Comments on: Freelance Writing Jobs for Thursday, May 15, 2008

By: Amanda Nicole

Amanda Nicole — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:55:17 +0000

Well, in regards to Sit Means Sit, I emailed the woman again and very politely explained that I would require the information I’d requested earlier (project details, payment) before I underwent the interview process (re-writing the entire homepage which, by the way, is rife with errors). Never heard back. So, to me, that makes me glad not to have done the “sample,” since the woman apparently had no idea what the project entailed or what it would pay. Red flags for me, for sure.

By: Jodee

Jodee — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:50:00 +0000

@ BooBoo: I was born in Ottawa and grew up about 20 miles west of there. Now I live in southwestern Ontario.

@ Jenny B: I just try to grow where I’m planted, but it would be nice to live closer to family rather than 8 hours away….

By: BooBoo

BooBoo — Fri, 16 May 2008 13:16:13 +0000

Melissa,

Hard to say. I know many people will NEVER do a sample, but I’ve gotten a lot of my best clients that way. Here’s what I look for. Are they clear about what the reward will be if the sample is up to standards? For example, how much will the gig pay, how steady will the work be, etc. Will they pay for the sample if it is satisfactory? In my experience, most people genuinely looking to hire someone will. Finally, are they upfront about who they are and where they are located, or do they dodge these questions? That’s a red flag for me.

By the way, I’ve also been screwed several times by providing free samples, so keep that in mind as well. You might do your sample and then never hear back. Just decide if the risk (you’ll do the work for nothing) is worth the potential reward.

By: Hazel

Hazel — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:54:27 +0000

A Melissa
Sometimes a job poster will ask for a small edit, but in this case, it appears that Sit Means Sit is looking for all the suggestions they can get from professional editors so that they can revamp their site without hiring anyone.
It can be hard to tell whether it’s legit. Look at their site and see how much copy they have — if they are asking you to do the most important part (i.e., home page) you might want to steer clear. But if they’ve given you a smaller slice and the whole site needs work, go ahead and do it.

By: Jenny B

Jenny B — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:33:08 +0000

@Boo Boo Great to know that other fellow Canadians visit this site. I know James is one as well.

@Jodee Sometimes it does take awhile for things to work out.

By: BooBoo

BooBoo — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:02:30 +0000

Jodee,

Where in Canada are you from? Nova Scotia here.

By: Jodee

Jodee — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:27:45 +0000

Hi Jenny B: You are welcome. I really appreciate your taking the time to give me some positive feedback. It means a lot to me.

(And I’m still envious that you are living in Ottawa….we are hoping that we can move back at some point…it just hasn’t worked out for us yet….)

By: Melissa

Melissa — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:33:29 +0000

Interesting. I applied for the Sit Means Sit position and got the same request. I am new at freelance editing and just launched my website a few weeks ago. I appreciate it when a prospective client gives me the opportunity to edit a sample as part of the application process. Because I am new, a sample shows my abilities better than my resume does at this point. Do I need to be wary of these “opportunities,” or are they a valid way for employers to test applicants? (The sample from their homepage was about 300 words.)

By: Jenny B

Jenny B — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:21:44 +0000

Hi Jodee
I want to add my thanks as well. Though I join late in scanning through FWJ daily, I really appreciate everything you do. I especially love the international postings that you list.

From your fellow Canadian in Ottawa.

By: Jodee

Jodee — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:05:25 +0000

@ Jack and Gwynita: You are most welcome!:)

By: Dennis Murray

Dennis Murray — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:16:27 +0000

@ Adam

I agree, there isn’t any real way to indicate why something should be flagged besides the standard selections. They should at least require the flagger to type in a reason why before it’s removed.

By: Amanda Nicole

Amanda Nicole — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:15:11 +0000

I applied to the Sit Means Sit position, and received their site’s homepage to revamp as “the first part of the interview.” Since I am inherently wary of doing work for someone I know nothing about–for free–I thanked the sender for the information and requested a few answers to some questions I had about the position before undertaking the work (what the work entails, what the pay is, project lengths, etc.). I received another reply that answered with “there are numerous projects” and “I don’t know the rates yet.” Hmmmm. Be cautious before doing work for free as part of an “interview”!

By: Gwynita

Gwynita — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:14:34 +0000

Jodee, thanks for these great leads!

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:11:23 +0000

@ Brenda: someone the other day who had posted one of those jobs complained her post was flagged for removal. It seems someone (possibly who visits this site) is applying and then flagging to prevent other people from competing for the job.

Quite unethical in my books. Something Craigslist should work on.

By: Brenda

Brenda — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:23:07 +0000

It seems like posts on Craigslist get flagged for removal within minutes of their posting.

By: Maryam

Maryam — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:43:46 +0000

testicular fortitude lol. I am finding more and more that the jobs you apply directly to their site are more reputable than just ads with vague connotations.
By the way, i just got two more blogging job offers so that totally proves that there is a market out there…( i think i can finally slim down the web content stuff it drive me batty !)

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:44:50 +0000

Because, Adam, they’re paranoid and don’t really know what they’re doing. Or why.

That’s why it’s not worth my time.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:27:13 +0000

@ Matt: I understand why people do it with email addresses (to avoid junk mail) – though a patient spammer can get around a broken up email address since almost everyone uses the same formula to break it up. But, why on earth would someone do the same for a web address?

It’s not like you can get spam to your website.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:22:35 +0000

It’s not a red flag, it’s just annoying.

Are they afraid they’re going to get, um… oh, I dunno… some hits on their page?

Seriously, if you’re soliciting work on the internet, at least have the testicular fortitude to put a click-able link on there so people don’t get the impression you’re paranoid.

Oops… too late.

By: BooBoo

BooBoo — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:09:47 +0000

Matt. Why would a company breaking up their address be a red flag? Just curious.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:59:27 +0000

LoLing @ the myspace contacts. They’re so whacked out they’re afraid to put their real myspace link addy, they have to break it up.

I didn’t even consider looking at that one. Not worth my time.

As for a lack of jobs, hardly. There are lots of decent paying writing jobs. And this place has been nailing them for years.

Thanks you two!

By: Maryam

Maryam — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:45:35 +0000

there’s no way there is a lack of jobs, if anything there is a boom for writing esp. on the internet. ( yes sometimes it’s mindless work but it can be done)… At any rate it also takes time and patience to build up the way you want but it is far faster than waiting for queries and SASES from magazines and fiction. I think both are good
by the by one of the ads asked to apply via myspace but when you go to the link it doesn’t exist.

By: Jack B

Jack B — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:13:53 +0000

The Videogame Walkthrough Writer job is from Mahalo, some info/searchy website. I got a job through them from here earlier but it turned out to be more compiling links and learning webcode than writing, and I thought the effort behind it all was worth more than they were paying. I gave it a shot but didn’t enjoy it much.

Howeverrr, I’m still on their staff mailing list (I didn’t officially quit, but I didn’t really sign up either), which doesn’t bother me too much – but the walkthrough work is more writing and less link and webcode, and pays a lot better. So I’ve sent in an example!

Thanks Jodee

By: Fiona

Fiona — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:04:23 +0000

Thanks for the leads Jodee. My husband is away on a business trip and he called last night from Texas with some magazines for me to look into. He’s taken to checking out local free magazines and regional publications whenever he’s away to see if they’re something I might be able to submit to.

By: Jodee

Jodee — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:55:22 +0000

@ Rhonda: You are most welcome!

@ James: Yes, there are jobs out there and we prove it every day right here.