I have heard a lot of bad stories from my co-providers in oDesk regarding their project experiences. Some of them are being hired at a very low rate and some of them are being asked to do something they’re not actually hired for to do. That’s sad, really…
This particular story is from one of my readers, Ces.
She is an oDesk newbie (joined oDesk last September 1, 2009) and was hired as a Data Entry person and with the rate of $0.35/hour. Her main task was to write articles and contents with the demand of quick turn-around time. On her 3rd and 4th week with the buyer, she was then offered a rate of $0.50/hour. And finally, offered her $1/hour if she writes the article and submits them the next day. She told me that she’s tired already and had a feeling of being underpaid.
What’s Proper in this situation?
- It is okay to accept a project with a rate of $0.35/hour if you are an oDesk newbie and if your goal is to build a good reputation and get a nice feedback.
What’s Wrong in this situation?
- It is not right to hire someone and ask them to work on something they’re not paid to do.
- Do not punish yourself, oDesk providers! If you think you’re doing something you are not supposed to do, tell your clients about it. But your approach is very important in this part. If you confront them, you might end up with a bad / poor feedback. (there are just some rude buyers out there
) If you feel like your buyer is a good one, you can just email them stating your concern. But if you think your client is someone demanding and always on the run, you just got to make up a story then. That you have to stop working because of a certain valid excuse. In this way, the risk of getting a bad feedback will be lessened.
IMPORTANT TIPS:
- When accepting a project, ask for the job description. Establish with the buyer what your responsibilities and roles will be. Review them before accepting the project.
- Do not be scared. There are lots of oDesk job openings everyday that you can take advantage of. If you want your rate to increase overtime, even if you have a current project, apply to other openings with a higher rate. Be confident!
- Always sound professional yet humble & respectful. Buyers love providers who sound like they really know what they’re doing.
- Aim high! oDesk is something where you can build your Career. Trust me. Been there, Done that.
Hope this helps, Ces.
I'm a freelance Search Engine Specialist with almost 2 years experience in this arena. I'm also in the medical field but preferred to do freelancing to gain more independence, flexibility in working hours and to have more time for my loved ones. I have proven results in ranking keywords with corresponding (deep link)landing pages on the TOP 3 pages of Google Results.
Thank you for all the great posts from last year! I look forward to reading your blog, because they are always there information that I can put to use. Thank you again, and God bless you all in 2010. I wait for other interesting articles and more useful
At 0.35 to $1 per hour is very low in my opinion. She should accept work that pays from $3 or more per hour. Being a freelancer myself, I would insist on being paid at a good rate.
She should learn SEO instead. Pay is much better.
I totally agree with you. You working on odesk too?
Nope. I tried ODesk before but quit.. I dont want to install their monitoring tools on my PC. I am not sure that their tool is only monitoring your PC.. coz it might be doing something else. Once installed, it can do whatever it was programmed to do.
I use Freelancer.com instead, it might be competitive in there but if you have the right skills and know how to outbid your competition, you can get SEO projects and others.
Check my blog often for some freelancer tips at http://seo-expert-for-hire.blogspot.com.
Thanks