How to Improve your Chances when Applying for Freelancing Jobs

May 27, 2011 by A Guest Article Writer

With the recent surge in popularity of freelancing websites like oDesk, vWorker, Elance and Freelancer.com, the potential to earn a full-time living from such sites has now become a reality but, with that, comes some stiff competition. Finding freelance work is not as simple as just joining up and throwing a few words here and there on your profile, you need to be pro-active and make an effort to impress potential buyers with your skills and experience. You can do this by spending time filling out your profile and by writing professional and courteous cover letters.

Portfolio

Most freelance websites offer members the opportunity to upload items to a portfolio which showcases their experience. This is important in all categories of employment but, particularly when it comes to design work and writing. Writers can upload PDF files of their articles and designers can upload jpegs or PDFs. If you’re worried about somebody stealing your designs, put a watermark symbol in the background. An empty portfolio sends the message that you’re not really interested in finding work. Why should a buyer blindly trust that you are skilled enough to do your job?

Resume

The resume section of your online profile gives you the chance to put in all details pertaining to work experience and education. This is your chance to shine and tell buyers about any courses you’ve done, certifications you’ve achieved and jobs you’ve had in the past (and what you’ve learned in those jobs).

Overview

If there’s an overview section in the profile settings, this is your chance to introduce yourself and inform buyers in a succinct manner what you can do for them.

Cover Letters

One of the most important components of an online job application is the cover letter. This is what sells your skills to the buyer. You must ensure that punctuation and grammar are correct and that the letter is professional but, at the same time, friendly. Try to resist the urge to cut and paste from one cover letter to another. It’s okay to re-use some sections but try to customize the bulk of the letter to suit the individual job you’re applying to.

Skills Tests

Some freelancing sites like vWorker and oDesk give members the opportunity to take skills tests. If you score well in these tests it gives buyers a good idea of your capabilities and it offers them peace of mind before handing over their hard-earned cash to you.

Keep learning

Just because you’re already a professional doesn’t mean you can stop learning. The internet offers a multitude of wonderful resources to help you learn new skills. Take advantage of these resources and, whenever you have a quiet hour or two, learn something new. Even the skills you are already adept at can be honed further by keeping up to date with the latest technologies and standards.

Increase the odds of getting jobs

Unfortunately, not everyone who advertises job/project openings ends up hiring someone. Some people post jobs and then disappear and never even bother to read the applications. Others post on a multitude of sites and end up choosing contractors on one of the sites you don’t belong to. It takes a lot of work writing cover letters and keeping your profile up to date but it’s worth sending a lot of applications every week to maximize your chances of success.

Article by Darren. Darren writes on the topic on doing people search for free, finding people and reconnecting with them online.