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cellar_door

Member
Hi everyone.

Do any of you freelancers use online job boards to pick up work? Are there any UK-based boards that are decent? My work load is looking a little thin at the moment. I've picked up work using Gumtree before but it was a disaster and I never got paid...

Thanks,

Jim
 
unfortunately it is a bit slim on the ground for everyone at the moment Jim... I've tried most of them from Craigslist, Gumtree and Monster to freelancers.org etc etc

they are all the same really... :(
 
Yep I concur with the above, I do a weekly round of the jobs boards/ recruitment agencies they have been very quiet of late. I got ripped off by someone replying to a gumtree listing, was literally two hours work so didn't loose too much sleep over it. Never been tempted to try any of the bid sites, peoplebythehour, LimeExchange etc, as most providers on there want something for virtually nothing, and I'd rather leave it to other 'designers' to enter a bidding war for a shite client. Best advice in these times is to face to face network like crazy, it's where I'm picking up most of my new leads, that and AdWords.
 
Network, network, and network. Also speak to established design or web agencies. With so many cut backs and redundancies a lot of companies are running very thin, you may pick up some outsource stuff.
 
Well, I get a few website work a month on getafreelancer.com. And has served me well in the past, but there are so many people on there competeing you have to have plenty of decent work in your portfolio and a good written text saying what you can offer. Thats vital.
 
I personally won't go bidding on jobs on forums, it can't be helpful for the industry in general, although that's just my standpoint and I'm not looking down on anyone who does!
 
I'll agree with russell and berry, you cant go wrong with face to face meetings. The only problem is getting to that point. I've sent flyers / letters and things like that to design companies / and individuals, explained who i am and what i do. I just asked for a meeting, and to talk about work and i've managed to get a little bit of work out of it. Obv most companies are having trouble at the moment so most will ignore you but they might keep you in mind for the future. I would still go on gumtree and craigslist and all the others, i know you get some bad clients there, you can still get good ones too.

Also go to exhibition opening nights with a wad of business cards, even if you dont get any work you've meet some new people and had some free wine too.
 
It depends on what you guys are looking for. We pay our design team £6 per hour for the new starters and more for the experienced ones! If you are ever short of work and are willing to accept the lower end of the wage band ( as I assume most of you charge £15 - £25 per hour ) please drop us a message and get in touch.
 
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