If your business is starting to get off the ground a little bit (finally!) I’m sure you’re thinking about getting some help and maybe hiring someone.
Of course, you can simply go to craigslist, write about the kind of person you’re looking for and how much you’re willing to pay, but in the end, there are better ways of finding new pair of hands to work.
First and foremost, you have to decide whether or not you need someone full-time; for a single project; or just to do a specific one-time task. This is an important decision because it usually determines the payment model you’ll end up implementing.
For example, if you need just one specific task (or one specific kind of task) done every now and then, hiring someone full-time might not be the best idea. Let me give you an example. I am not a native English speaker, which means that I need someone to proofread my articles. I’m not hiring this person full-time because I’m not producing that amount of written content. So we’ve agreed upon a per-page rate and it seems to be working just fine for both of us.
Ok, let’s get to the list already!
Where to get one-time, simple tasks done fast
1. Fiverr
I’m using this site very often. There’s no better place on the internet to get all kinds of tasks done for $5. The main categories cover various areas such as: graphics, video, social marketing, writing, advertising, programming, and more. Apart from standard kinds of tasks like getting an article written for $5, or a PowerPoint presentation designed for $5 (everything’s for $5 by the way, hence the name Fiverr), you can also buy some unusual services like getting a forum/twitter display picture (aka avatar) created in Japanese anime style, for example. Really worth checking out.
2. JustFive.com
A site very similar to Fiverr. The main difference is that here you can also find services for $10 and $20. It might be worth checking out, but Fiverr is a bigger site with more interesting offers (in my opinion, of course).
Hiring on a per-project basis
3. Elance
This is one of the most popular places online for finding freelancers. The main idea is simple. After you post a job description (a project description you’re working on) you’ll receive a number of proposals from freelancers willing to work for you. Furthermore, Elance provides tools for time tracking and viewing work in progress. Each project receives a special workroom where you can collaborate with your contractors. Elance is a leader in its field not without a reason.
More than 2 million registered users prove that Freelancer.com is one of the market’s leaders. You can use it to find specialists in such fields as: programming, SEO, writing, design, marketing and many more. To find a contractor you just have to post a project and wait for bids to come. Then choose one that impresses you the most. Unfortunately, the service is not free. If you need someone for a bigger project, finding them elsewhere might be cheaper.
5. ScriptLance
Similar to Elance but focused on slightly more technical areas of work (you can still hire writers, SEOs and marketers though). It’s a great place to post programming or design projects. To find a contractor, you just have to post a project and in response freelancers will submit their quotes (just like on Elance). There’s also a section for long term projects, so you can use it to find full-time employees too.
6. iFreelance
Yet another site for finding freelancers. There’s really nothing that different about this one. Check it out to find professionals such as: accountants, business consultants, engineers, designers, marketers, programmers, writers, and other professions. One more thing. There’re no commissions or transaction fees here (unless you’re searching for work, in which case you’ll have to buy a monthly subscription).
7. oDesk
What’s good about oDesk is that they provide a way of verifying the time spent on your project, so you always get billed accordingly. Apart from that it’s another site where you can post a project or browse available contractors and choose the one whose portfolio or project history impresses you the most. A good overall service that’s worth checking out.
8. Guru.com
This site lets you post a project, browse through the profiles of various freelancers, or find a contractor near your location. Apart from that you can use their escrow system of payment, which makes the whole transaction a lot safer. Guru.com has one of the largest databases of freelancers – more than 1 million of them.
9. vWorker.com
It’s simple; post a project and receive quotes from people willing to get the work done. More than 300,000 freelancers registered. Simple and effective. No posting fee.
10. Sortfolio
This is a really straightforward site that can help you find a web designer for your new website. I know it’s a strictly web-design-centered place, but online entrepreneurs need this kind of services very often, so I thought it might be helpful. The site is very easy to use. You can start by selecting the city (presumably your current location) and the amount of money you’re willing to spend, and in return you get a list of designers or design firms that match the criteria. Fast and simple. Works much better than Googling “web designer in Toronto for under $3000″.
Finding a full-time employee
11. OnlineJobs.ph
This is an online job board for Filipinos. Since you’re an employer you can visit it to browse hundreds of profiles and possibly to find a person possessing the skills you’re looking for. OnlineJobs.ph won’t help you with getting the legal stuff done. It’s only a discovery tool, but checking it out is well worth it. In case you’re not aware of this, Filipinos are known for their very good English skills, and somewhat Western-style mentality, so there’s no cultural barrier.
12. VA4U.com
This is my top choice for full-time hiring of virtual assistants who are really willing to work. You can browse through hundreds of profiles and find a valuable person without spending a dime on any fees. The website does not have a very attractive design but don’t let that scare you off. Just give it a while and I’m sure you’ll find a great employee. Just like I did.
The name is pretty self-explanatory. You can visit it and browse through hundreds of virtual assistants’ profiles to find the one who seems to fit your requirements the most. A site similar to OnlineJobs.ph.
14. Agents of Value
This might be a good starting point for you if you need a link builder, a content writer, a webmaster or a virtual assistant, and you don’t have the time to look for them on your own. Agents of Value is a virtual staff leasing company. What it basically means is that you post a quote and they find you an employee who fits your criteria. The prices start at $625 per month.
Another place where you can go to hire someone without getting your hands dirty. What you do is just sign up for the service ($350 upfront), and submit your job description. The guys at Virtual Staff Finder will find a number of possible employees and test them to come up with the list of three final candidates. Your task is to interview them and choose the one you want to hire.
16. Zirtual
A service very similar to the previous ones. Just tell them what kind of work you need done, and the team at Zirtual will find you a perfect assistant in three weeks time. Kind of fast, and surely very simple.
This concludes the list. Now it’s your turn to speak up. Please share, what’s the website you had the most success with when hiring a new staff member? Do you know of any other websites that should have their place on this list?
About the author: Karol K. (@carlosinho) is a 20-something year old web 2.0 entrepreneur from Poland who hates doing business but loves to train capoeira. But anyway, tune in to get his advice on starting an online business.
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Whew, that’s quite the list there Christine! I’m using Fiverr extensively these days and have had mostly good experiences.
Moon Hussain recently posted..Free Report: How to Rank Your Websites & Annihilate Your Competition On a Tiny Freakin’ Budget
Ya, Karol always puts out some great posts. You should check out his site http://www.newinternetorder.com (the name totally reminds me of the 80′s – may because of the group New Order)
Getting a logo designed, I didn’t have much luck with it on Fiverr. Either they didn’t get back to me or the communication was off. But I did get a very cool Japanese Anime drawing of me for 5 bucks. Its very cool.
Christine McCarthy recently posted..How to Use Aweber Email Autoresponders to Make Money Online
Japanese drawings are probably the most popular offers on fivver these days, I got one too
Karol K recently posted..How to Calculate Productivity? My Own Simple Approach
I wanna see how cool yours turned out.
Christine McCarthy recently posted..How to Use Aweber Email Autoresponders to Make Money Online
You’re saying that you had mostly good experiences. What about the bad ones? Was there many of them?
Karol K recently posted..How to Set Up an Online Business – Complete Beginner’s Guide
I have been using http://www.Fiverr.com as well as http://www.plentyofgigs.com
Very Nice to be able to work in this economy
Awesome list. Speaking of assistants, I actually ended up hiring my girlfriend to do some work. I’m leery of letting a stranger take control of my site!
Jon | Free Money Wisdom recently posted..4 Things I Learned as a Grocery Bag Boy
I agree. I wish I had a mate to hire. I tried to get my kids to do it. One is too busy w/ his online games and my daughter, who at one time was doing ppt for me, is now making make up tutorial videos for YouTube. There goes that! I do want to hire someone to help me with the social media aspect. And I know what you mean about sharing control of your site.
But like with my guest post – for people to submit – its cool because the person registers as the lowest access setting and then goes back to the guest post page to submit a post. So there really is very minimal access to the site. I use the uCan Post Plugin for it.
Christine McCarthy recently posted..Hit “Send” to soon? How to retract Gmail messages
I usually try to avoid hiring people close to me. I’m a little afraid that a personal relationship might get affected by some business issues.
Karol K recently posted..How to Deal with Criticism in One Single Step by Being an A*Hole on the Inside
Hi, thanks very much for this, very, very useful and I hope, great timing!
I use and like Fiverr and oDesk has been recommended to me, but the rest are new!
Great to see you help the Filipino community too, I lived in the Philippines for 15 years and the people there are amazing! They are very well educated, speak great English, are a lot of fun and are very loyal if you look after them! (My kids were born in Manila and my wife’s a Filipina, so I am a tad biased)
I too get my kids to help a little, but aged 12 and 13 they also prefer to do their own thing!
A well thought out and very helpful article, thanks a lot, all the very best, Peter
Peter L Masters MCIM recently posted..Empire Avenue Seattle Meetup #EAv Gene Dexter and Chris Pirillo on YouTube.
Great timing for me, too! As for “onlinejobs.ph” < < Filipino's do speak great English, huh? (you're witnessing it right now). LOL. So I really enjoy your biased outlook
haha, our kids are in the same age group. I figure when they reach their 20s they hit us up for work. I am glad this article was useful, Peter.
Christine McCarthy recently posted..5 Secrets for Coming Up With Blog Post Ideas
It’s nice to see that people are starting to look for new employees now (regarding the timing). Let’s just hope that there won’t be another recession anytime soon to stop us from doing that
Karol K recently posted..16 Websites You Can Visit When You’re in a Hiring Mood + 1 Bonus
What about hiring an intern?
We’re have a membership site where we post ads of interns looking for positions, some of the them paid, some of them unpaid.
You can get a free internship here:
http://members.internprofits.com
Once inside the members area, click on the “available interns” on the left hand side of the page and see if there’s anyone that is a good match!
You can also check out our homepage to learn more about how to find, hire and manage interns, including getting a Free Video Training Course (with 20 free videos).
Justin recently posted..How You Can Triple Your Blog Traffic
Thank you, Justin. I will be sure to check it out. Never thought of interns being online. But with the world moving that way, it makes perfect sense!
Christine McCarthy recently posted..Even Bloggers Need a Strategic Business Plan
Good input, Justin. I will make sure to check it out.
Karol K recently posted..12 Quotations on Success That Are Sure to Change Your Life
Great list of useful links. i did not know all of these sites. I will definitely check out some of them.
Marc | Free PHP Hosting recently posted..Unlimited Hosting under 2 Dollars
There are a few on here that I was unaware of too. So glad Karol submitted this awesome post!
Christine McCarthy recently posted..5 Secrets for Coming Up With Blog Post Ideas
I have mostly used Fiverr before, both ways, as a seller and buyer. I used to have a few popular gigs posted when I had time to work on them and although I am not a seller anymore, I use it to get simple tasks done. I have heard of few others here, but most of these are new to me.
Brankica recently posted..199 Blogs Worth Hopping [Updated from 140]
I know this is a very short comment, but… I want to remind everyone that even if you’re looking for a job, some of those sites above really do work. For example, i was able to find two projects to complete on elance.com – it’s pretty awesome.
Jonathan recently posted..How Bad Do You Want It?
Well, I’m using also the Fiverr extensively these days and have had mostly good experiences. It is a very nice thing to hear and see that people are starting to look for new employees now ). Let’s just hope that there are some updates about this.
John recently posted..Droid Bionic: Brand New Droid Series from Motorola
It is good people are looking for new employees. But I definitely think the trend is different and may be come a permanent feature due to our economy. In one way, it could be good – picking up ‘freelance’ type jobs for location independent mobility. On the other hand – various jobs can also lead to a wavy income. Not everyone can get used to that. Never the less, employment is employment right now.
A virtual assistant can help you grow your business by handling your administrative support tasks. You can outsource various tasks like accounting, advertising, clerical, administrative, answering phone calls, internet research, data entry and technical support tasks to a virtual assistant. And the best part is that you can relax and enjoy your vacation or holidays while all your works are done by your virtual assistant. Isn’t it sounds great?
johnv@personalassistant.us
virtual assistant
I have used fiverr and oDesk for various jobs in the past. It can be tough to make that first plunge into outsourcing things you normally do yourself, but once you do it you wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. Thanks for the list!
Alex recently posted..Becoming a Travel Writer: Get Paid to Travel
I used Fiverr for about a year. Made a lot of money selling gigs but noticed they began to have a lot of competition and I received slower sales because of that. Sort of how adwords competition blew us all out of game.
I decided to bring out Five Does IT, a global micro jobs site that many Sellers will make money a little faster than with Fiverr since we are new with much less competition.
hint: I’m looking to see lot’s of growth shortly which means lots of sale for our sellers.
You are welcome to stop by and take a look. Free sign up. Thanks
Karl Jackson
Ceo – FiveDoesIT
I have used Odesk few weeks ago to get some help to develope an app on my website http://en.philippines-vacances.fr/itinapp/ and as I was living in the Philippines at that time, I hired a filipino that did the job for very cheap price. On my end I also work on it as a translator english to french, good enough to get a bit more cash at the end of the month
Julien recently posted..ItinApp – app to check itinerary