Get a grip!!!

If you haven't read my previous entry please do so.

Anyway, I have a bad feeling (woot i heard I’ve got a Feeling song at the back of my head as I type that! err)

that my Mexicanovela slash Greek god is a scam.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

WTFWTFTWF. He didnt pay me yet. I am like an angry girlfriend now hahaha – cause he is not replying to me after giving him my articles. argh. and he put me into call forwarding in Skype!

I already contacted the live support and unfortunately they cannot really do anything about the problem unless other providers will also complain.

OMG I felt really betrayed. I will get ready for the divorce papers soon. I should sue him for committing adultery. lol jkjk.

 

Lesson learned? Don't be fooled by those biceps again!!

 

/out

[oDesk] Do you check the background of your buyer?

I do.

Well for most of my buyers. Yes I try to check them out other than their working feedback from oDesk. Let me tell you a story I experienced few minutes ago. Yes. Just minutes ago.

I applied for a very lucrative job posting. The buyer’s payment method is verified, working feedback is 4.43/5.00 (still passable) and the very nice thing is: I can design! Yep. I’ll be using my graphic skills finally. I want to graduate as an administrative support! heh~

The buyer responded immediately. And told me straight ahead that she can pay me below my rate. Note that its not less than 50% – IT IS A 90% DROP OF MY RATE. Hmmm. I'm quite hesitant but immediately relieved to see that I have less than 50 hrs a week to work. Come to think of it, its still a good deal IF I'm guaranteed to be paid for 50 hrs a WEEK. But it didn't work that way.

We exchanged few messages while I checked this buyers background. I read the feedback of his hired providers. I was not that satisfied with the comments. Something is really lacking, i felt. I researched for her name on Google. At first, there are no relevant searches. Until I have clicked a link with my buyer’s name.

At this moment, I am already negotiating about my rate. The buyer obviously doesn't want to talk about it. I am not liking the mood of our conversations. I don't like the feeling that I am not worth my rate.

THEN THIS *ODESK DEPRESSION SUDDENLY HIT ME.

*a relative psychological emotion of freelancers whenever he/she feels inadequate, unloved, unimportant, PLUTOED. Commonly cause of distress are prick, low IQ and EQ buyers.

So my inner Oprah talked to me. Child, No don't feel depressed. This buyer is not worth your time. You know you’re more than that. But of course the oDesk depression didn't stop that way. It only stopped until I found a great information about my potential buyer. Thanks to Google.

In case you didn't notice: There are words like criminal and termination in that website. I wont provide the site name anymore for privacy sake and I don’t believe in attacking because my buyer didn't directly do anything wrong to me.

In short, the buyer’s family members were involved in a serious case. One involves death. Erm ye morbid. I am not sure of the resolution. I am assuming they have changed their company name cause they still have a common word in both their new and old company names.

In short, I don't want to be associated with a company like that.

In short, it was not my loss if my buyer didn’t hire me.

In short, I was able to relieve my oDesk depression.

In short, I'm back again to scouting other buyers. Potentially GOOD and with clean slate backgrounds.

PS. The buyer didn’t reply after my last question. The candidacy has not yet ended but I am assuming it will be after the buyer has found another provider that will agree with her terms.

PPS: The buyer replied but I didn't bother to answer again.

Lesson learned:

1. Know your worth. Don't go way below your rate.

2. RESEARCH. RESEARCH.

3. Don’t Settle for LESS. (I know it sounds like #1 but I really want to stress this out)

4. Call your inner Oprah once oDesk depression strikes!

xoxo

Odesk update

Tonight, from 6pm-12:28am, I applied at oDesk and I was hired by two buyers. Yipee. I almost thought that I will be having a hard time to look for buyers since I went to a hiatus but I am so blessed that today, two of them trusted me to work for them!! The first one is an Article Writer. lol I will now make this as a career haha. Though I have to write 12 articles (400-500) each in seven minutes wow. Now I have to really extract those juices. Good thing is, the topics are “drum rolls” Acne and teeth whitening! hahah. Interesting.

The second buyer is as an Admin Assistant. Its interesting cause when I talked to my buyer, she (YES, a female) is really nice and were almost of the same age. I like her na hehe. And she put smiley! Yey! Mabait hehe.

Anyway, will post soon. I will now stop rambling and will begin another career after a long hiatus. This time I hope the cha-chings are continuous. :) Goodnyt, beauties and handsomes.

PS. recalling my previous tip when finding job at odesk, look for the payment verified and with almost perfect feedback for a buyer. Read the description really well and do write a personalized not the standardized cover letter. Convince them, tell them: I can do that job!!! And apply as many as you like. Do not stop. If you receive candidacy ended mail, fret not! they’re not worth it. Keep on applying for good buyers. If you are hungry and the only way to eat is to catch a fish, would you stop hunting?? no. So grab that big fish at oDesk and dont quit.

[Homebased Job] Good Odesk Buyers

Hello I’m back once again blogging about my Odesk experience. Well two days ago, I said, I will apply for my Unionbank EON card and to have my hair rebonded. I didnt pursue any yay. An old buyer contacted me the night after I posted that entry. So I have no choice but to cancel my plans. I know that this Buyer is strict when it comes to deadlines. The deadline was this afternoon, 12pm.

Again, its about editing audio stuffs. Segue: I am really thinking of buying a netbook so that I can do any homebased job anywhere and I can hang out with friends at the same time. I want to use my oDesk savings.---yes I have saved enough. Homebased job rocks!!!

I think I am already an expert when it comes to editing. I can do 600 audio in 14 hours. Woot. in short 43 audio in 1 hour and these are all cutting, adding additional audio’s, making it shorter at the same time. It’s quite a workload and my right hand mostly do the work so after 8 hours, my right thumb is getting numb and shaky. But all for the sake of this buyer, I am going to do my best and follow the deadline.

And it paid off.

Lol its quite cute. I am so happy I received this. Then after a few minutes I have received my payment plus a surprise.

WOOOW. I am really jumpy when I received this and I can’t thank him enough for it. Don't worry, I kept myself calm when I replied back ahahaha. For my one and a half day work, I was paid almost a price of a rebonded hair. LOL I am so happy!

Yeah, he said, he has one more project for me. I really love this buyer of mine (not in a romantic way lol)

I also want to share another loved buyer of mine. Surprisingly, the above buyer and this one has the same name. But different spelling though. Haha I love this one even though he doesnt have projects for me recently. Why? Because he uses smiley in his emails haha.

It really pays when you are honest with your buyer and if you do not just work with them for the sake of money. I have all the opportunity to stay long for an hourly job with this buyer. I can stay in the internet, strolling. Clicking any unnecessary tabs in my keyboard so that it counts as a high green bar in my work diary lol but I didn’t. In the end, we have a good relationship and I didnt abuse his credit card hehe.

Apologize for not blogging recently

Oh no. Real life issues are really making me busy nowadays.

Anyway for my homebased job. Yes I am still doing it. I currently have 4 buyers. Two of them are active. I am still waiting for the other inactive buyer to email me about our ebook project. I hope its going to happen because I love to write an ebook. wew big challenge! The other inactive buyer is i dont know. He is my biggest payer but well there's no projects recently...Wonder what will happen to me hehe.

As for my mystery shopping stint, I AM LOVING IT! I get paid to eat and also I am able receive a token for my review yehey hehe. Although I havent been paid yet, which I am hoping to get it next month on the third week (payout), I already made 3 mystery shopping for this month! wow i never thought it would be so much fun. I feel like Inspector Gadget haha.

For my Isotretinoin Update, thank goodness I finally visited my derm last saturday! He put glycolic peel for my face and wow it feels so refreshing. He said that my Isotretinoin course is done and he also commented about my question regarding the oilyness.

THAT'S NORMAL! YOU NEED THE OIL TO AVOID WRINKLES.

Oh yeah he's sort of right. Quite relieved about that for as long as I am not breaking out.

I asked him if there would be relapses?

He said, 20% of people will take the drug again. OH NO. I really hope I am not included in those percentage in the future. Six months---This is the timeframe he said. We will monitor my skin within 6 months. If it's okay, then Istosotretinoin is crossed out. I really hope so. But I will try not to stress much about it.

Okay till then. I really hope to post another big time update next time. Wishes <33

♥,
Cecily

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.

Writer NEEDED---CLOSED

I have said in my previous post that I was hired from oDesk without an interview and this buyer of mine is asking me to write something about this specific old time radio. They are clear and they are entertaining. Its like listening to Hairspray or Pleasantville. Okay so I can't fulfill the duties of a writer now as another homebased job suddenly emailed me and I needed to prepare for this cause its going to be a long time job. Im going to teach actually and I needed to make my own lessons. lol. So please if anyone is interested for this job, please contact me asap. You need to be a good english writer please.

I'll give 50% of the earnings or 100% of it if you want and I can talk to my buyer and hire you instead!

Thanks. Need this ASAP!!

email@ cecilysummer (@) gmail.com

UPDATE: As of May 4, I am closing this ad. :)

♥,
Cecily

✎ 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. :)