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Ask HN: How do you find work?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you find work?

#41

Post by ejs »

I often think it would be beneficial if HN had some directory that people could list their skills if they are willing to freelance.

Often times I would like to work with someone more skilled in UI and design and would rather work with someone who posted on here regularly. Seems like it would be less risky then say any of the elance/ rent a coder type deals.

I have thought it would be nice if there was a site devoted more to building a business relationship then just low-ball pricing to get projects done. Maybe I should just build one, but getting enough people to make it worthwhile would be the difficult part.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find work?

#42

Post by edw519 »

jjguy wrote: post #26

You need to find the thing that distinguishes you from your peers. My story is undoubtedly different than yours, but I'll share parts; perhaps it can help you. I went to college on a military scholarship. After four years of school, I spent 6 years in the military. Three critical things came from those years: contacts, credibility and experience. After a couple tours, the military's plans for my career and my own ide…

You need to find your distinguisher. If you don't have one, make it.

Best advice you will ever get here. True for everything, not just freelance work.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find work?

#44

Post by randallsquared »

moe wrote: post #17
Zarathu wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I have two startups that are on their way to being very successful. Though, it'll take 4-6 months before I'm financially free of working at all. Unfortunately, I don't have that much saved up.

So you're saying in 4-6 months you'll be free of working at all but worry about these 4-6 months? Sorry, sounds fishy to me.

When I read that, I assumed there was an implicit "if all goes well". :)

Re: Ask HN: How do you find work?

#45

Post by subbu »

Create a profile on LinkedIn (if you don't have one already) and subscribe to 'Ruby on Rails' and other specific groups. I have seen quite a few contracts (both full-time and part-time) on 'Ruby on Rails' group. May you will find some luck there. Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find work?

#46

Post by raamdev »

amjith wrote: post #22

Write tutorials on your blog. Don't hesitate to share your knowledge. Even if you don't have great writing skills, people are attracted to quality content and tips & tricks. Put a link on your blog that you are available for hire. Publicize your blog through the right medium (reddit, digg, dzone). There are plenty of wall in the hole restaurants that don't have a good website. Offer to build them one for just $100, i…

> so offer them to do all the hosting and maintaining for them in exchange for free food every week

I do this with a local vegan restaurant. They're the only one in the area and although I love eating there, they are a bit expensive.

One day I was having trouble getting on their free wireless network, so when I went to the counter to pay for my meal I mentioned the problem to the owner. Recognizing that I eat there all the time, she asked if I wanted to take a look at the wireless router in the backroom. All I did was restart the router and it worked again. The owner said the $18 meal was on the house for fixing the wireless.

Now I'm hosting their website and taking care of all tech support in return for an open tab. I bill the owner but mark the balance as $0 and in return I never pay for food when I eat there. My good relationship with the owner has led her to introduce me to other local restaurant owners and now I do work for them too.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find work?

#48

Post by albertcardona »

I made a website for a tiny open source project of mine, that addressed image segmentation and 3D visualization of meshes.

I added a link to that web page: "Hire me". And I got hired at a very nice research institute for an intership. Later I became group leader there.

Bottom line: have something to show, and don't be shy about it.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find work?

#49

Post by tocomment »

ejs wrote: post #41

I often think it would be beneficial if HN had some directory that people could list their skills if they are willing to freelance. Often times I would like to work with someone more skilled in UI and design and would rather work with someone who posted on here regularly. Seems like it would be less risky then say any of the elance/ rent a coder type deals. I have thought it would be nice if there was a site devoted…

The rentacoder but for long term freelance relationships is a great idea. Email me if build one. I'd like to help.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find work?

#50

Post by wlievens »

palish wrote: post #11

I found my first job by going to my highschool job fair and begging a guy from Boeing to let me work as a programmer. He told me I was too young (just turned 17 at the time) but since I was "highly motivated" he would call some friends on my behalf. He referred me to a local business that develops frimware. After I explained that I had been developing game development skills for years using C++, they said I'd probabl…

This story is awesome. When is the movie coming out? :-)
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