Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com can’t help you much if you’re a freelancer. They’re great for full-time and part-time jobs though. Where can you go if you’re self-employed or an independent contractor to get work. Word-of-mouth is great if you have good-speaking clients. Hopefully you also have clients who won’t mind if you leave a small inconspicuous remnant of your logo or brand on their product. However, as a freelancer or an independent contractor, you thrive on a continual flow of work. Here are some sites you can go to for work as a freelancer:
Craigslist.org – I love craigslist.org for a few reasons. What’s funny to me about them though is that there is very little design about its website but it has a lot of information. Most major cities have information about job openings along with other facets of life. If you’ve never been to craigslist.org, what you need to do first is go to your city. There is a list of cities on the right-hand side of any city page, click on the city you live in (or city you want to work in), and then go that city’s gigs section. From the gigs section you can find a list of categories. Click on one of the categories and then read the list which is sorted by date. The lower on the page you go, the older the listing is. You have to respond to the ad in order to find out if the listing is still available.
Guru.com -There are three ways to get projects from Guru.com. The first way is to connect directly with employers. The second way is to submit proposals to ads that match your profile. The third way is responding to employer messages about a project. It is recommended that you submit quality proposals and don’t just spam employers with responses for jobs you’re not fully qualified for. It is also recommended that you submit up-to-date materials – resume, pricing, references – and make sure any documents you send to prospective employers are clean. Clean means free from spelling and grammar errors. Be sure to personalize your responses as much as possible.
GetAFreelancer.com – GetAFreelancer.com is a website used to outsource work for small businesses. The projects that are listed here are more of a technical nature and you can also find out the latest projects directly from the home page. No need to go from link to link to link here; what you need, for the most part, is right on the first page. It is free to sign up so go to the website and see if anything is a good fit for you.
Elance.com – Elance.com specializes in the following areas: web & programming, design & multimedia, writing & translation, administrative support, sales & marketing, finance & management, legal, and engineering & manufacturing. If your expertise falls under one of these areas then it’s possible that you can find a job here.
Facebook.com – Yes, I said Facebook. No, it’s not your typical place to find work, but you can find everything else here, why not try them for work also. Consider using your status update to put out feelers; just don’t do it ALL the time. Every once in a while is okay and good Facebook etiquette. The goal is not to SPAM your friends, but let people know you’re looking for work and some people will keep their eyes out for you. Also, if there is a specific company you’re interested chances are in this day and age that they have a Facebook page. Become a fan of their page and leave a post; just one though… and not one a day. If someone responds to you, be ready to present yourself.
If none of these sites are helpful, consider checking your local newspaper in the help-wanted section. Perhaps an employer will consider a contractor for a job over a full-time hire. Contractors are less overhead for employers even if the actual amount that goes to them is a little more. Also, you may want to consider temporary agencies as a source for work. Depending on the industry you may have to interview more with potential employers and also do an initial interview with the temporary agency, but if the work you can get is worth it, that’s a small price to pay upfront.
