How to Open an Account on oDesk as an Employer

Odesk is one of the best websites to find freelance workers for your business. If you are looking for a place to outsource your business or work oDesk is the best option to do so. Here is the step by step guide to how to open or create an account on oDesk as an employer.

Step 1: Visit the Registration Page of oDesk

Visit the registration page of oDesk or click on the banner below to get straight to the registration page.

Step 2: Click on the Create an Account Button

Step 3: Choose “Employer”

Click on the “Employer: I want to post a job” button. Posting a job on oDesk is absolutely free. you only have to pay 10% of the service charge when you pay your freelance contractor. 

Step 4: Fill Up your Details

Step 5: Complete Registration

Once you have filled up your details and submitted the information, you will be sent to a new page. Now you will have the option to describe your company or fill in your company information. After that you can  describe your job here. Then you will need to verify to finalize the registration process. Remember that you can always change the given information later on.

Step 6: Verify Your Credit Card

You can now verify your credit card and start posting jobs on oDesk so that freelance contractors can start applying for the job.

Best of luck.

Frequently Asked Questions about Freelancing

Here are some answers to the frequently asked questions about freelancing on oDesk. I hope this will help you to build your online career better.

What is freelancing?

Freelancing is one of the most low-cost ways to becoming self employed. A freelancer is not an employee of anyone, but a “provider” for his/her client.

Why become a freelancer?

Obviously the most common and obvious reason is “money”. You can earn a healthy monthly income from your home working on your computer. If I speak for myself, I am making more money online, working as a freelancer than I ever thought I would. I am making more than what I hoped to earn after graduation. 

How much can I earn?

This is one of the most popular questions to be asked. I’m not going to say that you are going to be a millionaire within a month. But I will say that if you have the right set of skills, you will earn more than you can spend.

How to become a freelancer?

You can try both offline and online ways to become a freelancer. But as this blog’s scope allows me to talk only about online ways to make money, I will suggest some online methods of becoming a freelancer. Some very established websites work a medium and help you to get freelancers connected with clients. You can register an account there and start your career as a freelancer. Some of the better freelancing websites are oDesk, Elance, Freelancer, Guru etc. My personal preference is oDesk as I work there.

How to open an account on oDesk?

I have written detailed articles about how to open an account on oDesk as a freelancer and how to open an account on oDesk as an employer on separate blog posts.

What do you mean by filling your profile with quality content?

In many posts I have talked about filling up your contractor profile with quality content. Quality content means writing detailed, but specific description about your skills or other fields on your profile. How to fill up your profile?

What is a cover letter?

Cover letter is the application form that you send to the potential client when you are applying to the job posting he (the client) has offered. Odesk allows you to write the cover letter once you are about to apply to the job. How to write a stunning cover letter?

Which job should I go after initially?

It really depends on your skill set. There is no specific answer to this question. Go after what you can do best. I started my career with article writing.

Do I need any formal certification to get a job on oDesk?

No. You don’t.

What is the weekly quota for sending job application?

The maximum quota for sending job application is 25 articles per seven days. It starts with 2 per seven days and goes up as you pass oDesk Ready Test and other skill tests, or get hired on jobs.

Do I need a bank account to work on oDesk?

No, this is not a prerequisite. You do not need a bank account to work on oDesk. You can go ahead and start working on any contract without a bank account. oDesk will store all your income into their secured server and you can withdraw them whenever you feel comfortable. You can withdraw the income with your payoneer master card or you can wire transfer the money to your bank account. Bottom line is, you will need a bank account if you want wire transfer, and when you want to withdraw the cash.

What is an interview?

In oDesk client’s reply message against your cover letter is considered an interview. Interview may consist of exchange of emails, chat or voice/video call. Voice calls normally takes place on skype or similar platforms.

How do I close my account?

You will have to contact customer support to do that. You can click here to contact customer support of odesk.

What is the link to oDesk help center?

You can contact oDesk at their help center by clicking here. They have a very helpful support team and detailed FAQ that may help you a lot.

Let me know if you have any other questions in mind. I’d be happy to try to answer those.

oDesk Team and Community

oDesk Team

The oDesk Team application is a free suite of tools to help you create a virtual office on your desktop. It has 4 primary tools and a variety of additional features to make your work life on oDesk easier.

Download oDesk Team

Team Room: See who's working, what they're doing, and chat in real time.
Time Tracker: Log time to your Work Diary.
Screensnap: Take, upload, annotate and share screenshots.
ShortURL: Shorten URLs to share.

Features

Memo: Tell the employer what you're working on.
Meter: View time/earnings on hourly contracts.
Camera: Enable webcam snapshots while logging time.
Cache: Continue logging time even when your connection is interrupted.
Error Log: Help our support reps to better diagnose any problems.



Who uses the oDesk Team application?
The oDesk Team application is for everyone! All employers and contractors can take advantage of the Team Room (chat), Screensnap and ShortURL tools. 
The Time Tracker is primarily used by contractors logging time on hourly contracts (required to receive guaranteed payment), but any user with team room
access can use it to record a Work Diary (only hourly contracts are billed and included in reports). 

What is the app's Team Room tool?
The app's Team Room tool is an extension of your team room on the oDesk web site. It shows you all the team members online right now in any team 
to which you have access. You can chat with them live, see their latest work activity, and access information about them with a single click. Click the status icon 
and a menu will pop up where you can start a live chat conversation, view their Time Analyze report, Work Diary, or open tasks. It is recommended 
that all users - employers and contractors, fixed-price and hourly - run the app while they're at work. Even when you're not logging time, it's good 
to keep in touch through the Team Room. Just don't forget to turn on the Time Tracker to upload your activity to the Work Diary and qualify for guaranteed payment. 

What do all the status icons mean?
In the app's Team Room tool, and on the app's icon in your system tray, you'll see a number of icons that tell you the time-tracking, chat, 
and connection status of users. Please pay special attention to your connection status. The app can only cache a limited amount of time of Work Diary screens 
that will be uploaded as soon as your connection resumes. In addition to these icons, balloon notifications will pop up to help you track important changes 
in your status like switching to caching mode. 

What is the app's Time Tracker tool?
The Time Tracker tool tells the app to start and stop logging your activity for your team's Work Diary. It is primarily used by contractors on hourly contracts, 
but anyone with team room access can run the Time Tracker to keep a track of their own activities. Only the time logged on hourly contracts will be included 
on reports and accrue as oDesk hours on the contractor's profile. On hourly contracts, start the Time Tracker when you begin work and stop the Time Tracker 
when you're done (or taking a break). Your activity is automatically uploaded to the Work Diary, enabling automated billing and our payment guarantee. 
This time is also used to create weekly Timelog reports for which the employer is automatically billed. When the Time Tracker is on, you'll be asked to enter 
regular memos describing your work. 

What does the Time Tracker record?
The Time Tracker records:

- Work diary screenshots - a screenshot of the active monitor 6 times per hour - so anything visible on your screen may be captured in a screenshot.
- Activity levels - the application counts the number of mouse clicks and keystrokes, but does not record where you click or what you type.
- The name of the active window and application at the time of the screenshot.
- [Optional] Camera snapshot along with the screenshot 6 times per hour if enabled. Camera snapshots can even be deleted separately from your other recorded activities.

For maximum privacy control, the application allows you to delete any screenshot when it is captured (click the trash can before uploading) or afterwards 
in the Work Diary (until the end of the work week). Time and activity are deleted together with the screenshot. So keep in mind that your employer will not be 
charged for the time you delete, and you won't get paid for it. Only the optional camera snapshots can be deleted separately. You can delete the camera snapshot 
from your Work Diary but still get paid for that time segment. 

What does the Time Tracker not record?

- What you click on.
- What you type.
- Files and applications you access.
- Video surveillance footage through your webcam.

The oDesk Team application and its Time Tracker are not a surveillance system. You have full control over what it records, can turn it on and off at any point 
and you can choose whether or not to share screenshots and activity levels. Its main purpose is to act as your hassle-free automated billing system 
and log your Work Diary as your proof of work (Verified Work = Guaranteed Payment).

Payments

Payment Methods

PAYONEER

This is the fastest payment method. You get your card loaded within two days or get the funds in your card immediately in more or less than two hours 
by paying $3 for immediate load fee. You can use the card for with any Mastercard merchant purchase or choose to withdraw the funds in the card 
for $2.15 per withdrawal + 3% of the withdrawal amount. You are limited to the maximum withdrawal limit in which the ATM is designed, therefore, 
if the limit is P10,000 and you need to get P12,000 from the card fund, you need to pay $2.15 for every withdrawal (that is, $2.15 for the first P10,000 
then another $2.15 for the remaining $3,000). If you lose your debit card, you need to wait quite a long time (a month is long enough) after requesting a replacement card. 

PAYPAL (Verified Personal accounts)

Could be cheaper to use than when withdrawing funds with Payoneer. Just pay $1.00 withdrawal from oDesk and only P50 from Paypal to the Philippine bank 
(withdrawal is FREE if the amount to be withdrawn is P7,000 above); Unionbank does not charge for incoming transfers from Paypal while BDO charges P200 
and BPI charges 150. It takes a longer time to withdraw the money to a local bank and there is no other way to expedite the transfer (5 to 7 working days). 
But in my case, it only takes a day before funds are transferred to my BPI account.

MONEYBOOKERS

I have not tried to withdraw money into my Moneybookers account so I am not able to provide information on all the details. 

WIRE TRANSFER

This is another method that is possible, but I wouldn't recommend using this. Withdrawal from oDesk can be quite expensive ($30 per withdrawal).

LOCAL FUNDS TRANSFER

This is the most direct and least expensive withdrawal method for contractors with bank accounts in the Philippines. With Local Funds Transfer, 
you directly deposit your earnings into your local bank account, in Pesos, for a low, flat fee. oDesk charges $1.99 per withdrawal in Philippines Peso
but it's free for your first transaction. 

BPI: FREE | Union Bank: P50 | BDO: P200 | Metrobank: P76.70
ChinaBank: P200 | RCBC: P100 | LandBank: P50 | PNB: P250

Job Application

Bid often and Bid Reasonably Earlier I spoke about the hourly rate that is posted on your profile - now I'm talking about the hourly rate or fixed price rate 

that you enter onto the little application form that will accompany your cover letter. This bid can be different from what's posted on your profile - but it 

should still be reasonable. What do I mean by reasonable?

* Make sure it is worth your time

* Make sure it will cover your expenses (such as cost to withdraw)

* If it is fixed price, make sure it reflects the amount of time you will be working on that project

Remember, it looks bad if your hourly rate on your profile says that you charge $10 per hour if you then bid on a project at $1 per hour... And you shouldn't 

let a client's budget dictate the level and quality of professionalism that you can provide.

And bid often! I still continue to fill out my quota of 20 applications per week. If a client is not responding to my application after a couple of weeks, 

I withdraw that application so I can apply to another job. The only time I slow down on my bidding is if I am beginning to get overloaded with projects. 

Don't send out just 2-3 applications and then get disheartened that neither one has accepted you yet.

This doesn't mean sit down and apply to 20 jobs all in one day - spread them out. I read through just about every hourly job posted (I always filter out the fixed price jobs),

but I probably apply to only 4-5 jobs every day, if that many. Be discerning - if the job isn't worth your time, wait a couple more hours and see what new jobs

have been posted. It won't do you any good to apply to a job that you're only semi-interested in only to find a great job that you would love to work on 

but can't apply because you've reached your limit already.

You can browse job posts in 2 ways:

1. Browse Jobs by Category
2. Browse Jobs by Skills

Job Application Quota

oDesk sets a limit, known as a quota, on the number of job applications you can submit. Remember that the quota is the maximum number of jobs you can apply to, 

not a requirement that you must fulfill.

How can I increase my quota? 
Once you become oDesk Ready, your quota is earned based on the number of tests you've taken (for new contractors) or your feedback score (once you have one). 
- If you do not yet have a feedback score, take more tests to increase your quota. 
- If you have a feedback score, the only way to increase your quota is to increase your score. 

Which job applications count against my quota? 
- Active, contractor-initiated application that are 7 days old (or less) count against your quota. 
- Applications that are inactive, employer-initiated or more than 7 days old do not count against your quota. 

When does my quota refresh? 
- Your job applications, tests and feedback are evaluated twice per day to calculate your available quota. This means it can take up to 12 hours for your quota to refresh 
after a job application is withdrawn, rejected or aged out of your quota. 
- For new users who take tests to increase their quota, the same refresh cycle applies. It can take up to 12 hours after passing tests for your quota to increase to the next level. 
The only exception is the oDesk Readiness Test. Passing this test will immediately raise your quota to the applicable oDesk Ready level.

TIP: Bookmark all the categories you usually apply to and compile them in one bookmark folder. Clicking on the bookmark folder using 

the mouse wheel will open all pages at once. By doing this you can make sure that you won't miss any new jobs posted. I usually check for new jobs 

at least once every 10 minutes just so that I can be one of the first applicants. Sometimes being one of the first few applicants can land you the job especially 

when an employer is in a rush to have their project completed.

Cover Letter

Once your profile is set, then it's time to sell yourself to the clients. And by sell yourself, I don't mean pay them for the privilege of working for them. I mean convince them 

that they should hire you and pay you what you want. So, how do you do this? Cover Letters. Write a cover letter that proves you know what you're talking about, 

proves that you've read the job description and explains your costs and terms. And for goodness sake - don't send the same cover letter to each and every job posting. 

The clients always know. You aren't fooling anyone - so just stop.

Never beg for a job... It makes you look desperate, not professional. Never lower your hourly rate to a ridiculous amount in hopes of landing a job (or worse, offering to work for free). 

Again, it makes you look desperate and gives the impression that you don't deserve whatever amount you have posted on your profile.

Basic Guidelines About What to Include (and what not to)

- Don't include your contact information in your cover letter (your email address, chat ID, etc.). This is a violation of oDesk policy and makes you an easy target for an unscrupulous employer. When you are invited to an interview, then you are free to share whatever contact info you wish. - Don't start with a "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Sir" greeting. Neither adds any value and they may even offend some employers. If you do include a greeting, find a gender-neutral way to say hello, say "Dear Hiring Manager" or use the employer's name (if they've mentioned it). - Don't copy and paste the same cover letter over and over again, even if you 'fill in the blanks' with specifics for the job at hand. Just as you can tellwhen an employer posts a template job description, an employer can tell you're using a form cover letter. If you don't put in the effort to write a custom letter,they are unlikely to take the time to interview you. - Do try to use the same keywords the employer did. This shows you were paying attention to their job post. - Do answer specific questions or include special keywords the employer put in the job description to prove you can follow directions. That is, unless the employeris asking for your contact info or otherwise violating oDesk policy - in that case you should flag the job as inappropriate. - Do link directly to some relevant examples of your work whenever possible. Make sure you've added them in your portfolio as well. - Do state your availability (when and how much you can work and explain what kind of commitments you have to any other oDesk contracts, regular employers, etc.

Sample of what I think is a good and bad Cover Letter

Bad Cover Letter
I consider this a bad cover letter simply because not once did the contractor mention
anything about the job and why he is qualified for it. He kept on stating a lot of information
which were not relevant to the job. This is a good example of what a spam cover letter is.

Good Cover Letter
Not only did this contractor informed the employer about her background, she also focused 
on letting the employer know how interested and qualified she was for the job.

TIPS:

Quote:

Originally Posted by aimark13  Based on my experience, cover letters should mirror what the buyer has posted. Most of the time vague cover letters that just tell the employers that you're the best guy for the job got me the interview and/or the job. It still depends on the employer though. From my experience, I got interviews or got hired 7 out of 10 times using vague cover letters that don't really tell them much about you but suggests that you are an excellent person for the job. You might wanna try it out. I just started applying mid april and I already finished 2 article writing jobs, currently in another personal assistant job, a telesales job, and have 6 active interviews. In my theory, a lot of buyers, especially those from the US, are very straightforward and don't pay attention to minor details. Also what you should be keeping in mind with regards to your cover letters is the attitude of "I will deliver the best results" not "I am honored to apply, or I would love to be considered etc". Of course everything I said was just based on what happened to me. It may or may not actually work for others. I could've been just lucky.