oDesk for beginners

What for?

In general, the idea of ​​this post came to my mind at that very moment when I, not having a full-time freelancing experience behind me, decided to seriously learn about oDesk. Yes, if anyone knows, oDesk is one of the world's largest freelance exchanges. So, it was in July of this year. By that time, I had already had no official work for half a year, all the part-time jobs were over, no new serious orders were foreseen, and oDesk seemed to me a very promising option. The account, as usual, was registered “in reserve” a year before, but it was hanging all this time without work, so it was necessary to start from scratch. At the same time, I was almost sure that the guide, at least the shortest, on the topic of how and where to start, I’ll find somewhere (I’m sure on Habré!).
Perhaps I was looking bad. However, all that I came across on the topic was reduced only to the fact that it is not necessary to immediately bend prices, it is better to start with small ones. Sample quote: "Start at $ 10 per hour, with time, grow to $ 15." To grow to $ 15, and even with time, I absolutely did not want to, I was sure that you can earn much more. And besides, I was worried about a huge number of questions. How to fill out a profile? What projects to respond? How to make cover letter? How the hell do you get this first order when everyone denies you?
At that moment I decided that if everything worked out for me, I would definitely write that very guide for beginners, which I did not find.

For whom?

It's simple: an article for programmers. Although, perhaps, some of my experience can be useful to representatives of other great professions - designers, for example. More specifically, an article for web developers, but this is not so important. What is more important: it is for good developers. This is important, because with a high probability you will have to learn a lot and in a short time. If you are not ready for this, feel free to close the tab (yes, I understand that you didn’t open the habrokat for that).

Training

So, the decision is made, the account is registered. Here are the questions that will confront you first:

What to specialize in?

It is important. Not all areas are equally in demand, not all are equally paid. According to my observations, the most promising areas are two:

1. IPhone Development
2. Web Development: Ruby on Rails / JavaScript

I can’t say anything definite about the first one, as I haven’t tried it myself yet (but I’ll try it and, if I’m interested, share my experience), so here I’ll consider only the second option.
Why Ruby / Rails? Very simple: unlike Python / Django - many orders, unlike PHP - they pay well. So if this bundle has not yet been mastered, feel free to start exploring. Knowledge of front-end development will be a good plus, and if you don’t be lazy and learn more Backbone, it will make you indispensable to specialists in some cases. If you are a front-endder, learn at least the basics of server development, it will greatly increase your value.
Oh yes: buy a Mac. I'm serious.

Do I need good English?

Yes, at least in writing: it will be necessary to conduct business correspondence absolutely exactly. Oral is desirable because Some customers prefer to communicate via Skype, but this is more of an exception. That is, if there is absolutely no verbal, you can live with it, just accept the fact that you are losing some of the potentially interesting projects.

Do the tests?

Yes, sure. Moreover, the more the better. Of course, irrelevant to your specialty is useless, but you shouldn’t be limited to just one or two. There are two reasons: first, often passing tests of one kind or another is put in the projects as filters for candidates (it is not necessary to fully comply with them, but this is always a plus). Secondly, often employers themselves are looking for suitable candidates for their projects, and as a rule, it is among those who have passed the corresponding test. Naturally, the higher the test result, the better for you, but fanaticism is useless: getting into the top 30% is enough. For perfectionists, the top 10%. The first 3 lines - for maniacs and cheaters, and in addition to the beautiful icon in the profile do not give anything.

Do I contact agencies?

You will definitely receive one or two invitations as soon as you register, so this question will arise almost immediately. My answer is: do not, do it yourself. More freedom, and you don’t have to give up part of the proceeds for services, the real benefits of which are questionable. By the way, you can often find projects with the condition “independent contractors only”. The reverse option - "agency contractors only" - is found, but much less often.

How to fill out a profile, how to write a cover letter?

The most important rule: in no case do not write off the examples that offers oDesk. Every second summary begins with the lines “over the last 5 years”. Now imagine the reaction of employers to exactly the same profiles and letters, add to this also the fact that agencies like to abuse this template. Write in your own words, avoid stamped wording. Profile specialization is better to specify explicitly (for example, Ruby on Rails developer is better than Web developer). In the cover letter pay attention to the specifics of the project, at least in a couple of words make it clear that you have carefully read the description, it will give you an advantage over the countless sample letters of your competitors. Verbiage to anything, write on the case. If a test task is attached to the project, be sure to complete it, which increases the probability of being hired by an order of magnitude.
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Reputation

There are only three resources at your disposal: knowledge, time and reputation. With the first two everything should be more or less clear, the third is worth staying. At oDesk, reputation is a familiar five-star rating system. Formally, “5” should mean an exceptional level of competence, but in practice everything is as usual otherwise, and the assessment of a good specialist rarely drops below 4.5. Follow this very carefully, including at the time of project selection. Look not so much at the customer rating, but at what ratings it puts the performers - this is much more important to you. If you doubt its adequacy, do not take risks. If you have doubts already in the process, give up the project, the sooner the better. Usually this happens in the first week, in this case, cancel all the time worked, oDesk allows it: if the client has not paid you anything, he cannot rate it.

Beginning of work

Dreams of transcendental earnings leave until better times: the first time you work for reputation and, in fact, increase the number of hours worked. To make it clear what we are talking about, let me give here a gradation of the degree of “experience” of a freelancer, which is used on oDesk:

• 0 hours
• 1-99 hours (also 0 hours and at least one paid dollar in case of a one-time order)
• 100-499 hours
• 500-999 hours
• 1000+ hours

First order

The most difficult order is the first. As long as you do not have any hours worked and no reviews, you will be persistently ignored, be prepared for this in advance. In this case, the best option for you is some kind of small one-time task, but for them serious competition is conducted (oddly enough, there are even more people who want to accrue than serious long-term projects), so be patient. It is very good if there is an urgent task that needs to be solved during the day - in this case, customers are less picky in choosing the performer and often hire the first person to enter into correspondence. While agreeing to any level of payment, the main thing is not to sign up for a long-term contract.

First 100 hours

So, the very first frontier is passed, the next step is also not particularly far. Your goal is to work the first 100 hours. In principle, the strategy here is almost the same as with the first order: you are still working for reputation. Don't wait for big money, don't sign up for long-term projects (you don't care to leave any of them soon). However, it should now be easier to receive orders, so you can begin to show greater legibility. I especially do not recommend even in this period to work in the lower price segment (up to $ 10): firstly, it is almost certainly a thrash job, and you will have Indian noodle coders in your colleagues, secondly, the whole history of contracts remains in your profile, work for $ 5 per hour will simply look disreputable.

100 - 500 hours

Congratulations, you crossed the 100-hour bar and fell into a completely different weight category. So that the ratio is clear: only every second of the registered freelancers has worked for at least one hour, and only every fourth - 100. Now you can safely begin to raise prices and generally behave much freer. By the way, if you did everything correctly (i.e., passed several core tests, and your reputation is not lower than 4.5), from that moment you will be regularly invited to interviews by potential employers themselves. Be sure to determine for yourself the minimum comfortable level of payment - that is, one at which you are ready to work on a project without the feeling that you are underpaid (for me, for example, it was $ 20 per hour). Don't settle for anything less, otherwise you will start to make a boil - there is nothing worse.
One should be suspicious of all attempts by the client to bargain, especially attempts to persist. Even if you, after exhausting negotiations, still bargained for yourself a comfortable level of payment, it may turn out that it is not comfortable for the client. In this case, wait for the requirements to justify literally every 10 minutes of your work, not to mention that correspondence, setting up the environment and other “overhead” will almost certainly not be paid.

500+ hours

Actually, I have not yet reached this mark (at the time of writing this article, I have 420 hours worked), but I do not expect as fundamental changes as in the case of the first two. Although this is in any case another reason to revise the rates.
What's next? The ceiling is quite high: top developers earn $ 50-60 per hour, there is something to strive for. To create a team? Decide for yourself, it depends more on your inclinations than on financial requests. If you feel comfortable in the role of a leader, there is certainly a reason. If not - continue to slowly improve skills and increase rates.
Well, good luck - you'll definitely need it.