Some tips for oDesk

I have had few folks email me because they are having trouble getting hired on oDesk. I do believe it is hard to get hired as a newbie, so here are some tips for a successful oDesk experience:

1) Once you are signed up with them, take extra tests in areas you are familiar with. Take as many as you think you can pass. While you are testing, open a second browser window to look up answers if you're stuck. oDesk doesn't expect you to know everything, just smart enough to find it. Assuming you score well, it will be posted on your profile, which will attract employers.

2) When you are applying for a job, make sure your cover letter is perfect. Send samples of your work, especially for writing jobs. Tell them why they should give you a chance to prove yourself as a newbie.

3) Make sure you aren't bidding too high. Be sure to look at the average bid for the job, then bid lower. An average bid means that some have bid higher and some lower, so if you want the job you will need to underbid the average.

4) Look for jobs other than your main interest. For example, if you are looking for writing jobs, consider data entry. Try to get a few small fixed price jobs to boost your "rep" on your profile. The more positive buyer feedback that shows on your profile, the more likely you are to be hired for a bigger, better paying job.

5) Apply for as many jobs as oDesk will allow. Apply for anything you are capable of doing. You will build a good reputation quickly. The more jobs you do, the more jobs you will get.

6) Do not ever agree to be paid outside of oDesk. You will risk being banned, and you will probably get scammed (I did). If someone is so broke that they need to save a couple of bucks on oDesk fees, do you really think they will pay you at all? I wish I had realized this when I first started, because I got scammed out of several thousand dollars. It was a hard lesson learned, and I am tellng you in the hope of saving you from the same heartache.

Don't give up! If you keep applying you will get hired. Once you get that first job, more will follow.

Captcha - Earning Immediate Cash

As promised, today I will talk about Captcha data entry as a way to earn extra cash online. If you are very fast at data entry, this may be for you. First, if you want quick cash, you will need to have a PayPal account, since most will offer that as a payment processor. If you want fast cash now, you don't want to wait for a check in the mail, right? Second, for those of you who don't know what Captcha codes are, those are those little jumbles of letters and numbers you are sometimes required to input at the bottom of a form, just to make sure you are human and not a bot. Many companies do data entry outsourcing, and Captcha entry is the easiest for them to assign to home workers. So, on to the resources...

By far, the easiest and fastest is www.PixProfit.com This site requires only your name and PayPal address to get started. Once you reach $3.00, you get paid. It just doesn't get any easier. There is no referral program, you won't get any spam from them, it's just sign up and start working. If you are have a good typing speed and can sit and type repetitive information, you can earn some serious quick cash here. If you really want to make this into a job, you can get a few friends together and form a work team. You all type as fast as you can, the payments go to one person, you divide the profits.

Another good to find Captcha data entry work is www.GetAFreelancer.com There many other work at home opportunities there, but you will have no trouble finding Captcha work at this site. It is similar to oDesk, but not as detailed. There are no tests to take, you simply register and bid on jobs.

Bottom line, if you need to earn extra cash from home, and you need that cash quickly, Captcha is the way to go. Good luck and happy typing!

Next post, I will be discussing paid to click and paid to read programs, the good, the bad, the ugly.