The latest news reports indicate there have been over 600,000 jobs lost in the United States in this current recession. Because of this, many people are considering freelancing/contracting who wouldn’t have done so in the past. The question arises, then, what are the best freelancing websites online?
Here is a list of five of the best freelancing sites:
1. Freelance Writing Jobs: This site is dedicated to freelance writers and bloggers. It started as a blog on Blogger and grew, eventually moving to being its own network of blogs. One of the other blogs on the network offers tips and advice for finding freelance jobs online. Leads come from a variety of places including JournalismJobs.com, Craigslist, MediaBistro, Monster.com, etc. This is a free service.
2. oDesk: oDesk could have opportunities for some of the best freelancing jobs. Their job opportunities include accounting, web design, writing, administrative assistant, data entry, etc. Signing up on oDesk as a provider (freelancer) is free. Only buyers pay a fee. All freelancers, regardless of area of expertise, must pass the oDesk readiness test before they can apply for jobs. One benefit to oDesk is that if they encounter a deadbeat buyer, they will go after the bad debt instead of the freelancer dealing with it. Hourly jobs are guaranteed so the freelancer will be paid if they work within the oDesk system (downloaded software).
3. Freelance Switch: The Freelance Switch Job Board lists freelance jobs in design, writing, illustration, web site development, etc. This is a free service. The site also provides additional services and resources other than job listings. Once a freelancer signs up on the site, a confirmation e-mail is sent. They have to click the link in the e-mail in order to validate the account and use the full services of the site. Signing up for the site allows freelancers to subscribe to the job board to have leads sent to their e-mail.
4. Rentacoder: On the front page of Rentacoder, there is a box with scrolling leads ranging from Paypal integration to WordPress plugins, pivot table macros, and more. Freelancers can click on the “login” link in the bottom left corner of the home page, then “create your free account” above the log-in box on the next page. After signing up, the site will send a temporary password, which has to be changed immediately.
5. JournalismJobs: This site lists freelance writing jobs, internships, fellowships, and awards/contests. The jobs available cover a wide variety of categories, including magazines/newspapers, sales/marketing, finance, technology, public resources, human resources, etc. It also includes a variety of resources on media ethics, media ownership, research tools, and career advice. Jobs are searchable by keyword, location, or category. Freelancers can post resumes on the site for free.
These are not all of the freelancing job sites available, but they do provide good starting points for finding freelance jobs online. Many sites require freelancers to pay a subscription fee on a monthly basis. This does not mean they are any better or worse than free sites. A caveat applies, however. There are some scam sites that mimic URLs of some of the best freelancing sites and even use wording taken directly from some of the best freelance job ads. All sites should be checked against a watchdog site, such as Preditors & Editors for writing and publishing, to see if there has been any scamming or spamming activity reported.
I went through the whole process of signing up at oDesk but haven’t done anything about it. Other than that, I visit rentacoder.com and freelance writing jobs daily to see if there is anything for me. I forgot about freelance switch – I’m going to go check it out now. I also like to visit problogger.com to see if there are any blogging jobs. These days I prefer blogging jobs over anything else.
I’ve had great success with Craigslist. Both in finding jobs as a freelancer and in hiring freelancers to work with me on larger projects!
Katherine, I thought about including problogger but decided against it since the jobs there are only for bloggers. I was looking for a wider range to include for this article. Thanks for coming by and commenting!
Barbara, I’ve had mixed results on Craigslist. One ad a few years ago ended up being a cleverly disguised scam. I’ve had enough nibbles and good results to justify keeping on with it, though.
Best,
~Jen
Thanks for including us in your list, Jen!
You are correct that the recession has caused many to turn to freelancing as a source of extra income (or in some cases, the primary source) – we’ve had tens of thousands of new US provider signups in the months of November and December alone!
The good news is, we’re also seeing a growth in “homeshoring” now! According to our stats, more and more US providers are being hired every day at oDesk, and our analysis also shows that US providers have the highest average feedback ratings (which helps them continue to get jobs and carve a nice niche for themselves on oDesk).
If anyone ever has any questions, you can find us in our community forums or on Twitter.
Thanks again for the writeup,
Danalyn West – oDesk Marketing
Danalyn,
Thank you for your comment!
I have had very good results using oDesk. The tech support you guys offer is amazing. Over a month ago, I mentioned on Twitter that I was having some trouble getting to the candidacies list. The next day, I had a phone call — not an e-mail or a Twitter reply — from one of the design people about how to resolve the issue.
I recommend oDesk to anyone looking for freelance work.
Best,
~Jen
I like working with craigslist.org, careerbuilder.com and commarts.com myself. Freelancing is a hard profession to be in. Last year was big 1099 year. No one seemed to want to pay temp employee as a W2 to avoid unemployment insurance later on. I suppose they saw the writing on the wall.
Steve, I think you’re probably right, or at least very close to it.
I haven’t heard of commarts.com. I’ll have to check that one out.
Best,
~Jen