oDesk buyer offered me a new project

First of, Hello to you :)

Today, my first oDesk buyer - The one I told you in my previous post that has suspended my assignment and reopened it again and suspended it then reopened it again LOL as redundant as that, well she suddenly emailed me today offering me another oDesk opportunity. I said Im interested. It's a research job and data entry type of job. I am still trying to weigh my options as I dont have good experience with researching especially if its about people's contact info. Sadly, the job that was given is like that. Anyway, we will see but for now lets thank God for another opportunity.

Note to self:
1. I need to update my Isotretinoin experience. I have been updating in the GT forum but I think I need to post more here so that there's a particular reference.

2. Remind me to post more stuffs about homebased job.

3. Remind me to post my latest beauty purchases.

Wow I have so many stuffs to do. But in the end, I dont finish a lot.

:( PS, Cecy is feeling sad today cause she misses one of her friends. :((

♥,
Cecily

Searching for Jobs at Odesk

So you already have an oDesk account but you’re still clueless on how to find a job? Well read on and find some helpful tips from me. (hopefully they’re helpful lol)

NOTE: I suppose you are not clueless on how to open an account at oDesk? if YES, Im going to make a tutorial for you next time if ONLY somebody demands.

Let’s take a peek at the image above. This is the typical look of a job advertisement at oDesk. Here you will find the Job Title, the description, the bid and a little information about the buyer (employer).

Things you need to know:

1. Payment Method

If the payment method of your buyer is verified, then don't worry, you’re secured and will be paid as per oDesk policies. If its NOT VERIFIED, you’ll risk of not getting paid at the end of your assignment. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are bogus, some buyers are fairly new with oDesk and they need at least 3 days to process their payment method. If they haven't verified it within the time frame, oDesk will take care of that lol. CECILY TIP: I personally choose the verified method because its less hassle less stress.

2. Invitations

What are the signs that your buyer is a bogus? They send numerous invitations but they don’t necessarily hire any provider. This is a common situation in oDesk and you must always look at this part. Especially if the bid is inviting say for example $100+ for a few hours. I have accidentally applied to one and I immediately reported it at oDesk. The end result: Buyer is vacuumed out of oDesk.

3. Job Description

A good description provides every detail you need for a job. Some buyers dont expand this thing and they prefer to discuss it thru email or interview. CECILY TIP: I prefer buyers who send samples and those that write a lot. In this way, I can assess my skills if I am really fit for the job. If you find the job enticing, apply and ask for more details and then lastly, evaluate your conversations with the buyer.

4. Feedback

This is a subjective one. Its undeniable that we cannot please everybody and therefore the buyers cannot please their providers as well. Some exceptions though, a feedback is like a scar. It can be permanent if you wont try to make it look good. For a buyer with a feedback lower than 3 is quite dubious. You can always read the reason behind the low score. Just hover your mouse in the magnifying glass icon beside the feedback. If the reason is negotiable to you, then give it a try. But if the feedback tells something about professionalism and work ethics, move on otherwise you’ll end up messing your oDesk experience.

Anyway, that’s fairly it. If you have more tips then comment them out! Remember, its not always about the bid. Yes you do freelance in order to earn but a good freelancer is someone who reads, analyze, carefully judge and an intelligent bidder.

✎ The oDesk experience

Alright. This is going to be my first post about my journey towards earning money online. :)

Lets start of with oDesk.

I started working at oDesk last April 3, 2009. Yes, that's really recent. It was purely accidental. I actually wanted to apply as an online English teacher with a Japanese owned company but they were not replying with my application so I decided to call them. For some reason, I first wanted to research about the company before following up...and then I stumbled upon oDesk at Google and so the history goes on...

After I signed up, I immediately build my profile. I took two online exams: The oDesk readiness exam and the US English Basic Skills Test. I passed btw lol. And then I applied to 11 job postings. Yes, you've read that right. Eleven. I almost hit the quota of 15 application lol. Luckily for me after a day, I received three interview invitations from them and another two after few days. I was so happy and never imagined that these buyers* will contact me because I am not really confident with my cover letters ;P. What happened to the other applications? They rejected me. :) Saying that they prefer other candidates and others say that I was charging them a high bid. That's ridiculous because as far as I know I only charge $2.00/hour. I guess they only wanted to make excuses.

Anyway, among the five interview invitations, two buyers hired me.

Buyer #1: My task is to research about people with debt. Those who reside in the UK only. I was too excited but I had a hard time with the task. It eats up my time and searching people in debt asking about their contact info is like finding a needle in a haystack. I found some contacts and gave it to my buyer but I wanted to terminate the job. My buyer told me not to cancel it and I did. After few weeks, I didn't follow up about the task. I guess its really not my thing. And today (April 20), I received an email saying that my buyer suspended it. I received no payment, I received no negative feedback. Its okay. I am after the feedback anyway. ✌

Buyer #2: My task is to cut and edit an audio. This is my first ever real task. I gave a good impression with my buyer because I passed his qualifications which is to submit an edited audio before he can finally hire me. It was an easy job but difficult at the same time because of the bulk. I have to finish 400+ audio in two days! But I cant, and I honestly told him that. I didn't really sleep at all just to finish it plus the audio were really random so I had to organize them in some way. After the first task, he asked how much I would like to be paid. I told him I will charge $72 because I had to work for 3 days. He agreed but told me to work faster because there were other providers* who are much faster than me. But since I gained his trust, he gave me more task. I was paid, $40 for my second task.

↑↑↑ My first payment for the things that I did over the internet. lol. Of course it wasn't a get-money-fast idea. I had to work hard for it and use my skills. How will I encash it? I will not. I will make my account fatter before I'll withdraw lol. If I decided to do it, I'll post my experience here. :)

I am still hired by Buyer #2 but for now, he doesn't have a task for me. I worked in a fixed rate as opposed to hourly rate which oDesk encourages. So I am still searching for another job at oDesk.

Right now, I received another invitation for an interview. This time it is going to be different. Its a Virtual Assistant job. I am quite excited about it since I will be paid hourly and the task is not difficult at all. The only uh-oh is that I'm going to work in a different timezone. :( We'll talk about that. The buyer seems to be good in compromising. I hope I'll get in and its going to be a good job. I have pending applications as well so its really advisable to be online most of the time if you really want to get that job!

But my first tip is, do not accept anything for the sake of getting in. Some buyers are like those bad eBay shoppers or hoppers. They give you task and wont pay you the right way. I'll expand this topic nextime.

Oh if you want to check oDesk and want to work there like me, you can check my referral link below. Don't worry, I wont get any profit from you asap because you need to earn $1000 before I can actually benefit from that. lol. Well anyway, the chances are quite vague but I want to try it--Just in case. lol.

♥,
Cecily

*Buyers---oDesk term for employer.
*Providers---oDesk term for you, the one offering the service.
italics---these words are italicized because it will help me make some great tips on how to land a job in oDesk nextime. :)