Ask HN: Where are the best places to find Freelance jobs?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2383476

by anto210 • 15 years ago

24 6 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I am a designer working with a developer and we are looking to do some freelance work. We have looked on craigslist, but that does not seem like the best place to find jobs. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

pcanella• 15 years ago

ODesk is a good resource to find freelance jobs, most are virtual though and I've heard it gets mixed reviews (mostly good though :)).

bartonfink• 15 years ago

There are posts here every month, although your mileage may vary regarding what you want out of them.

martinshen• 15 years ago

Go to conferences and wear a big badge that says you're a developer.

ARolek• 15 years ago

I have had great success with Elance.com. At first I had to bid the projects on the lower end to get some ratings. After I had a few happy clients and a few 5 star ratings I started receiving 3-4 proposal requests a week. I also tried oDesk, but did not see the same results.

jarrett• 15 years ago

Many of the freelancers I know work primarily from referrals. I realize this is a chicken-and-egg problem, so here are a few ways to get started:

- Tell all your friends and family you're freelancing. Chances are, you can find a few leads this way.

- Get hooked in with a network of local freelancers; they might share referrals. Unfortunately, I don't think you can just search for these groups on Google. I believe they're mostly informal networks of freelancers who stay in touch with each other, rather than actual clubs or trade organizations. I found one through another freelancer I happen to know, so give that a shot. YMMV.

-I haven't set up a Sortfolio account yet, but you might want to give it a shot. If you do, and it works out for you, please let us all know.

Best of luck!

jackkinsella• 15 years ago

I recently wanted to break into the freelancing market and had some success with this chain of events:

1) I joined my local programming mailing lists - e.g. the nearest Hacker Space, Ruby Ireland. 2) I went to a local tech conference. 3) I went to local tech meet ups and made a lot of noise. I paid extra attention to the non techies. 4) I followed everyone I met at said events.

After a few months of doing this I understand the local freelancing scene much better, have a good idea of market rates and am exposed to lots of freelancing opportunities.

Ask HN: Where are the best places to find Freelance jobs?

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