Getting started on elance, the elance proficiency test answers and your elance profile

Before reading about elance you may want to know all about online jobs, I've explained it well

Elance is basically a freelance writing site, however it isn't just about freelance writing, there's something for each and every one of us on elance. You just need to be determined and be ready to put in your best efforts and certainly you can accomplish more than you desire. It doesn't matter whether you're specialized in Writing and translation, web $ programming, design & multimedia, sales and marketing or even engineering & manufacturing; there's something for each of us. Just choose the category you’re specialized in and begin your adventure

Signing up on elance is rather simple and doesn't need you to spend more than 10 minutes. Just complete your profile and fill in your personal details and then confirm your mobile number as per your timings, you can do it any second you wish. By confirming your mobile number you automatically confirm your home address - all you have to do is narrate the code that appears on your screen and you’re done.

One important thing to know before you sign up is that, if you sign up using any referral link you get a bonus 10 connects in addition to your original 10 i.e. a total of 20 connects (Connects are used to apply for jobs). You could click the elance link in the beginning of this page or just use any other referral link to take advantage of this offer. But remember if at all you've visited elance.com directly without going through any referral then you've got to delete your cookies and history and then go through a referral link in order to avail this benefit. As I signed up directly I lost on this great opportunity.

You could also try on this sample test and get you're score ascertained. I've also explained in detail the most popular questions - so there's no way you would fail.

Once you've signed up, the next thing you're going to have to do before you can apply for jobs is to pass the elance proficiency test. Don't worry about it - it's a piece of cake, I got 100% right without even trying. The elance proficiency test has 10 questions. It's pretty simple and the questions change every time so you can't get help that way. You need not be good in English to pass it. Their all dam easy questions and anyone other than bots will easily get through this test. (If you do know the exact number of questions or if you take the test now, please do let me know through a comment about the number of questions asked). Now that you've passed this step, your ready to begin your profile and portfolio.
Very Important: - Before completing your profile and your portfolio do not, I say do not apply for any job unless you wish to waste your connects.

Your profile is the second most important accessory coming only after your portfolio. You know that your good in your work, but you need to convey this message to your clients.

How do I convey my message to my client?
Before checking your portfolio your client's going to automatically get his/her eyes on your profile, if they aren't impressed (even though your work may be good) they may just refuse your offer. Therefore the right profile leads to success. They say that your profile should be written in the third person format, most agree however I've kept mine in the conversational tone; it solely depends on how you wish to keep it - the only thing to be kept in mind is quality. I guess I've now made this point clear, so let’s move forward into finer details

These are the columns in your Elance profile:

Your name/Company name: - Here fill in your name, the way you want others to see you - its recommended that you give your real name as client and contractors work better if they know each other better.

Your Tagline: - Try to get a great tagline for yourself; it should describe you in as few words as possible. Try keeping it unique don't copy others taglines

Your minimum hourly rate: - There's no need of explaining this in detail, it’s just the amount you wish to be paid per hour (at a minimum)

Overview: - Give a brief into of the work you can do and why you should be hired, the policies you follow, etc.

Service Description: - Explain in finer details every field that you’re specialized in, for example my profile has got article writing in general and travel articles and health articles in particular, and some more services (Mention them)

Payment terms: - Explain to the clients the minimum amounts that you’re willing to work for (non-hourly jobs) and also it’s very important to mention that you'll begin work only once funds are deposited in Escrow.

Keywords: - Add 5 keywords (For free users) and 10 (For members) as these will be useful when contractors search for people with desired skills.

That's about it, your profile is ready; now go ahead and add a nice professional photo to your profile and more importantly proofread your profile to make sure that no errors regarding grammar have crept in.

Once you complete adding your profile information you can now go ahead and add a professional portfolio, if you've worked on any other freelance sites earlier you can add those samples or just create whole new samples in the niches you wish to work in. Also add a resume if possible as most clients look for a resume. Once you've added your samples and resume to your portfolio you’re ready to begin submitting proposals.

Note: - Please check your samples for any errors as you don't have any feedback and rating on your side because you’re a new contractor. Your samples should be perfect and your best.

How to win proposals and win jobs is the first question each of us wants to know. So I'd like to answer this question in as few words as possible.

Before submitting a proposal on elance or any other freelance site for that instance, you need to go through the job summary and ask yourself this following questions:

• Will I beable to complete the job to my clients satisfaction and on time?
• Am I willing to work for the price the client is offering?
• Do I belong to the place the client needs a writer from?
• Have I got samples related to this job that are perfect and suit this job completely?

If your answer to each of the 4 questions is yes then, you should go along and write a great proposal explaining to the client why you should be given the job, your time frame and your charges. It is very important to work for a slightly cheaper rate compared to others until you have some jobs in your basket. This way you have a greater chance of success. Once you've got your job there's lots that needs to be done and I have many suggestions to offer you, read on to know more

I know that this paragraph on elance scam may make you wonder whether elance is a legit site or scam. But I've named this title as Elance scam just to help the people searching on search engines for the keyword "elance scam". However, I'm just explaining how to escape being scammed by your clients. Follow these few points and you'll stay safe.

Tips to stay away from elance scams:

1. Before accepting any job even your first job go ahead and check the clients profile for his/her feedback. Any client offering bad feedback to many writers or a client who's received bad feedback should be avoided as this can spoil your whole elance writing career.
2. Once you've accepted a job if it is a fixed price job (non-hourly) then see that you let your client know that you want funds released into escrow before you begin the work. Because that's what elance tells you as well and it's my personal experience.

Getting your job done right is the most important thing for any freelance writer especially writers on sites like elance where there is lots of competition. Follow these few points and you'll do fine provided you are good at writing

• Do some research on the topic you need to write, find similar articles and extract points from them. Never ever copy the content as it is
• See that you stick to the schedule set by your client and you as this way both of you will remain happy.
• Most importantly see that you keep conversations up and running with your client atleast on a daily basis if not more often as this way you'll end up being friends - better feedback and future jobs assured.
• Submit the work as the client desires - I'm talking about the format here (.doc; .docx; .txt; pdf or whatever your client needs)

If at all you need any more help then please do leave a comment and for sure I'll answer it. Happy writing!!
Do your best and you'll become the best - this is my motto (I don't know if it's been said before , but I do follow it daily)