If you wish to avoid the uncertainty and switch to Payoneer, they are offering a special to Indian workers. If you tell them you are from Rent a Coder and signup before February 28th, they will waive the typical $9.95 activation fee and expedite shipping for free (which will give you the card in hand in 7-10 days of approval). Click here for questions or to signup.

Update.
Similar offer on Freelancer.com

Payoneer is presenting a special offer to all Freelancer.com Indian providers:

Sign up for a Freelancer.com Prepaid MasterCard by February 28th and Payoneer expedite your card shipment at no cost to you and will waive the $9.95 card activation fee.

This will allow you to have your card in hand within 7-10 days from card approval.

The Payoneer card offers some unique benefits:

Accepted at all MasterCard points of sale, ATMs and online
Access to your money within two hours
Offers maximum flexibility and liquidity
Funds are MC secured against unauthorized transactions and FDIC insured
Does not require bank account, or any credit checks
The card activation fee will be refunded to your account.

For questions about the Prepaid Debit MasterCard®, Click here to contact Payoneer.

Once a job is posted you can be sure to get bids from various freelancers that want to complete the work for you. There aren’t very many tools that can be used to help you make a better choice.

Help For Choosing The Best Freelancer

The number of bids that you will receive depends upon the type and complexity of the work that you are asking to have completed. Larger jobs tend to attract the most bidders. Also, the more complicated the work the higher bids tend to be so the more careful you have to be about choosing the freelancer.

Some jobs just require more skill than others. Plus since these are the jobs that are probably going to cost you more money it is important for you to insure that you are getting true value for your dollar.

The current system allows you to look at the number and quality of reviews that each freelancer has posted right next to their bid. Anybody can claim to have the skills that you need but these reviews will only prove that they have successfully completed some type of projects for other people.

Search For Freelancers

What it doesn’t do is assure you that the projects that have been rated are similar to the one that you need to have completed. It would be handy to have more information available for deciding who can do the best work for you.

There is another option that you can use to search for freelancers by using Provider Search function included on the site.

While it does allow you to search for freelancers it only allows you to search by the skills that the freelancer themselves declare.

The problem is that anyone can say that they have any skill that they want to claim. It doesn’t allow for a client to search by specific and actual proven skills that have been rated by other users. Another problem is that even when the freelancers are rated, it also doesn’t say how recently these ratings were added.

Proposal
With a few upgrades the search form could be used to find freelancers with the added information that could be used to research the number of completed jobs that each freelancer has successfully completed in a specific skill category.

Another useful search result would be the ability to sort the completed jobs by the dates that the work was completed. Some skills need to be updated continually to be up to date and able to complete specific work.

Adding these two simple upgrades would allow a client to search and invite freelancers that have shown that they have the proven skills needed to complete a project and that they are trained with current skills. In any type of work being freelanced this would be a win/win for both the client and the freelancer. The client will know that the freelancer actually has the skill to complete the work and the freelancer will benefit from the better communication and make sure that they don’t get into a situation that they can’t handle.

You are probably going to ask yourself, what is the best way for a newbie get their bid noticed when there are dozens of others with more experience that are already posted? And how do the freelancers know how much that they need to bid?

You’ve probably also noticed that the bids with the highest number of reviews are the ones that get listed first. Naturally, these are also the ones who win the most bids because they have already proven themselves as freelancers that can deliver. So how are you supposed to get those reviews?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone who could take you by the hand and teach you how to make the best use probably best Freelance Marketplace, i.e. GetAFreelancer?

Now You Can!
Sign up for GetAFreelancer through my affiliate link and you can tap into my hard earned expertise on being a successful freelancer.

With more than 328 successfully completed projects I know GetAFreelancer inside out. I know what works and what doesn’t work. I can guide you through the entire process. And it won’t cost you a penny. As my affiliate, I will get paid a small amount for each project that you win from GetAFreelancer. This means that when you win, I win!

Here’s How It Works:
To start, all you have to do is join GetAFreelancer through my affiliate link. Send me an e-mail at I_want_to_be_your_affiliate@TakeReal.com once you have signed up with your username that you have chosen. I will then look at your profile and start watching the bids you post and send you suggestions for how to improve your profile and to win more work.

I already make a successful living on line and now I want to show you how to do the same thing.

Once you join GetAFreelancer you will create your own username and a password that are just for your own private use. I will base my recommendations on the public portions of your profile and bids to make my recommendations. I will keep an eye on the bids you have won, the bids that you have lost and the reviews that you are receiving. With this information I can then answer your questions to dramatically shorten your learning curve and give you valuable suggestions on how to win both more jobs and on getting more profitable jobs.

I am not an employee of GetAFreelancer, just someone who wants to help others succeed. Because I am a registered GetAFreelancer user I can check any project that is posted on GetAFreelancer without needing to have your password information. You are the only one who needs to know your password.

Now you can get expert tutoring on the best ways to win more work on one of the largest freelancer job sites on the Internet. Skip ahead on the learning curve and start enjoying the benefits and earnings of freelancer income today!

One of the big problems that often arise from using freelancers is that anyone can claim that they are highly skilled in just about any field they choose. They can “declare” that they have the ability to complete jobs even if they have zero actual or “proven” experience.

This can lead to confusion and friction between a freelancer and the client that has hired them to complete a job.

Declared Skills
When a person or freelancer declares a skill, it means that they are declaring, making it known or openly avowing their skill as a fact. It may be because the freelancer thinks that they have a skill whether or not in truth they actually possess that skill. Or in a grimmer scenario, it can be an out and out fraudulent statement in an effort to get money from the client.

When a client hires a freelancer, it is usually with the understanding that they are capable of completing the specific task for which they were hired. Mistakes can lead to many potential problems for the client who may have deadlines or specific obligations and frustration for the freelancer if it turns out that they just don’t have the claimed skill.

Declared skills are often found in any type of ad posted both on line or off, and frequently show up even in professional resumes.

Proven Skill
A proven skill on the other hand, is one that has been proven by having successfully completed a body of work that proves the freelancer does have the actual ability to complete the work. Having numerous examples of proof where the skill has been used to successfully complete jobs increases the likelihood that the freelancer will also be able to complete the clients current job.

An example of this type of proof is the ability of clients to rate the work completed by freelancers. This rating is then available for other potential clients to see when they consider hiring the freelancer.

By having this proof the client has the ability to check on the satisfaction of former clients and make an informed decision on whether or not to hire that freelancer.

Often times, when there is little financial risk or in an effort to save money, a client will knowingly hire a freelancer who has yet to prove his skill. Then the declared skill can be be proven by successfully completing the work that has been assigned.

How To Avoid Problems
Even when both parties think that they completely understand or have communicated the specific requirements for a job, there can still be problems that arise. The more complicated the work the higher the probability of snags.

A good freelancer will make every effort to insure that the client is happy with the end product including revisions or even producing new work.

Indeed, it is a common occurrence for tweaking to be needed on work no matter how much proof of skill the freelancer has shown. The best way to make sure that both parties are happy is by frequent communications. In most cases, a problem only becomes a problem when neither party wants to correct or describe the issues that are causing an issue.

• avidharis from India (6 completed projects)
• brsmog from France (13 completed projects)
• capetaurus from South Africa (12 completed projects)
• cviorel from Romania (3 completed projects)
• elydes from Italy (5 completed projects)
• jfcarol84 from Mauritius (5 completed projects)
• jskdm from Spain (3 completed projects)
• kimosrolling from Egypt (3 completed projects)
• lizlucica from Romania (8 completed projects)
• mevmari from Argentina (3 completed projects)
• shishenkov from Bulgaria (32 completed projects)
• TakeReal from Russia (365 completed projects)

As you can see, we live and work all over the world.
If you are a freelancer and you want to find a jobs you can join us here.

The first thought that will probably cross your mind is: “Oh, there is no way I will be chosen for a project by a service buyer, when so many people with great ratings are already filling in the place”. But that is where you may be wrong.

On GetAFreelancer, there is a way for newbies to make a statement about what they are capable of doing, even if they have not yet completed any jobs. Worried about the competition with all the others with already established business on GetAFreelancer? Worry no more. GetAFreelancer gives you the chance to prove yourself.

The answer to your problem is called ‘Trial Projects’. GetAFreelancer owners already thought about your problem and how difficult it can be to land a job as a new comer, no matter how great your skills are. So they invented this option, that allows you to show what you can do. Let’s see what “Trial Projects” are all about.

A trial project equals an opportunity for new service buyers to connect with new service providers. When they register to the site, new service buyers are granted the opportunity to post a trial project once, for free. If they find the right provider, and they close the deal, then the buyer will have to pay the normal fees.

You, as a service provider, will be pleased to find out that on trial projects, only new service providers, with three feedbacks or less may bid on Trial projects. This gives new users on the site a chance to build up their profiles. Say, I have 312 ratings and therefore I can’t bid on Trial project.

What does this mean to you? It means that you will not have to face the fierce competition with the high rated providers, right from day one. And, of course, a bigger chance to win a project and start building up your reputation. If you win a project, you complete it and the buyer is satisfied, then you will receive your first rating and you will not be a newbie anymore.

How do you recognize trial projects on GetAFreelancer? It is quite easy. When you log in to the site, you will need to choose the ‘Browse projects’ option from the top menu. Than you will have access to all the projects listed on the site. You can filter them according to your skills and you can start bidding. If you want to start by bidding on trial projects, you need to look for a special mark that accompanies this type of projects. Whenever you see a small orange icon next to it (), you found a trial project. If you let your mouse hover over it, you will see that ‘Trial project’ will appear under it. If you click on it, a new window will appear with information about trial projects and what they are all about.

On the list, trial projects, as the other projects, have only a title. If you see something that catches your eyes, you must click on the title and read more about the project description. If it fits your skill range and you are satisfied with the deadline and the other details, you can go on and bid on it. After you make your bid, you can always ask for more details about the project and for any special requirements the service buyer might have. You need to gather a lot of info before starting the work, if you want your work to be flawless.

This is how it goes with trial projects. You may want to skip this step while searching for projects on GetAFreelancer, but it is recommended to start from here, if you do not want your enthusiasm caused by discovering this market for freelancers to fade away. While you see how other service providers win in front of you, you may be tempted to give up, but with trial projects, you have a great chance to save yourself from the frustration.

So, good news for newbies! Trial projects, while not allowing high ranked providers to step on your chances, give you the right opportunity to build up your own name on GetAFreelancer.

You can find all available trial project this way.

More and more companies are getting accustomed to the idea of being able to do business with companies on the other side of the world using nothing but digital communication means, or to have entire business units or projects led by teams made up of people located all over the globe.

Hence the popularity of services such as oDesk and Elance, websites where you can outsource given projects to registered programmers, designers, writers, legal experts and whatnot. Another player in this market is GetAFreelancer, an Australian company that’s been offering freelance jobs online since it was founded back in 2004.

Today, the company is announcing that it has changed its name to the far better-sounding and undoubtedly more memorable Freelancer.com. They bought the domain name from a private individual who used to run a magazine called Computer Freelancer over 15 years ago, for a ’six figure sum’. All in an effort to increase its visibility and profile.

GetAFreelancer CEO Matt Barrie tells us that the site recently hit a big milestone and now boasts over 1,000,000 registered professionals and businesses from 234 countries and territories worldwide. Over 475,000 jobs have been posted on the website to date, for a sum of over $43 million.

Not too shabby for a bootstrapped venture.

Link to GetAFreelancer

PS. And now I should pay $19,95 (was just $12) for Gold Membership. And I should pay 3% (was 0%) when I win project.