When I left my job in Edmonton, I found myself getting a bit antsy. I was working hard at learning all kinds of things online, but the thing with not working for money is that you end up with no money, which is all a bit rubbish and makes continuing a certain standard of living somewhat unattainable.
I did some googling and looking around for freelance work. I have mad skills but I didn't have a clue how to be freelancer. How does one become freelance and work online? How do you develop a client base?
This is when I discovered Elance (get it it's like freelance for e-folk...noo?). I developed my profile and read up on all their terms, tutorials, guides and FAQs and it quickly became a viable, flexible option for freelancing.
I have made quite a bit of money freelancing in my own time, on projects that suit my personality, educational goals and direction. It's worth signing up for.
If you have Google App, Microsoft Office or even research skills there will be jobs for you on Elance for sure!
Here's how to do it:
1. Visit Elance and click "I want to work" under create an account, you can sign up via Facebook or LinkedIn. Follow the directions.
2. It'll ask you about your skills, this can be re-edited later on, but it's worth knowing now that Elance will later ask you to complete tests to verify your skill level on these subjects, so only enter skills with which you are confident.
3. On the next step, it will ask you which category you wish to find jobs in. This is the part where a little thought is beneficial. Once you choose a category it can only be changed once a month, unless you opt for Elance's paid option.
4. Once you have finished with all of this, you will be taken straight to job opportunities. I do not recommend this, I recommend that you, instead click on your username right on the top, then on the drop-down menu click on profile. Now you can edit your profile to your hearts content. There are lots of directions on here but if you get stuck you can read up more on profile set up here:
If you can't be bothered with all that, because it is a bit wordy, just keep an eye out for the next post in this series.
5. There is so much more to learn about Elance. However, it's worth knowing that Elance can pay you in multiple ways and that their cheques are valid (I just cashed all of mine, so I know for sure they're legit!). I will tell you more on that later on.
Other parts to this guide:
Part 1: Setting up an Elance profile
Part 3:How to apply for work on Elance
(coming soon)
Part 4: How to monitor work on Elance
(coming soon)
