how to impress returning buyers in oDesk.com

Returning buyer is always blessing person for every contractor. All contractor expect buyers return to him once they have more works. Actually if a contractor able to impress buyer by past project(s) then a chance of return gets more higher.

Once a buyer return to you (contractor) with a new project, you have to honor him/her  in all ways by work. Firstly, you can impress him/her this time by not doing same mistakes (if you have done last time)again. moreover, as though you know your buyers nature, always try to work as he/she expects. for example, if you understand from previous project that, your buyer doesn't love to chat much instead of email then send email instead of chat. Most of the buyer and contractors are busy so my suggestion is that, don't email small issues one after another, in lieu of list all queries together and send email at once. and off-course don't feel to hesitate to knock over IM if any serious issue arise.

Share your thought and suggestions with your buyer to become application/project more accurate and effective for end user. I found that, for first project most of the contractors suggest their buyer less then returning buyer which is really important to maintain. Because for first project most of the buyers are more focused on your skills, whether you can complete the project in time, it's workable, error free, easy to understand, exactly what buyer want. But from second project buyers are willing to hear suggestions from contractors to increase application quality. This is the right time for you to impress your buyer once again. No matter buyer took your suggestion or not, it will create a positive thing in buyers mind which is important for you. But always keep in mind, in order to impress returning buyer never give then any suggestion which actually have no value or irrelevant with your application/project.

You can propose alternative solution if you know which can be better then buyers expectation. Discuss and share with your returning buyer and take approval from him. Keep in mind, never do anything (although you know it's better then what buyer expect) without your buyers approval. It's another easy but powerful way to impress your buyer.

Happy bidding!!!

always use github to manage your project code

it's always wise to use a source code version control system. so that your code can be tracked every minor change and you can roll back as needed. i found github is a very useful one. they have both free & paid membership and you can choice whatever you need. if you are a windows user click here to download github client version into your computer.
click "download 1.0"(or any other updated version) and once it's downloaded double click on it.
from github site this small exe(669kb) will download fully functional rest parts(around 40 mb).
once full version is installed you are now ready start with github.
click installed github icon. provide your email/username and password to connect with your github account.
now create project, connect with project and check-in, check out pages.
Now if you create a new file and open github you may not able to commit without shell script. if failed then try shell mode.

Configure github command line: you have to set your email address and name. in order to do so
C:\Users\Sumon\Documents\GitHub\MyProject [master +1 ~0 -0]>  git config --global user.email "myemailid@gmail.com"
C:\Users\Sumon\Documents\GitHub\MyProject [master +1 ~0 -0]> git config --global user.name "Amin"

write following code to add a file into your project:
C:\Users\Documents\GitHub\MyProject [master +1 ~0 -0]> git add test-file.php
C:\Users\Documents\GitHub\MyProject [master +1 ~0 -0]>
Files added.
C:\Users\Documents\GitHub\MyProject [master +1 ~0 -0]>git status
=>See which files have been committed, Green files have been committed, uncommitted red ones .

Once you've committed all, 

C:\Users\Documents\GitHub\MyProject [master +1 ~0 -0]>git commit

Now go back to Github for Windows and sync it up.

Enjoy Sub Versioning.

Update project progress to buyer time to time

In order to become a successful contractor in oDesk.com, always inform your buyer regarding project progress. even if the progress is very minimal.
Let me tell you a very interesting story. A contractor have tried hard and after around 100 project proposal submission he got a fixed price(10 USD) project which seems to him very simple work. and after win this project when he have started development of that sub section, he found that, the technology here used in this project is new to him but very much confident of learn that. as though it's his first project he spent many many hours and comes very close to buyers requirement. but he found that,
buyer want 1 or 0 for a specific tag
code works as 1 or NULL for that tag.
failed to identify why null is generated instead of 0. finally when he fade-up he thought post a message to client and wrote it. he says 'if i do 11 or 10 instead of 1 or 0 is that ok? and surprisingly buyer says, yes it's okay and accept that immediately. It's a great outcome example of inform project progress/status to buyer time to time.
i have dozen more examples where buyers change their requirement, make fit their projects, become more accuracy in projects only for contractor's regular communication.

new projects open, projects new phase extend, build strong and dependable relation between buyer and contractor by regular update of projects. for every project there are few features which are optional instead of mandatory and client expects mandatory features first. and regular project update can easily describes you which are important to your client.

happy bidding and winning.

Keep patience all around from a beginner contractor to expert

Few people thinks that, whether they have to try hard and keep their patience for first project in odesk.com or maximum up to 05 successful projects. But they are absolutely wrong. because, you have to keep your patience for every projects(whether it's first or century project). in contrast, you may consider patience as it's reverse proportional of successful projects you have completed. for someone who is brand new in oDesk.com should be more passionate then someone who have 10 successful projects in his/her portfolio. similarly someone having 120 projects working last 3-4 years is more confident then former two.

How to become more passionate? it's the tough question for everyone. i have few recommendations for you. first of all, plan yourself, you will bid 2-3 projects daily and minimum 30 days regularly. maintain this schedule strictly(not as military but decently). apply same category job everyday. study job description with full of your passion. if you don't understand or suppose requirements critical to you, share it with your buyer.
One further point is that, contractors need to be passionate in communication as well. i found most of the buyers are busier then contractors. They sometimes forget things because of their business. it's contractors duty to knock and remind them gently. It's an effective way of getting contracts. to increase your passion you should be more focused on your planning instead of outcomes. it may happen that, you plan to apply for next 30 days(2-3 projects daily). and in day 14 you might get frustrated if you look you have no response from buyer. you might slow down if you focus on outcome, but if you more focused on your planning(30 days) then it would be easier for you to snatch success by your own planning.

For few projects, i found my client doesn't response for 2-3 days or even up to weeks. which is very unusual for me about that client. But after weeks when he/she come back i get surprised, buyer response with great excitement like, winning of project, share idea of another project and 100% chance of win and few more. all these happened only because of daily PM to buyer about that project, waiting for his/her decision or something like these. patience is exactly proportional to success opportunity here.

How to utilize your good time in oDesk.com

You may found yourself as, you are getting good projects  in oDesk.com. Getting success for 30% to upward of your submitted application. So you are really lucky enough and running very good time. Who knows how long your good time will remain!! However, as though you are passing very good time, you have to utilize your good time properly.

May be you own multiple projects and thinking how would you work with them? An easier way is time sharing and multitasking. We can follow our computer/notebook processor working procedure for best utilization of our time.
Before everything, we have to think and write down our plan. Figure out your available and assigned time for oDesk projects.
Make a priority list of project features(not project). A project may contain 100 features.
Now start working with all projects in parallel. Do some task in one project and then another. In this way, you will be able to move forward all your projects.
For critical task(like API integration or a module newly developed by you or a long listing booking)you must finish that in one shot. No matter if it takes more then your estimated time. Because for such situation if you switch into other project feature development and come back here later then couple of minutes(or even hours)will become wastage due to recall your logic and getting same speed as earlier.
Always keep in mind, you have to show projects to your clients. oDesk buyer never mind if you engage in 100 projects(not important to buyer) only if you are able to show progress of his/her projects (which is important for him) in within clients expected time.
Another important point is that, its always better to show progress to client/buyer and post a list of completed task in odesk.com which keep you and buyer in a safer position. In addition, buyer can put his/her feedback which will reduce chance of re-engineering(which will cause you time without any earning).
So you are passing good time and keep your speed up gradually and build very good relationship with your buyers. A happy buyer means you have a very good chance of good rating which will brought you more buyers. Keep in mind, a bad rating may sharply decline your scope of project winning. Be aware of buyers satisfaction and always keep in touch with buyer.
Almost all buyers love to take developers suggestions. If you have any better idea explain it to buyer. idea should be innovative, more useful for current application, reduce end user effort, application/website become more eye-catchy, more functional, more user friendly.

Keep in mind you may not get success for 30% to upward of your application always. It can decline at any time. So always try to build a good and dependable relationship of you and buyer. So that you can make your buyer a recurring buyer. A recurring buyer is your Asset in odesk.com.

Wish you run your good time for unlimited period of time.

How to impress buyer to get your first job in odesk.com

Anything for the first time is exciting to everybody but getting things for first time by compete with others is not easy at all. Similarly, getting first project/job in odesk.com may become very tough for you as well. Although you have very strong education background, you have worked excellent companies and you have very good working portfolio but find out your first project might tough for you as well. I have few suggestions which might help you to get your first project quickly.

Small Projects: Always apply for small projects rather then larger projects for your first few projects. Selecting small projects for apply is an intelligent decision because of their short requirement and time duration is also short. Moreover, you might not passionate for months for your first project. So if you choose small duration projects you can apply more. Slowly when your portfolio become rich you automatically switchover to larger projects.

Selection of buyer: As you already known that, applying a project will take 10 minutes to hours. And selection of project which you will apply for take maximum 5-10 minute. So it's wise first select which projects you go to apply. So when you analyze a project even before read job description have a look buyers few details like how many projects posted by this buyer, how many of them assigned to contractor, what rating & comments posted by previous contractors, and how he rate contractors. Many buyers only post projects, take your suggestions and discuss over and over, again and again. But not declare project winners for maximum of the cases. my suggestion not to apply this type of job for your first project which might get you frustrated.

Job Description: Read whole Job Description carefully. If you are not clear about any topic in job description please google first(if it's a searchable one) or ask buyer about it. It's very important for you to understand whole project clearly. Buyers are tricky sometimes. Intentionally they write something in job description which they don't make clear because they want you to ask question about that point.

Ask Question to Buyer: Ask relevant questions to buyer about project. Buyer always appreciate questions. But never ask irrelevant questions which cause negative impact of you.

Do partial of project: Its a very good technique to get your first project which really worked for me. Let me give you an real life example. I have found a medium range project where buyers main focus was on nexmo SMS API integration. Before submit my application i have created 2 page demo for him where i have implemented nexmo API free credit. And yes it's impressed client very much and i win the project.

On top of apply those projects which best suited to you, feel comfortable.

Happy Bidding !!!

How to create an attractive contactor profile in odesk.com

Standard and attractive profile is the right path of you to become selected of a Buyer. Buyers always looks for good looking profile and portfolio contractors. In order to win proposals in odesk.com you need to build a dynamic profile first. Here are few helpful tips i am going to share with you.

First of all, enter your real data in "My Account Summery" section. Don't use Mnomic or incorrect information in any section of your profile.

Education and experience is another important factor to attract buyers. Moreover, if buyer have a marketing job then he/she always prefer contractors who came from that specific background and with having experience in related field.. In addition, education system differ country to country, so write a bit more about your education qualification in optional comment field. On the other hand when you add your experiences, clearly mention what role you have played in that position for that company. Task/Responsibilities should be expressed very clearly.

Use a nice looking photo of you where your face is clearly reflected. oDesk is very conscious of your identity (including photo identity). A better approach of showing your identity is your national identity card.

If you have online/offline certification feel free to add in your profile to build a robust profile. Certification reflect your expertness in specific area which is a powerful tool to become a successful contractor.  

Portfolio Projects is very useful and most important factor considered for a buyer about you. Add here as much projects you have completed. No matter how simple or complex the project is, from a simple registration form to an big community site is good to show buyers in your portfolio. Specifically mention what language(like C#, PHP,  VB, Java), database(like MySql, Sql Server, Oracle), third party integration(like paypal, Fedex/SMS/Fax API), design(like html5, xhtml, responsive site) you have used for your project.

Set a fair rate of your work. For example, you have only 1-2 years of experience in web development then you can set your hourly rate from 5-8 USD per hour and must not 25 USD. Keep working hard and increase your rate day by day. On top of more and more projects with 5 star buyer rating will automatically motivate you to increase your hourly rate. Lastly i have a suggestion about rate is that, don't increase your rate like a rocket, instead increase it gradually (month by month).

Other Experiences is an additional option for you and add some only if you have any.

Happy bidding in odesk.com !!!

How do i prepare myself for odesk exams?

So far you have completed oDesk readiness test and you know basic functionalities of oDesk.com. Sounds greate and you have already decided which area/category you will bid for. It's time for you to take some preparation for their exams. A helpful tip from me "don't apply before you complete exam in your targeted area/category". Where from you start? Don't appear odesk exam/test directly. Before click "Start" button of exam consider following points:

1. First of all, collect Syllabus of odesk exam. 
2. Now google every chapter/section of Syllabus to figure out detailed area.
3. Before you get further preparation collect some sample questions of odesk.com by google search. Definitely these questions will help you a lot for taking your preparation. From my point of view, 2/3 sample question is fair enough for study.
4. Take time to solve all these question and study in detail. Don't try to find out only answers rather analyze correct answers and try to find out few more correct answers for same question. In this way you can improve your knowledge. 
5. To be honest, most of the cases people think themselves expert(what actually they are) and directly appear into exam. When exam starts they failed to answer 20%-30% questions which answers was known to them but can't recall in time due to lack of preparation.
6. Time management is another very crucial factor in odesk.com exam. If you want to snatch a good score then you have to maintain not only correct answers but also answer in quickest time. But don't push accelerator too much to over speed yourself which might lead some wrong answer. So be quick and passionate.

That's all in my mind, i hope and wish you become a successful one in oDesk.com exam.

Don't forget you have to create a outstanding profile by yourself before start bidding.

How do i prepare myself to become a successful contractor in odesk.com

Now a days, there are many options to earn money from online. One of the finest way to earn online is from different bidding sites. oDesk.com may be a good choice of you. They have two different type of users, contractor and client. I am writing this post from contractors point of view.

From my personal experience here are number of tips which surely help you to become successful.
Moreover, prepare yourself step by step before start bidding. Here are few steps of preparation.

1. oDesk.com have a readiness test which is mandatory for every contractor. Study their policy well take the exam as much as you need. From my experience if you read their policy (for every question they provide policy text) carefully then you can pass readiness test in 2nd or 3rd attempt. If you pass in 5th or 9th attempt odesk will never mind for that.
2. So you have completed readiness test and ready for bidding. This is the point where people actually do mistake. I am sorry to say, actually you are not ready for start bidding. You need to spent few more hours, even few days. Utilize next hours by browse oDesk category of works and think yourself which category best suite for you. This is very important and categories in which you found yourself experienced and more interested can be a good choice. So in this step you have to decide 3 or 4 categories in which you will bid regularly.
3. Prepare yourself for oDesk exam/test in those categories. Please note that, you can't retake any exam within 30 days once you appear for a test. So it's better to prepare yourself first by collecting exam syllabus, tips and tricks by oDesk and other experts. After that, study with those topics very well. Take help of google to study quick, you may search google by "odesk.com php questions(or any other exam name you intend to appear)". In this way you will get some questions, ideas and suggestions about that test. Study those questions and do some practice. Practice and practice until you are satisfied.
4. Now you are ready for exam. Without late start your exam and be very careful in answering questions because you can't get back to any question and can't quit an exam. Press 'Start' button means you can't retake this exam until 30 days is over.
5. After getting a good scores in 2-3 exams in oDesk.com you are now ready for 1/2 category of job. 
6. So you are ready for bidding? No. At this stage you have to create an excellent profile. While creating profile, never over estimate yourself, don't write what you are not actually. If possible write i have fair knowledge of ## where you think yourself expert of ##. In addition, create some portfolio if you have. If you don't have any project as portfolio item, do some sample project like "Member Registration Form", "Simple Inventory Management", "Member/Student Management" or anything(no matter how simple it is) and mention those in your portfolio item. Be careful and be honest always.
7. It's time for you to Start Bidding. In order to win first project in oDesk you have to be more and more passionate. You might need to bid 10-20 projects to win first one. Let me share my experience and a powerful tips to win first few projects. Read Job Description again and again until it's totally clear to you. Now try to prepare a small sample from whole job description. Specially try to do the critical/major section of project as sample. At least prepare a small portion of project for buyer to show so that he/she can become confident on you. On top of, ask questions to buyer as much as you need. But never ask any un-necessary questions.
8. Check email and notification in oDesk.com. Most of the times buyer will ask you questions or like to discuss with you. In time reply is another key to success.

Happy bidding and never forget "Honesty is the Best Policy".