Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Online Freelancing as a Career

Technology has brought many things that gave comfort to society in many aspects. From entertainment to convenient shopping, many people are taking advantage of computers, mobile phones, and electronic tablets to access the internet. Nowadays, professionals are entering a new way of career opportunities – online careers. More and more people nowadays are earning profit by doing jobs with the use of their skills in the comfort of their own house. They don’t have to wake up early in the morning and do the same thing over and over again – they just have to sit in front of their computer and finish tasks assigned by their employers located in different parts of the globe. But, how can you succeed in this field?


While more and more companies and businessmen are entering the online market, your chance of having an online career is increasing too. If you try to search for online jobs, you’ll notice that there are many websites that offers online careers – it’s not impossible to find one that suits perfectly to your skills and abilities. Once you have found one in your desired pay-grade, you can be very successful as long as you’re honest and professional with your online career.

Looking for an Online Job
Starting with your online job search is quite a challenge (well, it’s the same with applying to a job position in a normal job setting where you compete with others). In addition, there’ll be lots of misleading online job applications that would lead you to a “training program” – not a career opportunity. Here are some of the things that you can do to be successful in searching for an online job.

You have to be careful with websites that offers jobs. Sometimes, you’ll be asked for a lot of information that won’t lead you to the job – do not be fooled! Examine the website carefully and make a background check with previous visitors or clients. If you are asked to pay for application fees and background checks, it’s a big red flag. There are some websites that requires fees but they disclose it prior to your application but it’s really best if you can find one with no charges upon application (these websites actually offer more job opportunities).

Make sure that the job posting makes sense. It’s because some postings aren’t really reasonable (with price ranges that’s very high for the job).

You must take note of the job posting date – is it a current posting or not? Be updated and apply on new job postings on the web. Hooking up with online job alerts is pretty good in having the current and the most updated job postings on the web.

Get to know the employer – If you have seen a job posting on a blog or an anonymous website, go to the source immediately. That way, you will be able to know whether the job posting is legit or a current posting. On top of that, you will be able to know more about the employer and the job requirements.

Lastly, an online application is just the same with a normal job application – you have to tell the truth. Don’t ever make some stuff out of your resume that you don’t really posses. It might get your chances of an online interview higher but it will never give you the chance to earn the position. You might even get into the blacklist of online job websites.

Be a Successful Online Freelancer
A home-based work is really great for people who want to stay in the comfort of their own home with their families. On top of that, you don’t have to go outside and do morning rituals over and over again – riding the bus, subway, 30 minute drive, and so on. Being a successful online worker isn’t really hard, you just have to do the things that the job requires you to do and be good at it. That way, your employer won’t look for somebody else that can do the job better at the same cost. Still, you might want to do these things to progress in your online career.

Follow directions accurately
Be open for comments and suggestions
Be honest and professional with what you do
Allow yourself to learn more skills
Asses yourself and decide whether you deserve to have your pay-grade increased
Have some break (this is really good if you’re so stretched at your current project).
If you’re working, avoid distractions

Although working habits differ in every person, these things are really good to remember. To be a successful online freelancer, you have to know yourself first and discover how you want to play in this field.