Digital Nomad Jobs – Where to find freelance work?

Digital Nomad Jobs – Where to find work online?

IMG_0014

Finding (good) freelance digital nomad jobs online is not as straight forward as you may think, whilst there is a massive amount of work available, there are even more freelancers going for the same jobs. Fortunately there are ever-increasing numbers of sites online offering work for freelancers, listed below are several of the biggest, a few of the more obscure and some specialist sites. Why not try setting up a (copy and paste) profile on a few sites and see which is getting you the best results? If you know where to look, hopefully you’ll be able to get decent work and forge a glowing reputation for yourself allowing you to successfully live the digital nomad dream.

The biggest but not necessarily best

  • Upwork: oDesk is dead, long live Upwork. Formed out of the merger of oDesk and Elance, Upwork is a huge site dedicated to freelance work. There are roughly 80,000 jobs listed on Upwork at the time of writing this article, which is quite a lot really when you think about it. Of course not all of these 80,000 jobs are going to be worth anyone’s time or effort, you will see a lot of people expecting the equivalent of the complete works of Shakespeare hand-written, in an hour, for $1. Jobs are available in a huge range of professions and include both short and long-term projects, fixed rates and hourly rates and expert and entry-level roles. Hopefully something in that range suits you! Making a profile couldn’t be easier and thanks to Upworks great help centre you can rest assured that you’ll be looked after should any unforeseen problems (bad clients) pop up. https://www.upwork.com/
  • Freelancer: Freelancer is very similar in design to Upwork, roughly 8.5 million projects have been launched through freelancer and there is a huge number of positions available at any one time. That there are so many jobs available is a bonus as you will be competing with quite a few of the other 16,700,000 or so other registered users, although that won’t be a problem as I’m sure you’re the best person for the job. https://www.freelancer.com/
  • Guru: As above but on a smaller scale. Not all that much to say about Guru if I’m honest. It has a better name than the previous two. http://www.guru.com/
  • SimplyHired: SimplyHired isn’t strictly a site for a digital nomad, it does offer jobs in the electronic world but also real life interaction jobs outside! As far as I can tell the jobs listed on this site are solely based in the US but if you’re from there and fancy travelling, or are visiting the US on an extended stay it may be worth a few minutes of your time to look. http://www.simplyhired.com/

Smaller scale but not necessarily bad

  • iFreelance: Don’t be put of by the idiotic lower case i they have put in the name to look edgy, new and cool (I assume). The site iFreelance is a relatively modest site in numbers compared to the big three above but still deserves a look. There is much less competition on this site and it surely has to get bigger numbers of users sooner rather than later. http://www.ifreelance.com/
  • Project4hire: As with all of the sites listed above project4hire offers a range of jobs in many categories. The interface is easy to navigate and it is really easy to narrow your search down to just the jobs you are interested in. Project4hire requires you to bid on any job you are interested in and then the employer will make their decision. Registration is free for the basic membership or $10/month for the premium deal. https://www.project4hire.com/
  • Behance: Mainly aimed at the creative types but also covering a huge range of subjects Behance is great for designers, photographers, writers etc but also lists jobs for developers and designers. https://www.behance.net/

Specialist sites for the special amongst you

  • Peopleperhour: Peopleperhour is a site that offers freelance jobs that are all web project based, if your specialist subject is web design, S.E.O, web development or anything that glues your eyes to screen for up-to 12 hours a day you could do a lot worse than having a look at the site. http://www.peopleperhour.com/
  • Demand media: If you’re the creative type with a camera or the written word demand media might be the right place for you. The site, once you’re a registered user allows you to create a showcase of your talents and helps connect you with a huge audience. http://create.demandstudios.com/
  • Toptal: Toptal aims to hand-pick the top 3% of freelance development talent from all around the globe. They insist that this way they can offer only the bream of the crop and hopefully this will be reflected in the fees you receive. If you are a gifted developer, definitely have a look at this one. http://www.toptal.com/
  • GetACoder: Bet you can’t guess who this site is aimed at? To be fair it offers jobs for designers, writers and programmers. The site has a huge amount of jobs listed at any one time and is constantly being updated, worth a look if you are after small project work. http://www.getacoder.com/
  • Freelance Writing Jobs: If you’re good with a pen and have that creative talent for writing you should certainly look at this site. A useful site offering jobs and advice to boot. http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/

If all else fails

  • Craigslist/Gumtree or locational equivalent: Although it’s not something most people tend to do, and I can’t stress how careful you have to be whilst doing it, message boards like Craigslist can often contain meaningful job offers. Working from these sites is often unpredictable and unprotected so have a serious think before you decide to take on work without any upfront payment. Personally if I were to use these boards for work I would be looking for actual, physical, analogue work in bars/restaurants etc. Somewhere with a little bit more reliability about them.
  • Facebook: Sounds daft but if you are travelling the world have a look on the old Facebook for the local areas and see if anyone needs any work doing in the local groups, you might get lucky and wind up working in your dream destination.
  • Ex-pat forums: As above with Facebook but not on Facebook. Google it instead.

Any of you digital nomads out there know of any other good job sites? Share the wealth and let us know in the comments below.