Starting Fresh With Online Employment Opportunities
A clean slate. That’s the opportunity you have when moving to online work. It’s a fresh start for the most part, minus any presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other networking communities.
You may have already made a name for yourself in the traditional corporate world of cubicles and a 9 to 5 workday, but using an online employment site means you get a chance to sing your praises once again.
Once you are ready to find work, the first step is to pick the right online employment platform…
You get to highlight your resume, showcase your skills, and build out your online profile with a repertoire of projects that fit your talents, and match your interests.
Before joining an online employment platform (whether as a full-time contractor or part-time online professional), take some time to think about your already existing online presence.
What content could impact your professional reputation? And ultimately, the one question you need to answer is: How do I want to represent myself over the Web?
Steps Involved With Finding Online Work and Job Prospects
Once you are ready to get into online work, your first step is simply picking an online employment platform.
Typically, online employment platforms connect contractors with businesses, where businesses can browse through a database of contractors that have the skills they are looking for, and contractors can peruse jobs that match their interests and skillsets, and bid on jobs or submit proposals for ones that they see fit.
The world’s leading and largest online employment platform is Elance, which offers thousands of jobs spanning different skill areas, posted by clients and businesses from all parts of the world.
Yet with any online employment platform, the first step to getting employed and winning the job is building out your online profile. Many platforms will give you the ability to share your past professional experiences and professional background, your skills, and even samples of your work, making it easy for clients to determine if you are the right fit for their job.
Getting the Most Out of Your Online Profile: What to Consider
Taking the time to fill out your online profile completely will pay off in the long-run. It gives clients something to look at, and shows them you are dedicated and invested in your work — and by extension, that you would be dedicated to completing their projects at a high standard.
Being a newcomer to online work has both its ups and downs. As already mentioned, you have the opportunity to have a fresh start, but you are also faced with the task of differentiating yourself among the other contractors on the platform.
Yet many platforms give you the tools to do just that – after all, they know everyone has had to start at the beginning.
For instance, you can promote your certifications, education, and any awards you have received. These licenses and certifications are a great way to differentiate yourself, and to make yourself stand out. The certifications illustrate that you have already established a level of success outside of online work, so be sure to include any ones that are relevant to your expertise on your profile.
More Ways to Build Up Your Online Reputation While Looking for Work
Another easy way to build your reputation is through the clients and businesses on the site.
When you begin your job search, bid on jobs that you truly believe you can deliver high quality results on. In this way, you’ll also be able to construct a proposal that demonstrates you truly understand the client’s needs — and along the same lines, can deliver the best solution.
By clearly paraphrasing the client’s problem to them, they will see your understanding of their situation. And winning your first job online is a big step toward increasing your presence on the platform, as well as your reputation. You may even have the chance to create long-term working relationships with repeat clients.
Lastly, and this is possibly stating the obvious, much of your reputation falls on you. The components of the online version of yourself include your performance, your attitude, your capabilities, and your time – essentially, the time you are willing to dedicate to create a professional online image, one that clients and businesses will recognize positively.
While you can and should take the steps to fill out your profile and create awesome proposals that provide a solution to the client’s task or project, much of your reputation will come from the feedback that clients give you after you complete their jobs.
With that said, by delivering your best work in a timely manner, you are doing all you can to ensure you receive positive feedback (be sure to keep in mind that online employment platforms typically show your feedback and ratings as public information for other clients and contractors to view).
With online work becoming more and more common, and more companies looking to online professionals to complete their work, now is a great time to begin the transition. Get into work for yourself, evaluate the projects and jobs that match your interest and skillset, and know how you want to present yourself.
Your profile, your performance, your goals, your reputation – it’s all about you, and it’s up to you.
Do you have a winning tip about how you built out your own online reputation? Share it with us now in the comments section below!
