NEW! VA Jobs

I have taken quite a long break! But now I’m back and ready to help you stay updated with some new VA jobs. Maybe we can afford to drive to work while gas is cheap, but when it goes back up again, be ready with your work from home job!

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Social Media Specialist : I am looking for a savvy virtual assistant who can help me track what’s being said on specific topics on social media like Twitter and LinkedIn. Needs to be Internet savvy, detail-oriented. Hours are flexible.

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Admin Assistant : I am looking for someone to do administrative tasks for me, research, letters, business proposals, phone calls, meeting requests, follow-up tasks and summaries.

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Extract DVD/Movie Clips : I am looking for movie scenes where biometrics or other forms of authentication or identification are used. Here are a few examples to give you an idea of what I’m looking for:
- Minority Report: Subway scene where people are identified as they enter the subway car using an eye scanning device.

Enjoy!

 

 

Elance Transcription Jobs

Many people don’t realize that audio transcription takes much longer than just the time to listen to the audio. An average transcriptionist takes 4 hours to convert 1 hour of audio; 3 hours if you’re really fast. If you are fairly new to transcription, it’s going to take you a little longer to get started. Get an idea of your speed and accuracy, and use those to help you determine a price. It’s okay to start out at less than what you would like for the work experience, just make sure you can give an accurate turnaround time to your potential buyer.

When I started bidding on Elance transcription jobs, I had about 2 years of experience. It had been awhile since I worked, so I bid in the $25-$30 range. It didn’t take long to get back up to speed, so I raised my price to $40/audio hour. And even that may be a little cheap for the quality and speed I offer. Hey, if you don’t toot your own horn, nobody’s going to do it for you…

So here are some recently listed transcription jobs from established buyers who use escrow. Links are in the first sentence. Happy Freelancing!

• This is a really easy job for someone that knows what their doing. I’m looking for someone to transcribe and losely format (a.k.a. paragraphs) on a four and a half hour seminar I did on how to market yourself as a coach.

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• I will have an ongoing need for transcription of .wav files that will be submitted to provider via e-mail. I will need 24-hour turn around on each file provided. Specific instructions for each document will be provided in the .wav file. Document formats will include Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The proposal needs to indicate the ongoing hourly rate for transcription services as well as estimated turn around. Files will be submitted 2-4 days per week. Provider will need to sign a non-disclosure agreement due to the confidential nature of the information being transcribed.
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• Approximately 32-33 hours of audio needs transcribed. It must be accurate, with proper spelling and punctuation. It should also be broken down into paragraphs that are easy to read and logically make sense. You will need to notate who is speaking with initials at the beginning of each person’s passage.

  What will be provided:
  Approximately 10-15 hours of audio will be provided within 24 hours of project award. 3 hours of the original audio, which I will specifically name, will need to be turned around within 36 hours, so that I can review the quality of your work and make suggestions. For the remainder of the initial audio, you will have a maximum of 5 days to turn around the transcription.

 

Elance Writing Jobs

I work in the writing category on Elance. Although only for a couple of months, I have some tips.

• It’s okay to take low paying jobs if you are starting out. It helps build your skill and practice, and as this occurs, have the confidence to increase your rate.
• Have some samples of work ready to go. If you don’t have any samples, write some up in subject matter you feel comfortable with and enjoy.
• Add a personal touch when placing your bid. Particularly in the writing category, buyers may be want to hear your voice rather than a canned bid that gets copied and pasted with each new project.

Here are some recently listed jobs: each is from a buyer who has paid on projects previously and who uses escrow. No guarantee, but it’s a good start. You can join for free with no membership fees and have 3 bidding opportunities per month.

• Web Copy for a Course on Small Animal Care
  We need 3,000 words of copy for a one-page website selling a home-study course called the Diploma in Small Animal Care. The course will help the student learn about animal care, and maybe lead to a job in a veterinary surgery, kennels, cattery, rescue centre or pet store.

• Ghost Blog Writer

  You are bidding on an initial get-to-know each other and show us what you can do, paid project. We may select more than one writer as a result. This initial project is to telephone interview the subject matter expert and develop some ideas. You are expected to either bring ideas to the expert, or through interviewing, draw them out…We are looking for you to interview and then write 10, 2-8 paragraph blog postings…

• Learn to Sing Articles
  I need someone to write 16 articles on the subject of learning how to sing with a few variations and particular angles to be explained on successful bid. The articles should be between 250 to 500 words and delivered within a week of winning the bid.

Best success!
Diane

 

Freelance work with Guru?

I checked out Guru this morning, but you can barely look at any of the jobs unless you are at “Guru” level (i.e. $75 per quarter year). I’m having such good success with Elance, though, I think I will just stick with Elance. With Elance you get the 3 bidding opportunities per month for no fees. This is great for people who are looking for freelance work and who are so strapped that they really can’t shell out a bunch of bucks for job site subscriptions.

I tested out the Elance membership for the past month, and am very happy with the variety of jobs I have received from the extra bidding opportunities. I still have 4 more connects for the next 2 days and I have decided it is definitely worth the $10/month for me to renew. I don’t love the fees charged for each job; I think they are too high for lower-paying jobs, but I accept them as part of the cost of doing business.

I have been looking around the web for other people’s experiences, and have seen that some people get burned by buyers who don’t pay them after they’ve done the work. You can minimize this possibility by doing the following:

• Use Elance escrow, free for buyer and provider and protects both of you. Particularly important when bidding on projects posted by new buyers.
• Once you accept a project, try to secure additional contact information about the buyer, like a phone or e-mail address. You can get the e-mail address from “Accepted Projects” under “My Elance”
• Bid on projects whose buyer is well-established, who has already paid out on other Elance jobs previously.
• You will usually receive an e-mail stating that the buyer has funded the project. If you don’t receive this e-mail, you can request through Elance that it be funded.
• Consider using contracts.

Of course, these steps won’t guarantee you won’t get burned.

Enjoy your work!
Diane

 

New to Elance?

Getting started on Elance can be a little bit intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, it’s a great place to find unique telecommuting freelance jobs, long-term or short-term.

Their system of bidding allows job providers to bid on jobs offered by “buyers”. When you join, you can create a provider profile that allows you to showcase your skills. Or if you have references or samples of your work, you can simply post that info each time you bid. I maintain a profile, but I customize each bid that I place with relevant information. If I were hiring someone that I couldn’t meet in person, I would love to know a little more about them than just some boring cut and paste blurb that they created to make themselves sound like they think they should sound. Of course, the level of formality or informality will vary with the type of work you are looking for and the type of person you are. I am somewhat informal and looking for positions working with people who are easy to get along with.

You can view my provider profile for iontreasures at http://iontreasures.elance.com

 

Post any specific questions you might have in the comments!
Best success!