I’ve noticed that many new freelancers tend to be nonchalant when responding to online job ads. Maybe online applications appear more instant and casual when compared with the traditional alternative of showing up for a series of interviews. Even though applying for a freelance job online is fast, it doesn’t mean it’s easy. You need to consider several issues before rushing your application for a prospective project. Read the rest of this entry »
The coupling of the current “post-web 2.0 era” with the ongoing economic slump would seem to make for a perfect opportunity for a startup like GlassDoor, a job-seeker and career community where you can find and share information about companies, careers and specific jobs, including details like pay and interview questions.
In using the site, it’s clear that there are a lot of potentially valuable tools and resources for job seekers within, but you have to be a little bit focused and savvy in digging them out…qualities that motivated job seekers need to have in any event! Read the rest of this entry »
Photo by semaphoria
This is the third in a series of online community manager posts over the past couple of weeks here on WebWorkerDaily. I’ve already talked about online community manager jobs and what community managers actually do, so I thought that we’d talk about what it takes to be successful as a community manager. There are skills to learn and work habits that are useful for community managers.
Here are just a few of the skills and habits that people have already mentioned in the comments of the previous posts.
Amber Naslund says, “it’s not a 9 to 5 gig, and it’s a hybrid of so many disciplines – communication, business development, online knowledge, customer or client service.”
Joe Manna says, “most successful community managers are those that come from a strong customer service background.”
Lex Friedman says, “If you like to listen and love acting on good ideas (regardless of their source!), you’re probably a good fit for the career path.”
I also have my own list of what it takes to manage an online community. Read the rest of this entry »
JobCompass is a new application on the iPhone that allows you to search through millions of jobs, locating and plotting them on a map in relation to your current position. It pulls vacancy information in real time, so new listings appear on a regular basis.
After pinpointing your location, JobCompass allows you to search for jobs by keyword, specifying the range from your current location which interests you (5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 mile radius). After finding a position which you seem well suited for, it’s simple to send an email to yourself with a link to the job description or, for those with quick fingers and enough patience, to open the listing in Safari and apply for the job straight away.
Read more about this app on TheAppleBlog.
Although I haven’t kept a close eye on Elance, my impression has been that it was a basic job “bid” site for freelancer programmers. The site description summarizes their main focus as “outsourcing to freelance programmers, web and logo designers, copywriters, illustrators and consultants.” People with the jobs are the employers or “buyers” and the Web workers with the skills are the “providers” on Elance.
Since launching in 1999, the company has worked to expand their offerings, integrating some features to create more than just a job site and more of a work tool. What interested me beyond the job marketplace is Elance’s concept of a Remote Work System with the goal of creating a remote workspace for freelance workers to provide them with additional incentive to continue using the site after the job match has been made. The features are meant to help service providers manage a part of their work through Elance and give buyer and service provider more ways to connect and transact business.
Read the rest of this entry »
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
