17 Great Websites to Find Freelance Jobs

I’ve been working online for four years now, and I’m still amazed by how many freelancing sites are available. When I first started, I relied on one site for all of my work because I earned enough money to pay the bills. Once I started branching out though, I was able to get significantly higher paying jobs, many of which required less time than what I was already spending on work, which was a huge win.

I can’t say I’ve used every freelancing job site on the planet, but I’ve certainly weaved my way through the major ones. Some of them did wonders for my savings account, and others made me think about getting a day job – yes, they were that bad. Lucky for you, I’ve compiled a list of the good guys so you know where to turn without the headache – I hope. Here are the best places online to find work as a freelancer.



1 – oDesk

oDesk will forever be my favorite freelancing site because this is the one I first started getting work from. It has jobs for beginners to professionals, with clients and employees from all around the world. You’ll see plenty of low-budget jobs on here, but you can also find great clients who are willing to pay well.

Fun fact: I’m the pale girl with her hand on her chin on the home page – bottom row. Hollywood here I come!

How it works: Simply sign up for an account on the site, and you can browse through thousands of job postings. Search by category based on your skills, and fill out applications for anything you like. If you get interviewed or hired, you can track your hours or project status on oDesk and then get paid directly through the site.

Do:
Fill out your entire profile, with samples and references. Clients may contact you about jobs, so you need to make your profile as enticing as possible.
Take multiple tests. You will have to take the oDesk Readiness Test before you can apply for jobs, but then you should take others related to your skills. This shows clients what you can really do.
Link a withdrawal option to your account. This takes a long time to set up, so you should get it going while you work on your first project.
Include a cover letter for every job you apply to, just as if you were applying to a 9-to-5 gig.

Don’t:
Request upfront payment. Without any experience or feedback on the site, no one is going to trust you to just give you their money.
Get discouraged if you don’t get a job right away. You may have to take something cheaper than expected to gain experience and feedback.
Forget to leave feedback after a project is complete. When you leave yours, your client’s will show up on your profile.
Be afraid to apply for something different. Some of the best jobs I’ve ever gotten were for topics I had to learn more about.

Final takeaway: oDesk is a great site to start off with, and it still provides steady income for the pros. I’ve stuck with it for four years for a reason. It works.



2 – Elance

I used Elance when I first started freelancing, but I stopped because I liked oDesk better. Nevertheless, this is a great alternative, with a huge assortment of job postings for all sorts of freelancers. If you find that oDesk doesn’t tickle your fancy, definitely give this site a try.

How it works: Sign up for an account and complete your profile. When you have the basics in place, you can browse through jobs and bid how much money you could realistically do the project for. If you beat the other applicants, either in skills or in pricing, the client will choose to work with you. Payment and project completion are all done through Elance.

Do:
Look at the average proposal bid, located above the applicant list on each job. This will help you gauge what you might want to bid.
Complete your profile entirely. The more people can see about your work, the more likely they are to hire you.
Communicate with your clients. You’ll see your messages on your homepage, so this should be easy to keep track of.
Set up your payment account. Whether it’s PayPal, a bank, or something else, you’ll have to wait a few days to use it.

Don’t:
Get intimidated by the average bids. If they seem low, you still might get the job because of your experience.
Take on more than you can handle. Clients need to know they can trust you with deadlines, and one piece of feedback could be all she wrote for you.
Forget to withdraw your money. It takes several days to process, so when it comes through, withdraw it.

Final takeaway: Even though I prefer oDesk over Elance, there are plenty of freelancers that think the opposite. It’s worth giving it a shot.



3 – Craigslist

Wait, what? I thought Craigslist was only for buying and trading random stuff in the neighborhood…?

Believe it or not, Craigslist is actually a fantastic source for freelancing jobs. I have found five of my top ten highest paying clients through Craigslist. That’s because I’ve developed a system, which I’ll explain below.

How it works: You can either choose the city you live in from the list, or you can select one of the major cities in your country. I use the U.S. cities list that pops up on the right hand side once you actually go into a city’s page. Check both the “jobs” section and “gigs” section for the city and see if anything fits your skills. Freelance writers look in writing – developers look in web / info design…etc. Read the posts and follow the instructions for applying. If there are none, send an email with a cover letter and resume to the address next to “Reply to this post” at the top. If you hear back, you can proceed like you would a regular job interview.

Do:
Look in as many cities as possible. I check all of the U.S., Europe, and Canada when I apply for jobs.
Read each post carefully. Some give you words to put in your email to make sure you read the whole thing.
Include links or attachments with your work so employers can see what you can do.

Don’t:
Fall victim to a scam. Craigslist offers tips to avoid this matter here.
Go back too far in the postings. I usually limit my searches to the past week, and then I move on to another city.
Sort by telecommute. Even though this would be logical to do for freelance work, many clients don’t click that option for their posts. You may miss out if you limit your search this way.

Final takeaway: Craigslist isn’t the obvious choice for freelancing jobs, but it can lead you to some extraordinary opportunities online. Best part of all – you don’t have to pay anything to use it.

Other sites to check out

Need more than 3 options to land your next freelance gig? Listed below are 14 more freelancing sites & job boards.

Everyone:
Freelancer
Guru
Demand Studios
iFreelance
People Per Hour
Freelance Switch Jobs

Writers:
Journalism Jobs
Freelance Writing Gigs
Freelance Writing Jobs (Canadian)

Designers and Programmers:
99Designs
Get A Coder
Smashing Jobs

About the author: Heaven Stubblefield is a wife, writer, and self-proclaimed know-it-all who makes a living working online. She started her writing career in an attempt to make a little money in college, but she found the lifestyle too tempting to get rid of. You can see her on oDesk and countless other places on the internet.
More great ideas to grow your business

Want more ways to land gigs? Check out the 9 great ways to find freelance jobs.

Discover the 6 steps to creating a freelance profile that wins business.

Find out how to make sure you get paid for your great ideas.

- See more at: http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2013/01/16/freelance-jobs/#sthash.B8GETWxX.dpuf

Sumber : http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2013/01/16/freelance-jobs/

Apakah bisa jadi Freelancer tanpa skill?

“Apakah bisa jadi Freelancer tanpa skill apapun? Adakah trik walau tanpa skill tetap bisa menghasilkan dari job freelancer?”

Ini adalah salah satu pertanyaan yang saya dapat minggu ini.

Memang, ketiadaan skill kadang merupakan hambatan seseorang menjadi Freelancer. Tetapi selama kita yakin banyak jalan menuju Amsterdam, pasti ada cara untuk mengatasinya.

Untuk menjawab pertanyaan di atas, saya akan mengambil perumpamaan dalam dunia bisnis.

Misalkan Anda akan berbisnis Handphone.

Hal pertama yang harus Anda lakukan adalah membeli Handphone untuk kemudian dijual kembali (kulakan). Tentu saja Anda tidak perlu membeli ratusan Handphone sebagai syarat untuk memulai berjualan. Anda bisa memulai dengan bermodalkan 1 buah HP.

Setelah anda punya HP maka langkah selanjutnya adalah mempromosikan dagangan Anda.

Kalau Anda memutuskan membuka kios HP di rumah, Anda harus promosi ke teman-teman, saudara, atau kenalan tentang bisnis baru Anda. Mungkin Anda akan membutuhkan iklan, flyer, baliho dan lain-lain sebagai media promosi.

Anda bisa juga menyewa kios di pusat perdagangan atau menyewa tempat dimana banyak orang mencari HP

Perumpamaan di atas bisa kita terapkan dalam dunia Freelance.

Saya rasa ada dua hal penting yang harus dimiliki oleh seorang Freelancer yaitu:

1. Memiliki skill untuk dijual
2. Bisa mengkomunikasikan skill yang dimilikinya

Untuk memiliki skill, anda butuh modal. Modal bisa berupa uang dan (atau) waktu. Uang  digunakan untuk membayar training, membeli buku, kursus, membayar mentor yang bisa menuntun Anda dll. Modal waktu dibutuhkan untuk proses pembelajaran agar skill tersebut bisa meresap. Jika Anda punya uang, maka waktu yang Anda butuhkan bisa relatif lebih singkat karena ada yang menuntun (buku,video,tutor,mentor). Jika tidak punya uang, Anda bisa belajar secara otodidak via internet.

Skill ini harus terus di update. Anda harus mau menyisihkan modal untuk mengupdate nya. Jika tidak, ini sama seperti punya toko HP tetapi ketika barang dagangan habis terjual Anda tidak kulakan lagi. Atau HP yang anda miliki sudah ketinggalan jaman, tidak ada orang lagi yang mau beli. Dalam kondisi seperti ini Anda harus belanja barang-barang baru yang bisa mengikuti trend saat ini.

Jika seorang Freelancer tidak mau mengupdate skill, resikonya dia akan “out of business”.

Memang ada pekerjaan-pekerjaan yang relatif tidak membutuhkan skill seperti Data Entry. Tetapi sifat pekerjaan low skill adalah bayarannya kecil, dan saingannya banyak (karena hampir semua orang bisa melakukannya).

Akan lebih baik jika Anda “kulakan” skill yang bagus dan banyak yang membutuhkan, sehingga Anda bisa menjualnya kembali dengan harga yang bagus.

Prinsip kedua adalah mampu mengkomunikasikan skill yang dimiliki.

Memiliki skill tidak semerta-merta membuat Client menghire Anda. Sama seperti punya toko HP di rumah tidak semerta-merta membuat pembeli datang. Dengan kemampuan mengkomunikasikan apa yang Anda miliki, maka penjualan pasti akan lebih tinggi lagi.

Hal ini yang kadang sering dilupakan oleh para Freelancer.

Ada beberapa pembaca buku  Panduan Praktis Jadi Freelancer di Odesk untuk Pemula yang skillnya bagus, tetapi belum pernah di hire di marketplace Freelance seperti oDesk atau Elance. Hal ini dikarenakan kurangnya kemampuan mengkomunikasikan skill yang dimiliki lewat Bidding Proposal.

Komunikasi pada dasarnya adalah seni mendengar. Untuk bisa menulis proposal bidding yang baik Anda harus bisa “mendengar” kebutuhan Client dalam sebuah Job Description. Hanya setelah Anda mengetahui kebutuhan dasarnya, maka Anda bisa menawarkan sesuatu yang tepat untuk Client.

Pada banyak kesempatan saya sering mengamati bahwa Client lebih memilih menghire Freelancer yang skill nya cukup namun komunikatif daripada Freelancer yang punya skill dewa tetapi tidak komunikatif.

Nah, kembali pada pertanyaan awal di tulisan ini.

“Apakah bisa jadi Freelancer tanpa skill?”

Saya lebih memilih untuk menjawabnya dengan mengubah pertanyaannya menjadi:

“Apa yang bisa saya lakukan untuk menjadi seorang Freelancer yang hebat?”

1. Miliki sebuah skill.
2. Belajar untuk mengkomunikasikan skill yang dimiliki.

Kuncinya disini adalah belajar sambil praktek. Anda tidak harus memiliki ratusan HP untuk bisa membuka toko HP. Anda bisa mulai dengan 1 buah HP dan kemudian menggunakan keuntungan yang di dapat untuk membeli HP-HP baru.

Sebenarnya ada trik jika Anda tidak punya skill, yaitu berpartner dengan orang yang punya skill. Tapi saya rasa team yang hebat terdiri dari orang-orang yang punya skill hebat dan saling melengkapi. Kalau Anda mau mengajak orang yang punya programming skill untuk menjadi partner Anda, maka Anda harus punya skill lain yang melengkapi skill nya. Mungkin skill marketing, mungkin skill graphic design, skill copy writing atau yang lain. Kalau Anda punya skill marketing tingkat internasional, partner Anda juga harus punya skill programming yang hebat. Jika tidak maka bisa jadi partnership Anda tidak akan berumur panjang.

So, how do you think?

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