This post is for those wishing to make extra pocket money for themselves. If you have a full-time job but want to moonlight,and if you want to do this all in the comfort of your own home, you may want to consider becoming a freelancer.
Many years ago, as a teenager, my impression of a freelancer was someone who took random pictures for newspapers and magazines. I had no idea what does it mean to be a freelancer until I came across this option as a young working adult. It turns out that the Internet houses a network of people who wishes to hire anyone who can do some of the most menial tasks to complicated tasks that require certain expertise and experience. These are the people who want you to build websites for them, write articles, design logos or even be their virtual assistant.
You could land a full-time free-lance job as a virtual assistant. I am reiterating this because I had no idea you could have a full-time job being someone else's personal assistant without actually being there with them. All you need to do is be available to them by phone or email and be sure to do your job.
Everything, however, comes down to how well you sell yourself and how cheap is your labor. Look around at other proposals by your peers to find out what sort of skills or requirements that those you intend to work for are looking for. While providing cheap labor may be a good way of starting out, you still want to make sure you are getting your dues. If you sell yourself short, the quality of your work may come into question.
Anyway, if you are interested in becoming a freelancer, these are the two sites I have been using that I think are great. Both websites are up-to-date and jobs are constantly being added by the minute. Both sites provide a desktop app that tracks your working hours. This lets potential employers to know how much freelance work you have been doing.
Upwork (formerly Elance or oDesk)
Formerly known as Elance or oDesk, the two freelancing websites have merged to give us Upwork. You could still login through the old oDesk or Elance site but I recommend going through the oDesk platform for new freelancers. People hiring on oDesk are more forgiving of newcomers and they are generally more likely to hire you if you do not have any experience.
I like that the website allows you to indicate your availability, your previous freelancing experience (even if it was accepted on another site), and your average rate per hour. You are given 60 connect points as a free or basic user. These connect points are used to make bids or submit proposals for jobs; each proposal uses between 1 to 5 points. This means you do not have an unlimited amount of bids to make. The points however are renewed at the start of every billing cycle (monthly); so you will get 60 connect points per month. If you wish to pay for their services, you will be able to bid for more projects. It is not a bad idea if you plan to be a full-time freelancer.
They also have free tests you can take to let people know the level of your skill. You can upload other certifications you may have gotten in order to indicate your level of proficiency at your said skill.
Freelancer
Freelancer literally has new job postings every other minute. They have a pop-up notification at the bottom left of the window to tell you when new jobs are posted. You are allowed to make up to 100 bids per month with the Plus membership. Otherwise, the free membership allows only 8 bids per month.
The way Freelancer works is basically the same as Upwork with the exception that you need to be able to link a payment account (usually PayPal) in order to start using it. The tests they provide cost USD 5 per test. So if you want to use this website, you might have to consider investing in it to get more jobs. It will cost you nothing to use their bare minimum services. However, if you are serious about freelancing, you might want to invest a little in their services to be able to promote or sell yourself better.
Happy job-hunting. :)
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