Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities?

#51

Post by tagabek » Sun, May 19, 2013, 6:29 AM UTC

glitch273 wrote: post #46

tagabek wrote: post #18

I am also getting started with this process and these are things that have helped me: It seems like you are very aware of what you are capable of. It's great to be realistic, but also realize that you are now in the professional market like everyone else. Like the other posts say here, NETWORK. Go to local meetups and present yourself as a real professional. Create business cards (BONUS: Make yours stand out from the…

can you expand on what you mean by "take a popular site and build a small client for it"? Do you mean just use their API to build a quick demo site or something else? My portfolio is a bit weak and I was looking for good portfolio projects to showcase my talents.

Basically yes. Provide something that might be attractive, such as extra or alternative features that you think users would enjoy. Some sites that have great APIs are Flickr, Reddit, and Hacker News (although, I cannot personally recommend HN as I have not dabbled with its API myself - many others have suggested it).

Re: Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities?

#52

Post by alashley » Sun, May 19, 2013, 6:39 AM UTC

Sven7 wrote: post #48

If there is nothing holding you back, consider moving to tech hubs Bay area, NY/NJ etc. Preferably where you have friends or family where you can crash and tap into their networks. If you are interested in a long term career in tech, choosing the right city at the outset, can set you up for life. Good luck.

This is something I've thought of. I have an aging parent in Victoria (my mom) and I'm really the closest person to her at this point in her life, so it would be difficult for me to just up and leave this city. Apart from that I'd be all for working in a tech hub.

Thanks for the thought :)

Re: Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities?

#53

Post by alashley » Sun, May 19, 2013, 6:49 AM UTC

seldo wrote: post #47

This isn't really answering your question, but what's your motivation for wanting to "freelance until [you] find a job"? Are you expecting it will take you time to find the job you really like, or are you just trying to get more experience before you look for a full-time job? If you are a good programmer, the job market for full-timers has never been better -- especially if you are willing & able to move to the bay a…

Good catch, yes, I do anticipate that it will take me some time to find a job I'd like. Also I don't really just want to take on a job for the sake of having one, I want it to be a good fit on both sides.

I am willing but not able to move to the Bay area at this point. As I explained to another poster, I have no ties to Victoria besides an aging parent. And its important to me not to leave just yet, because its my mom and there's really no one else close to her.

I do realize that it would be the ideal place for me to be at this nascent stage of my career though.

Re: Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities?

#54

Post by alashley » Sun, May 19, 2013, 6:51 AM UTC

legedemon wrote: post #49

DustinCalim wrote: post #30

I'm looking to pay someone for some work in JS and RoR, messaging me is probably a good place to start...

Same here. We can discuss details over email. Mine is present in my profile.

I don't see your email address either. Hmm. Mine is andre.lashley@gmail.com, feel free to contact me if you see this reply.

Re: Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities?

#55

Post by readme » Sun, May 19, 2013, 8:56 AM UTC

legedemon wrote: post #50

readme wrote: post #14

I've found many high quality clients through TopTal. Please use my referral link: http://www.toptal.com/?ref=35 Quick facts about us: everyone is really cool. You get to work with top notch clients. All the developers who work with us are seriously talented: we make sure, since you will need to take a short coding test and show us some of your code before we let you in. I highly recommend it. By the way, it's not lik…

I checked out your link but read something disturbing there: "...during non-work hours, they are expected to respond within 3 hours." This, I think, goes totally against my reason to seek freelance work - work on my own time. I'm sorry but Toptal just looks like another company.

You've read the page for prospective clients. We give clients the option to have a developer with that level of responsiveness.

Client and developer arrangements are mutual, and not all clients require developers to respond within 3 hours on their day off. But, if your client does, you need to do it. Moreover, it is just important that you keep your word. If you tell your client you are going away Saturday and won't be able to answer emails, and you cleared this with them up front, there's not going to be any problem. But, if you told your client "Oh hey, don't worry: i'll keep the server running." and then you took off on a vacation without your smartphone and laptop, then that's a problem.

Many clients have had bad experiences with unresponsive developers. At TopTal, we strive to guarantee that they will receive the level of responsiveness desired.

Re: Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities?

#56

Post by maldinii » Sun, May 19, 2013, 12:14 PM UTC

Hello,

Regarding freelancer marketplaces if you think that those favor experienced/cheap freelancers you are a bit wrong, based on your skills I suggest you to brand yourself as a javascript/node expert, don't hesitate to ask more money than other people ( my bids was almost all the time the most expensive in the list ) and target clients that are looking for more than a very cheap freelancer , and there are some advantages to that strategy : - your high bid give you a boost of trust in the eyes of the client - your future client will respect you more ( it's psychology , if you pay more for a thing, you will valuate it more ) - you will want to work with people that have this mentality

To make sure that this will work for you, try to post some jobs in your field, study the competition and make sure that your bids ( proposals ) looks much better and you are really doing a good job compared with them .

If you have more questions, you can reach me at : ionut.neagu[[at]]vertistudio.com

Re: Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities?

#57

Post by zappan » Sun, May 19, 2013, 6:31 PM UTC

legedemon wrote: post #50

readme wrote: post #14

I've found many high quality clients through TopTal. Please use my referral link: http://www.toptal.com/?ref=35 Quick facts about us: everyone is really cool. You get to work with top notch clients. All the developers who work with us are seriously talented: we make sure, since you will need to take a short coding test and show us some of your code before we let you in. I highly recommend it. By the way, it's not lik…

I checked out your link but read something disturbing there: "...during non-work hours, they are expected to respond within 3 hours." This, I think, goes totally against my reason to seek freelance work - work on my own time. I'm sorry but Toptal just looks like another company.

Yup, it mostly boils down to what you seek for. If you seek a complete freedom in your working hours, it might not be a fit for you, but if you seek a steady flow of work, being a member of client's team, with some regular communication involved - Toptal is an organized place to pick up some work without the bidding games happening in elance & odesk.

I'm also a member of the netwokr, picking some work there, some through my own direct contacts. Generally, 'rules of the game' are always agreed with the client, when such rules aren't a fit for both sides, no need to engage in such work, as you wouldn't in the case where you find your own clients. Some are more, some other are less flexible, just like in every other place.

Re: Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities?

#58

Post by swah » Mon, May 20, 2013, 11:59 AM UTC

freditup wrote: post #36

I started using freelancer.com. It's honestly a pretty bad site, unprofessional in a lot of ways, high fees, etc. I got low paying jobs that took a decent amount of work, although the quality of work expected wasn't too high. However, it allowed me to get some light experience to start which was useful, and as I finished projects and got all 5-star reviews (my point is not that I was super wonderful, but that if you…

Do you think the same route would work for people outside US?

Re: Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities?

#59

Post by vassvdm » Mon, May 20, 2013, 1:02 PM UTC

Hey there, I'm launching a new online workplace at the moment - https://www.cresters.com. It's in an early beta stage but I think that the focus of the site will cater to your needs. The way the reputation system works is that everyone starts from zero and builds up proficiency scores for each of their skills (e.g Node.js, Python but also Translation, Proofreading, Graphic Design, etc) based on the feedback they get for their work on relevant gigs. The site then proposes users to gig posters based on their proficiency levels and the poster's budget. You can start work on low-paying gigs working for entrepreneurs or individuals and work your way up to better-paying gigs for larger clients. If you get average/poor ratings in the beginning (along with constructive feedback) but keep improving and get better ratings gradually, the more recent ratings will carry more weight in your proficiency scores so you won't be penalized for using your first low-paying gigs to try your hand at new technologies. I'm talking to the first clients at the moment but I am hoping to ramp up pretty fast. It would be great to get your feedback if you have time to check it out!

Re: Ask HN: Where can I find good freelance opportunities?

#60

Post by freditup » Mon, May 20, 2013, 8:33 PM UTC

swah wrote: post #58

freditup wrote: post #36

I started using freelancer.com. It's honestly a pretty bad site, unprofessional in a lot of ways, high fees, etc. I got low paying jobs that took a decent amount of work, although the quality of work expected wasn't too high. However, it allowed me to get some light experience to start which was useful, and as I finished projects and got all 5-star reviews (my point is not that I was super wonderful, but that if you…

Do you think the same route would work for people outside US?

I think it's definitely possible. I think more important than where you are from is your grasp of the (spoken) language your project is in and you are communicating with. So if you're communicating with clients in English, writing your code, documentation, and visible interface in English, it's obviously important that you have a very good understanding of English. And as long as you do, I don't think being foreign would be much of a hindrance.