Three Things To Look For When Hiring On oDesk

If you’re a Domainer who is starting to make some good consistent income and is looking for a way to turn their part-time job, or hobby into a business, oDesk is a great place to start. The problem is that oDesk is full of low-quality candidates that will burn through your money and leave you high and dry. So how can you identify the good candidates that can actually contribute to your business?

oDesk Site

I’ve been using oDesk to hire contractors for over three years now and I have definitely hired my fair share of low-quality candidates. At the same time I’ve also found some great people that are still contributing members of the Linton Investments team. So what should you look for in a good candidate on oDesk?

While I can’t give you a perfect formula for success, I can tell you what I’ve learned about some of the best candidates that I have hired and maintained as staff members on oDesk.

  1. Good Reviews From Previous Employers – this is #1 for me for a good reason and one of the reasons why I really like oDesk. You can view what other employers thought of a particular candidate. If you find a candidate has nothing but glowing reviews, chances are they do pretty good work.
  2. Test Scores – another great thing about oDesk is the ability for candidates to take score to show their proficiency in particular areas. If you see a bunch of low scores you either know that the candidate applying for the job doesn’t care about their scores, or doesn’t have proficiency in particular areas. Either way you can use this information to get a better sense of a whether a candidate would be a good fit for the role you are thinking of.
  3. Interview – never hire someone without first doing an interview yourself! You’re running a business here, why hire someone that you don’t know at all? Hop on Skype and spend 10-15 minutes talking to the person, ask a bunch of questions and see if their answers match what you’d be expecting. See if they are passionate and in it for the long-haul.

The one very important thing to remember about oDesk is that you get what you pay for. If you want to get a great PHP Developer for $8/hour, I’m sorry to say but this really doesn’t exist. Don’t be afraid to pay more money in order to hire better people. Just make sure you’re keeping track of your income and expenses and ensure that the person you’re hiring is helping you make more money, rather than causing you to loose money.

So if your Domain Business is starting to pick-up steam and you’re having trouble keeping-up, maybe it’s time to hire someone that can help take some of that work off your shoulders, and take your business to the next level!

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton