ODesk: what I like about you

January 20, 2009 in entrepreneurs
Tags: staffing, stuff to sell

A typical opening for an ODesk job

When you join ODesk, you’re entitled to bid on jobs like this one, which claims to need a VP Development. The detailed description is:

Develop companies that rely heavily on drop shipping.

But you’ll notice that the average bidder for this task is asking for less than US $16/hr. Many, many jobs on ODesk – though in fairness to them, not all – are written in such a way as to exclude you as a competitive bidder. This one is generous compared to some I have seen: some “buyers” (the people with the jobs) want

• Perfect English-language skills
• A near-perfect rating on ODesk jobs previously completed
• At least 100 hours of ODesk work completed
• For you to dedicate yourself to them at or near full-time
• To complete the task in a week or less

…and to do it for something like US $3/hour. Or less.

This isn’t everybody. I have met some very nice, fair-minded people in my brief stint taking on gigs through ODesk. But some jobs – including this one – actually make me laugh.

There are places in the world where people are willing to try to work for something as low as $3/hour. Even some Americans will do this once or twice to build a body of work they can point to. (Heck, I’ve done a fair bit of “sweat equity” work, with nothing to show for it so far but a portfolio. LOL)

Still, if you actually fit the profile of the kind of worker most ODesk buyers are seeking, then, beware. You’ll end up actually bidding on maybe one out of every ten job descriptions you read, and wonder whether it’s worth it. Let me know, wouldja?