WHAT IS A FREELANCER?

¿WHAT IS A FREELANCER?

This question was made by my wife last year, when i told her that on my free hours or even weekends i was going to be a Freelancer.

A FreeLancer is a worker (professional or non-profesional) that provides services into making a remunerated job or not, establishing guidelines with third parties for finishing the job, without the presence of an established contract that might attach like a labor agreement.

The origin of the word FreeLancer (thanks WikiPedia), derives from a medieval english term to refer the knight that doesnt serve any Sir whose services could be rented (free; lance).

Well then, thanks to the technological recovery we live worlwide scale (to summarize lets call it INTERNET), "from home" or "online" jobs have become popular among the New Professionals that keep raising day by day.

The online Jobs are a pretty accessible alternative and a pretty pleasant experience, as you obtain works like a FreeLancer, your knowledge keep on increasing and your abilities to solve various problems keep on getting rich as you enjoy what you are doing.

Nevertheless, if you want to go into this world of the Freelance, it is advisable that you take these aspects

1. English knowledge is very very important. English, so-called universal language, is the one that will open the doors for no end of opportunities for you. With the knowledge of this language, you will obtain bigger labor knowledge and it is indispensable for the simple fact that best FreeLancers' pages or works online are in this language.
   
   
2. Keep in mind your innates abilities as a profesional. This point will make you projecting out of the rest. Knowing what for job or task you are good guarantee that your works will become of excellent quality. Besides he provides you with a better retribution for each job that you accomplish.
3. A FreeLancer acquires knowledge measured by working on contracts. While you keep on working on those activities which you have been hired, your knowledge as much of the language as in that ability or capacity are going to keep on increasing. This is due to the attention offered to the outcome and attention that you put on it. Besides, depending on the remuneration and time granted for the realization of activity, your capacities to detect the problem root and from there it will be more accentuated to begin to develop solutions, since of it he depends that your payment is louder and the Feedback granted by the Employer be a great bigger deal.
4. Promote teamwork. In certain occasions, an Employer can hire several FreeLancers to accomplish one or several activities. It is wherever the values of teamwork (Work as a team) make known. To lead the collective stocks for the final common goal is necessary: The successful attainment of the job. If FreeLancers's team achieves an excellent harmony, communication and performance, final results will be amazing.

Once these points were given, the next step to follow is creating a Paypal or MoneyBookers Account to receive Payments. Although if you already have an International Account you can receive Payments to that account via Bank Transfer.

Talking about those FreeLance's online services, I have gotten the best four on the Web:

ELANCE:

Constitute one of the Pages more recognized on FreeLancing. Here you can be Employer or Provider. The Employer hires the Provider made suitable for the realization of the works that you desire. The Provider search in the jobs data base, apply for one once your profile was made suitable and if it is hired, it is remunerated all by himself and the corresponding FeedBack hit myself.

A thing to have in mind is that at Elance a test is given to you once registered and logged into the Service. Don't worry, they place the link to you from where the question is in order that without difficulty you can respond .

Something else to take under consideration is the Category which you can apply to. Only you have a right to one ( if you are free user ). It is very clear that you get your maximum strenghts. Nevertheless, you can change it how often you desire.

Elance, just like other Services online, takes a commission for the bid that you believe for your job. It is only a minimal percentage, which they could make maintainance to the Page and your Profile.

In certain works where collection of payment is per hour, the tool Tracker, shows into action, lwhich every so often ( stipulated for the user, that is to say, your ) takes screen's snapshot of what you are making in a minute. Ad hoc Memos's creation in order that your job is more organized for the customer and your payment is guaranteed is necessary.

Payment methods are: PayPal, Wire Transfer, Payoneer MasterCard® Debit Card (This card only those that requested before June 29th, 2010).

GURU:

A peculiar name for this grand page on duty of Freelancing.

Once enter to Guru, you will be interested in a lot the way as it was designed: It is a dynamic and attractive Page. This concept has attracted almost one million members until now.

Guru claims to be focused on excellence and expertise necessary as much for the help that the Customer needs as you help him/her making the job.

Unlike Elance, here at Guru do not make the Test from the start. The Profit of this page is the Creation of Several Profiles with different categories to compete for a Job. Sure, only you can select one of them.

Besides, you can accomplish proofs of abilities in order to keep on incrementing your Profiles and with this achieving better considerations at the time of electing the one it is going to accomplish the Job to.

Also charge a minimum of commission once the Job is completed and Payment Methods are: PayPal, Check, Payoneer MasterCard® Debit Card.

oDESK:

In my judgment, the best Freelance's service in the Web. oDesk offers a Web Page of pretty visual content where a lot of users can get Job via online and/or offline.

oDesk got the premise on changing how people works. That is accomplished making work together the Employer and the Contractor, in order to get a great job done!!

As noticed, oDesk offers jobs (more likely that employers locate jobs on it) paid per hour. How to know how many hours were used by the Contractor?. Using oDesk Team software on your PC. Like Tracker de Elance, this tool can be set up to take screen snapshots and see ongoing working hours what the Contractor is doing live, and at the end pay the exact amount taken by the Contractor.

Another common point with Elance is the need of a Start Test in order to logged to the system with all the features. oDesk also offers the opportunity to qualify other Tests, like Office Master Test, Autocad Test, Languages Tests, etc, increasing the chances for being chosen to any job posted.

oDesk offers the chance to apply for 10 categories.

Payment Methods are: PayPal, MoneyBookers, Wire Transfer and Payoneer MasterCard® Debit Card

PEOPLEPERHOUR:

peopleperhour is not more than the British version of the previous Freelancers websites. Here instead of winning in dollars, you will win in Pounds.

At peopleperhour you can see a pretty elaborate page, in where the works with over 100 employers is the common thing.

Despite only 4 Years of existence, they already have almost 100 thousand users of over 150 countries. Their mission consists in the premise that the way that he is worked up you are changing. A lot of million people offer their abilities for online jobs than those independents that work by themselves using overtime.

At peopleperhour publish your profile and you can make a choice to 5 categories to apply for a job. Payment Methods are: PayPal and Wire Transfer.

Okay, that is all for the time being. I wait very soon you analyze the possibility of becoming Freelancers. Only take into account the time you'll dedicate the online Job and chatting a lot on the requests that Employer desires.

Greetings and Luck.

Yours truly,

Ingeniero Carlucho