistant this little trick cuts down your hiring job a lot, but I found another one that let's you really know if your person is really paying attention and it's not just a hiring agency going through hundreds of things for them.

Put a link to something of somewhat importance in your job description and link it back to a 404 error page.

I did this on accident, but what I found was WHO WAS REALLY PAYING ATTENTION

and that's who I want to work with.

Not sure if this helps anyone else, but it sure helped me.....don't know if you have ever tried to hire a VA before, but 70 applications pretty instantly is a big pain in the rear.

thanks for your time.....I hope this serves you,

don
#accident #learned #odesk #outsourcing #sec #trick
  • Profile picture of the author Marketing Cheetah
    This is a cool trick but still there is a chance the person you have filtered out might be a good one. Applying for several jobs without reading their "whole" description is a common thing.

    But overall, this is really a good trick as it will surely save you some time. I personally just browse different profiles of people at ODesk and then send them invitations. This is much easy.
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    • Profile picture of the author donaldwilson
      Originally Posted by Marketing Cheetah View Post

      This is a cool trick but still there is a chance the person you have filtered out might be a good one. Applying for several jobs without reading their "whole" description is a common thing.

      But overall, this is really a good trick as it will surely save you some time. I personally just browse different profiles of people at ODesk and then send them invitations. This is much easy.
      What I have decided is that it works really well for General jobs. Like VA....simple graphics.....simple stuff that gets TONS of applicants....it's a huge time saver.

      I would definitely not do this if you are looking for a high level skill because you don't want to weed out the top-notch people.

      -don
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  • Profile picture of the author BJ Min
    i do something similar to that.

    i just ask them to reply to my 2-3 specific questions in their reply.

    - if they do that, i know they took time to read my post in detail.
    - also by how they write (organized or not, etc), i can weed out which ones are more likely to write better or not (if it's a writing job, etc).
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  • Profile picture of the author fdth
    Good tips. It sounds like oDesk is pretty popular for finding good help.
    Are there any others worth looking at besides oDesk?
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    • Profile picture of the author donaldwilson
      Originally Posted by fdth View Post

      Good tips. It sounds like oDesk is pretty popular for finding good help.
      Are there any others worth looking at besides oDesk?
      There are, but oDesk really rocks because of the work diary that is available when you higher hourly.

      What I usually do is post an hourly job and get a feel for EXACTLY what this should cost me and then find somebody and hire them for a fixed contract....usually you can get the cheapest rate this way.

      If it's long-term I work them hourly and check their work a lot at the beginning then I just let them work after I know I got somebody good and check in every now and then.

      -Don
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    • Profile picture of the author TracyZ
      Originally Posted by fdth View Post

      Good tips. It sounds like oDesk is pretty popular for finding good help.
      Are there any others worth looking at besides oDesk?
      In addition to oDesk we've used Fiverr and Elance.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        Quite a few buyers on elance use this - in the bottom half of the job description they just slide in a sentence "to show you have read the requirements put the word "whatever" on the top line of your bid."

        One of my buyers said it eliminated 8 out of 10 bids - those bids were from people just bidding wildly in the of getting "something" whether they were qualified or not.

        kay
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  • Profile picture of the author handy
    I just have a bunch of specific questions that I ask them to answer - you'll be surprised how many don't even bother answering those questions.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Linley
    What I have been doing for a long time now is telling them that I will not be replying by email but only interviewing on skype and you must include what job you are applying for or I will not add you. You wouldn't believe how many people still try to email me which I use an email I don't check or use often and then some who still add me on skype don't put in what they are applying for so I know they weren't paying attention!

    I don't use Odesk because I have found a better site for finding quality workers but it does cost 50 bucks a month and it's worth every penny because of the quality workers there and the rates at which you can hire skilled workers! I am not going to share the site here because I hire quite a bit of help over there and I don't want anyone hiring all the good workers! Sorry!
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrew S
    Originally Posted by donaldwilson View Post


    Put a link to something of somewhat importance in your job description and link it back to a 404 error page.

    I did this on accident, but what I found was WHO WAS REALLY PAYING ATTENTION

    and that's who I want to work with.

    I never tried the codeword thing, never really wanted to because I know a lot of people skim like myself and all someone really needs is a general jist of what you want to make a response..So I really questioned the effectiveness of the code word.


    BUT this little trick you have HERE...

    GENIUS
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  • Profile picture of the author magnates
    Never tried that method before .It is a wonderful way of weeding out those who pay attention from those that are just applying

    I like it . I think i am going to use next time around
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  • Profile picture of the author Jonathan Smith
    Pretty neat little trick. When I post jobs I want them to read my full description. Most of them they need to. I weed them out by asking questions in the post hoping that they add it to their quote to me. That really separates them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lloyd Buchinski
    Well, there are minus points to the op too. If I am looking for work and the person sends me an important link to a 404, I am probably just not going to bother with that job.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    Instead of a 404, why not make it a real page that has nothing but one line of text asking them to mention this codeword.
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    • Profile picture of the author donaldwilson
      Originally Posted by Gene Pimentel View Post

      Instead of a 404, why not make it a real page that has nothing but one line of text asking them to mention this codeword.
      I found this on accident.......Yes that would work even better. Thank you for the idea

      -Don
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