ODesk offers the largest, comprehensive and fastest-growing online workplace targeting the businesses which intend to manage and hire remote workers. So your talent is no longer limited to traditional or local hiring cycles. It is a great place to post a job free of cost, freelancing and rapidly hiring the person most suited to the job regardless of the place of their residence.

If you have the talent and the skills, geographical boundaries are not a constraint. You can find work or in case of an employer, get the job done so oDesk links business with independent professionals. All you need is a computer and internet connection, talent and the zeal to work.

Official Website:

For detailed information about the services rendered by the company and a better insight of the work you can visit the official website of the company odesk.com. It is an online platform where contractors can contact skilled professionals. The latest technology gives you a virtual workplace and the advantage of real-time visibility as it happens in the conventional scenario. On the official website you will get all the information regarding how to find the right work in case of freelancers or people hunting for work opportunities and in case of employers how to get the most appropriate person for the job. The payment is hassle-free and quick.

People Associated with It (Inventors and the Company Who Made It):

It was started by Odysseus Tsahalis and Straits Karamanlakis and the creation of the company has an interesting but aspiring story. Odysseus was based at Silicon Valley, California in 2002 and wanted his friend Straits Karamanlakis located in Greece to work for his team. But as he did not wish to relocate and the team of Odysseus was skeptical to hire someone so far, the duo developed a technology that can monitor the progress and the same time collaborate remotely. This laid the foundation stone of the oDesk.

In 2003, the company came into existence as a SaaS company which monitored progress of the work remotely and in 2005 it developed to its present model. This means that it developed as an online workplace and the core technology remained the same. It grew by leaps and bounds since then and is approximately doubling in size with each passing year. The CEO of the company is Gary Swart and at present it is the largest work platform on the web. In 2011 alone, more than a million job opportunities were posted and more than 220 million dollars were earned by contractors.

Pros:

The innovative approach used by oDesk is a great boon for people who want to work without leaving home and you get paid for every hour of work done by you. It is the industry leader in the arena of remote work and shares insights about the latest trends which are shaping the future of the work.

ODesk with its revolutionary approach has completely changed the way the world works. As the job progresses, one can see, review and provide feedback regarding the work. Thus, the buyers get unprecedented visibility into the work performed and pay only for the time the individual worked. On the other hand, the transparent policies and hassle-free tracking guarantees instill confidence in the client about easy, convenient and accurate billing of the work done.

One of the greatest advantages of oDesk is that the membership, registration, posting of jobs and interviews is completely free of cost. The company has free skill tests in various disciplines like programming skills, English language, writing skills etc. It is easy to navigate, you can post jobs or your skills for free and there is an excellent rating system for contractors and employers.

Cons:

It is a herculean task to find the cons of this wonderful product as they are very difficult to find. Nothing manmade is perfect and so is the case with oDesk. A huge number of competitor-bidders makes the competition all the more difficult to win and so your chances of getting the bid are lowered. Further as many bidders quote very less rates, so this makes chances of getting work for good quality freelancers very lean. But however, despite these shortcomings, oDesk is great place to work and is one of the biggest and most popular online platforms both for the buyers and the freelancers.

Features:

The use of cutting edge advanced tools makes it a great place to work online as it offers a global marketplace wherein you can promote your talents and skills to businessmen pan world. You can work on your own terms and conditions as there is the whole world of opportunities to hone your skills and grow your career.

It is enriched with features like advisory services to help in hiring and managing a large team; the services include help regarding process design and technology integration. At first, the advisory services will help you to chalk out the goals and understand the possibilities. A solution is designed to meet your expectations regarding training or recruiting services or integration of systems. You also get an ongoing advice and support to help you to achieve your objectives and grow your program.

You can also earn money via affiliate program by simply referring the people and thus earn competitive affiliate commissions. It is the right place for talented individuals and talent is one of the biggest levers with us but with conventional hiring it is very difficult to find and retain diligent individuals. But with the advent of oDesk now, talent can be assessed virtually and on demand. There are infinite possibilities in the sea of online working and joining hands with oDesk is a successful way to tap these possibilities.

The oDesk payroll services offer excellent staffing solutions for managing and paying W2 employees. The employers can see the work and stay compliant with the regulations of IRS worker classification and oDesk takes care of the taxes and paperwork. The result is increased visibility, collaboration and work productivity. Health benefit is a gig feature of oDesk and contractors can now avail health insurance as well as other employment benefits like medical insurance and health insurance.

How It Works:

In oDesk you can select a professional based on their portfolio, work experience, test scores feedback ratings and hire them. So, this way you can find a contractor of your preference and work together as you do in the conventional set-up. oDesk maintains a unique work diary and takes screenshots of the employees computer while they’re working to ensure that time worked is time billed. So, in this way you can make a qualified team or get the human resources at competitive rates. At the same time, freelancers or contractors get the desired buyers so its a symbiotic work relationship whereby everyone associated with oDesk is benefitted.

Price:

Creating an account, joining oDesk, posting jobs, interviewing the prospective contractors is free of cost for the contractors as well as for the clients. What you see is actually what you pay. However, for the services and technology, providing tracking resources online or collecting amounts from clients and giving them back to contractors, oDesk charges a very small amount as the fee, from the contractors. Usually this is equivalent to approximately 10% of the payments received from clients and an additional fee for the withdrawals. So, oDesk is priced modestly and is one of the most cost-effective online services.

Competitors:

ODesk has an upper edge over its competitors like Elance, Guru, RentACoder, GetAFreelancer. The hourly assignments are guaranteed and extremely provider-friendly, so for every hour you work, you can be rest assured about the payment. Other competitors like Elance use escrow method. At oDesk, the membership is absolutely free while in others premium services are only for paid members..At oDesk, the contractor only pays 10% for using the technology and services, while in Elance they also charge a very small percentage from Credit Card Company so ultimately you end up paying a fee which is more than what is cited. But in oDesk the dealing is very honest, ethical and fair. So, oDesk is the best among its competitors.

How is it Different from the Competitors?

When it comes to a fee for the membership, unlike other competitors, oDesk is completely free, while in others, paid membership is the only way for freelancers to get good projects. There are different types of paid memberships on Elance and Guru and the fee is typically $9.95 for professional membership.

The size if the market and the chances of the prospective clients are very high on oDesk in comparison to Elance, Guru and RentACoder. It also has far less competition so you have more chances of winning the bid so you have a better chance of landing with more jobs opportunities.
Customer service is a very important aspect when working on a freelance site. This is because in case of any problem there is a support system to fall back upon. In case of dispute you must know whom to approach and the response of the company must be prompt. In this regards oDesk tops the list and is far better than Elance and Guru as it has a well developed community and forum to address to all your issues. All your suggestions or feedbacks are considered very seriously. Additionally you can discuss about your progress and your work with other freelancers on oDesk as the community is abuzz with new topics each day.

Results:

From the reviews, viewer ratings, analysis of critics and testimonials of millions of happy members working on oDesk worldwide, it can be said that oDesk offers the best possible platform for online work. It is the leader in remote working and employs the latest technology to help the virtual teams work remotely. With the economic recession, millions of people who lost their jobs and went into financial crunch secured excellent jobs at oDesk without moving from the comfort zones of their home. So, oDesk is a big boon for the contractors as well as for the people who searching for talented people pan globe.

Conclusion (Whether it is Worth Joining or Not):

With such awesome features and services it is worth joining oDesk . This is the reason that is gradually becoming the choice of people who want to work on their own terms and earn great money as nowadays the markets are globalised and are not restricted to the narrow boundaries of geography. Creating an account with oDesk or signing in is highly recommended.

Return of Investment When Joining It:

The return of investment is in the form of money you receive as a payment for the online work done in case of contractors and for the buyers of services it is in terms of getting the apt people for the job at the affordable rates. So it is a win-win situation or a symbiotic situation for both the employers and the contractor and everyone is benefitted.

oDesk Coupons or Discounts (if any):

It is absolutely free of cost to join oDesk both for the contractors as well as for the buyers. Only a meager amount of 10% is charged as a fee for payments that contractors receive as payments and if they wish to withdraw it then they need to pay a small additionally. So, joining it is free and for everyone, who cannot afford to buy a program like those who are unemployed or in a financial crunch it is a great boon. As the membership is free of cost you have nothing to loose but everything to gain.