Freelance Job Portal: Elance.com

The ultimate questions for freelancers, of course, is how to find the people who want your expertise. You know they’re out there, and you want THEM to know that you’re out there, too. Last week, I registered with Elance.com, and now I have yet another home on the web:  http://llword.elance.com.

Although I haven’t started bidding on projects yet, already I can see that this is one of the better sites for freelancers. You can get a free or a paid account, with a paid account giving you more “connects”–that is, more opportunities to offer proposals to potential clients. Here are a few things I like about the site.

  • A high-functioning “free” account option that allows you to set up a profile and test the waters to see whether the site is worthwhile before shelling out.
  • An admissions test before your profile can go public. This can feel like a pain upfront, but in he long run, I like that it ensures only people serious about posting and finding work–and serious about using Elance‘s system correctly–will have public profiles.
  • The site also offers skills tests for the expertise areas you claim so that you can offer prospective clients an “unbiased” assessment of your talent.
  • The site interface is incredibly easy to use — making exploration there fun and exciting rather than a chore that must be done.

Time will tell whether the site will pay off or not, but I go into it feeling optimistic.